Introduction to today's journey
Today's journey takes me from the ger village in Terelj National Park back into Ulaanbaatar, where I explore the city before catching the Trans-Mongolian train onwards towards Siberia.
Today's Journey
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I wake up to a very cold morning with the valley floor white with a heavy frost. This is still very mild for this area, where the days in mid winter average a high of -20 degrees. |
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After packing up, we return to Ulaanbaatar heading downstream through the valley. |
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Our first stop in Ulaanbaatar is in a Buddhist monastery, a large educational centre. |
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From the monastery we head into Sukhbaatar Square with this view of the parliament building with a huge statue of Genghis Khan, considered the founding father of Mongolia in 1206 AD. |
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View over Ulaanbaatar from the Zaisan Monument. Smoke billows from one of the power stations covering the city in smog. The city sits in a sheltered valley trapping the smoke during winter making it the world's most polluted city. |
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Visiting the Central Museum of Mongolia which is full of dinosaur bones, including this complete Tarbosaur skeleton. |
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Enjoying a huge Mongolian meal and vodka. The locals are enormous eaters here, perhaps due to the very cold weather. |
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Exploring the Choijin Lama Museum, an ancient monastery with all sorts of artefacts, including the mummified body of a monk who served here for 40 years. |
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A cultural display at one of the city's halls. It is extremely dark in here. They are performing traditional Mongolian music. |
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I head back to Ulaanbaatar Station to catch the train at sunset along the next leg of the journey towards Russia. |
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