Hello again, my fine people. Ulaanbaatar (aka Ulan Bator), Mongolia... this was quite the experience... forget what we've seen in Korea... don't even start to compare... It would just not be fair to do so.
The people here are not at all friendly, other than a young lady in a coffee shop/ Bistro kind of place. There was little to no dialogue with the natives, other than the people at VW, who were also not all too friendly. The facial expression of the people were often read by me as grumpy and rather reserved. The friendly hello to a stranger while passing on the street was non-existing, even though I tried a time or two. What's the reason? Well, I am not quite sure. Perhaps the following pictures give a clue: (as always, click the pictures for larger view)
I could go on and on with the pictures to show a rather depressing side of this huge city with its population of 1.5+ million. All of Mongolia has about 2.4+ million people. The concentration of people in Ulaanbaatar has greatly to do with the mining business. Lots of mines with its newest addition of copper mining. To me, visually, Ulaanbaatar reminded of images of East Germany and Russia. One wonders why it all still looks like this after all this time. It's not that there is no money... there is a lot of money in Ulaanbaatar:
You see tons of Hummers, as well as the Mercedes Jeeps (I know, they are not called Mercedes Jeeps, but you know what I mean). Anyway, there is a lot of money on Mongolia's streets, but the infrastructure... well, you've seen the pictures. Interesting enough, they allow a mix of left and right side steering. So what you often see is this:
Look at the placement of the steering wheel |
Yeah... we've seen the guy.... Chinggis Khan (aka Ghenghis Khan) |
One can also have some fun around here ;-)
toss a ball towards the stack of empty cans ;-) |
Russian Roulette on the street... should I stay or should I go now...?! |
Mom gets to use the remote to drive the kid around.. not sure if that was such a good idea... those moms are not better with the remote than in a real car (sad to say, I know... I know) |
Goof !!! |
And they have food.... lots of lamb
HOT LEMON LEMONADE??? |
AHHHHH>>> MUCH BETTER :-) it's the little things in life |
Quite the sky, yes???? (little speck in the sky is the moon... darn camera didn't capture it as wonderful as the eye did)
Next stop: Kathmandu, Nepal.... we are leaving this Sunday.... be ready with your passport!!! until then... hugs, kisses and all that fun stuff
So interesting to see how each country has developed and the way the people carry themselves. As to the money, I wonder if people involved in the government keep so much of the money for themselves, to buy their hummers and other nice vehicles and toys, and so there is nothing left to put into the infrastructure. Fascinating pictures of all that you have encountered, so nice to see you and Julia having time to together to enjoy yourselves... Yes, quite obvious that you are enjoying everything about this trip - the discoveries, the knowledge gained, the experiences... all of it... And of course, how excellent of you to share it with us... thank you so much! Safe travels!
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