Breakfast was served at 5:00 am which meant that I had
to get up at 4:30. I got my bags packed
and headed over to the dining room. We
left the camp at about 5:30 and drove thru the Gobi desert. We saw the sun rise.
Sunrise over the Gobi Desert
Sunrise over the Gobi Desert
Sunrise over the Gobi Desert
Sunrise over the Gobi Desert
Sunrise over the Gobi Desert
Sunrise over the Gobi Desert
When we got to the airport, we had to wait a
while. Fortunately I did not have to pay
for my overage. Arriving in Ulaanbaatar,
we had to wait a bit for our luggage and then we took off with our driver.
Getting to the airport impeded by the floods
Traffic Jam in the Gobi - another car
Airplane waiting to load
Gandantegchenling Monastery was our first stop of the
day.
Entrance to Gandantegchenlin Monastery
Another entrance gate
Yard of Monastery
In front of one of the buildings
Prayer wheels
Future dormitory for young monks
These buildings are for education
Notice Stoupa
Remains of previous temple that was burnt down and guide - Altai
Education building
Another monastery building
Gate
Bell
Next was checked into the Ramada hotel. We had about an hour to rest and I checked my
e-mail. After all I had been out of
communication for two whole days.
Amazing I survived all that time without e-mail!
We had lunch at a chain restaurant and we had their
signature dish, hot pot. This cooked by
heating rocks and putting them into the pot with meat and vegetables. For the most part I had little to no problems
with food in Mongolia because they eat very little pork and virtually no shell
fish.
Our next stop was the summer palace of the last
monarch. Pictures were limited. The last
monarch did not marry till forced to by the people. He did not have any children but he adopted a
boy who could have been his successor.
We also went into the winter palace which was built in the Russian
style.
Summer Palace - part of museum
Main entrance
Main entrance
To protect from evil spirits
Part of Summer Palace
We next went to the high point of Ulaanbaatar. From there you can see the whole city. I couldn’t make it to the top; too many
steps. At the top, there is a Monument
built in remembrance of the Russian Soldiers killed fighting the Japanese in
about 1935.
Monument to Russian Soldiers killed fighting the Japanese in 1935 or there abouts
Taken from as high as I could walk
Taken from as high as I could walk
Taken from as high as I could walk - Buddhist Garden
Taken from as high as I could walk
Taken from as high as I could walk
Taken from as high as I could walk
From the other side of the path
Our last stop of the day was the Gobi Cashmere shop. Prices were not that low although compared to
what we would have paid in the states they probably were low. I would have loved to buy some yarn but they
wanted $140 for a kilogram and it was thin yarn. I did buy two items.
We headed back to the hotel where I showered and
rested for a while before we headed out to dinner at an unusual
restaurant. You selected what you wanted
and they cooked it. It was an interesting experience.
