I left my hotel and headed to Sukhbaatar Square. The area I am in is surrounded by embassies. People from the Japanese embassy were out playing tennis (yea they have a tennis court) and the ball went over the fence so I threw it back to them. Crazy folks. So anyways, the square is in the center of UB where in 1924 Sukhbaatar declared independence from the Chinese. At the north end of the square sits the Chinggis Khaan statue which stands in front of the Parliament house.
After that I went to the National Museum of Mongolian History and got a intro to Mongolian culture. It was a small museum but had really good exhibits. One thing I found weird is they charge you an admission fee, and then charge you extra if you want to take pictures. And from my days journeys it appears to be quite common to do that. So I secretly take photos...if anyone stops me I can use the language barrier to my advantage ;) Some other cultural things I have learned (not at the museum though): 1. Many women walk arm in arm. 2. If you step on someones foot, you must shake their hand right after.
I began walking again down one of the many unnamed streets, mostly guessing where I was on the map. I walked through Urt Tsagaan which is a pedestrian mall with little shops and stalls selling knick knacks and clothing. Here is where things got a little tricky. I was trying to get to Bakula Rinpoche Sum, a Buddhist monastery. Again the lack of street signs led me to enter the Container Market. I am not exactly sure what was happening there, I only know it was called this after looking on my map. There was just people and cars and goods everywhere! It was a madhouse!. But on the other side was the monastery. Success! I walked around the grounds and then peeked into the temple where there was many monks chanting. Also here is the Centre for Buddhist Medicine.
I continued on my way toward Gandan Khiid, one of Mongolia's most important monasteries. Surrounding the monastery is the city's original ger district that has circled the monastery for 170 years. On the road to the monastery I passed the Centre of Shaman Eternal Heavenly Sophistication, fortune tellers, and people selling some type of seed to feed the pigeons. Oh and postcards and wall hangings too. Currently there are 10 datsans or institutes and about 900 monks!
More wandering, having no clue what most of the things I pass are, shops, restaurants? I passed the circus, and a totally random Beatles monument type thing. Then I made it to the State Department Store, the largest shopping mall in Mongolia. They have just about everything you could want. I had been trying my best to avoid 'western' food but I caved and got a pizza.
Things still on my list to do:
Natural History Museum
The Choyjin lama monastery museum
0-km marker
Tengis movie theatre
Nairamdal Park
Narantull market
cashmere shopping
Maybe make it outside the city to one of the National Parks.
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