June 29, Ulaanbaatar

We're up at 4:30 a.m. with no possibility of going back to sleep - makes sense after falling asleep at 6 p.m. the day prior. So we started with a run.

The weather at the start of the day was lovely - perfectly cool, around 12°C, and dry - but we found ourselves huffing and puffing a little harder than usual. Turns out Ulaanbaatar sits at about 1,350 meters (4,430 feet) above sea level. It is one of the highest capital cities in the world and, actually surprisingly, the coldest capital on Earth based on average annual temperature. Our guide told us a few days ago that it was snowing. 

That would explain why we are still seeing lilacs blooming. This year has been all about a forever spring. In Greenland, there were little flowers just starting to come out too - some looked like tiny versions of snowdrops. But they also have this awful plant blooming whose flowers disgorge discussing white fluff like flying cotton everywhere - it covers the sidewalks and trees and goes straight into your nose.

Anyhow. We were happy to find out that our hotel has breakfast too - not a lot of options in town at 6:30 in the morning. 😊 Amazing breakfast at that. In addition to a ton of variety, they also had a table set out with local specialties, like aaruul - dried cheese curds, slightly sweetened, pleasantly sour, and somehow incredibly addictive. Had multiple helpings. 😊

There were other things too: fried dough, kind of like mini elongated ponchiks - we know this stuff - and various kinds of clotted cream, kefir, and other dairy products. They were all good, but the aaruul stole the show.

As we walked to our first destination, Gandan Monastery, we noted many people on their way to work - nicely dressed and beautiful. It was a little empty for a Sunday in the center.

The main square had changed gears and now featured a massive display of local services - heating, construction, utilities, and the like. Lots of tents, clearly aimed at locals, and pretty busy too.

We passed some interesting sights along the way - like the Natural History Museum, which featured Lenin, Marx, Engels, and several Mongolian revolutionary leaders posed heroically on the huge decorative plaques on the facade. 😊

There were lots and lots of beautifully decorated food trucks - they are everywhere around town selling every kind of food.

They also have convenience stores called CU (Nice to CU) everywhere. They are often located in basements, much like Rimi and IKI in Vilnius. We noted how comfortable we are navigating places like this - just walking into an ordinary-looking building and automatically heading downstairs without thinking twice. The Soviet footprint in construction is very strong here.

But eventually we reached our destination.

Gandan Monastery (Gandantegchinlen Monastery) is the spiritual heart of Mongolian Buddhism. Founded in 1809, it survived the communist purges better than almost any other monastery. During the Soviet era, when hundreds of monasteries were destroyed and thousands of monks were executed, Gandan was eventually allowed to reopen and became the country's only functioning monastery. Today it once again serves as the center of Mongolian Buddhist life. 

Incidentally, religion was burned out of Mongolians pretty well by the Soviet rule. That said, Buddhism had been making a comeback. Now 52% identify as Buddhist, 41% or so as atheist though they are said to partake some Buddhist activities on the important events in their lifes. There is about 2-3% Muslim minority - mostly Kazakhs in the west, and about the same Christian. That was a huge disappointment to the missionary activity - they felt this was a great virgin territory to, some pun intended, converge on and locals had not been resonating. And lastly, the original relinion of Mongols was shamanism and it kind of active in the country side. We'll see.

Back to our day. The complex is quite large. We went into the first temple just as monks in bright red-orange robes started gathering.

In contrast to some of the Buddhist temples we visited in Korea and Japan, these interiors were much more brightly decorated - cheerful colors, ribbons, lots of ornamentation. In that sense, they reminded us more of temples in India, which are sadly beginning to fade in our memories. We really need to go back.

In the second temple, prayers were already underway. Monks chanted in unison while a few little boys, also in monk robes, sat close by, seemingly fidgeting :). One was fast asleep, actually.

It was beautiful. We sat there for quite a while just listening.

The next temple, Migjid Janraisig Temple, houses a 26-meter-tall statue of Avalokiteshvara (Janraisig), the Bodhisattva of Compassion. On the sides of it stand two smaller statues, while the walls are lined floor to ceiling with shelves - like bookshelves with sliding glass doors - with thousands of miniature Buddhas and offerings stretching around the perimeter of the entire temple.

There were several other smaller, older temples throughout the complex, and plenty of local visitors praying. The omnipresent Chinese tour groups were there too, but surprisingly few other tourists.

Finally, we visited one of the larger modern buildings that serves both as an administrative center and a huge assembly hall capable of holding well over a thousand people. Besides religious services, there were monks meeting with visitors one-on-one, a coffee shop, and people lining up for various community activities. It very much felt like a living community center.

Next, we went to a place with several buildings full of antique dealers. Very similar to the department store.Ordinary-looking building from the outside, while inside, floor after floor of glass-fronted shops contain some truly amazing artifacts. And almost all of them were locked with no one present inside. Instead, the owners posted their phone numbers on the doors, inviting anyone interested to call and arrange a private viewing.

Yeah... I guess some of the museum-quality stuff apparently never made it out of the country. Glad for them.

On the way, we stopped at Жүр үр Хаус Салбар bakery. I don't know what it means in Mongolian, but to Russian ears, the intent is very clear: to grab a pastry stuffed with farmer cheese and another pirozhok with farmer cheese and raisins. For reals, shockingly just as good as Crustum and Šviežios Bandelės.

The décor was lovely too, and the soft music made the place wonderfully comforting.

Then we continued on, taking a long and rather dusty road to Narantuul Market, thinking out of habit that it might be something like Kalvarijų Market.

Not really. It is by far the biggest market we've ever seen. There is an enormous section devoted entirely to camping gear, tents, saddles, horse tack, ropes, boots, and everything needed for life in the countryside. You can immediately tell this is a country with a strong nomadic tradition.

Then there is an equally enormous clothing section. That felt like it went on forever.

Narantuul is often called the "Black Market," although today it is simply Mongolia's largest open-air market. It feels much less like a tourist attraction and much more like the place where Mongolia actually shops.

Eventually, we decided to head back, stopping at another multi-story building along the way that contained countless tiny little shops spread across several floors.

We were happy to find aaruul again. And lots of butter. And a nice Russian candy spread. And plenty of other local specialties.

Then we grabbed a local Uber back toward our neighborhood and had a late lunch at Lera, the Russian restaurant. Because... why not?

Everyone spoke Russian there, and the food was perfect.

Next, we decided to get caffeinated to last through the rest of the afternoon because it was already approaching 5pm, and we stopped at Dessert39. 

Amazing décor. Very high-tech, stylish, almost Japanese-inspired lighting and music. Very cute. Cute little desserts. Everything looked beautiful.

Then came the highlight of the evening.

We went to see Land of the Sky, performed by the Tumen Ekh National Song and Dance Ensemble, one of Mongolia's premier traditional performing arts companies.

Really amazing. The show brings together performances from different regions of Mongolia and showcases traditional dance, music, contortion, long-song singing, horsehead fiddle, and, of course, my favorite - throat singing. Really the best I've ever heard. It is astonishing to hear one person produce multiple distinct notes at the same time. The choreography was unlike anything we'd seen before; the costumes were beautiful; the orchestra was outstanding; and every number highlighted a different region or tradition of Mongolia.

Back to the throat singing, yous all are lucky in the US because my favirite Mongolian band, the HU is currently touring. Of course you will have to listen to the Marilyn Manson because this the who the HU is touring with, but it is a small price to pay for the splendor.  

We walked back to the hotel thoroughly inspired. Tomorrow we start our first road trip.

We're not planning to bring our computers because there's no internet or electricity. Looks like we'll be off the grid for the next few days. See ya.