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Monday’s plan for getting our workout in was to go on a sightseeing walk from our apartment in the center of Ulaanbaatar to a hill in the south part of the city that overlooks the area.  It is called Zaisan and has a memorial at the top built to honor unknown Soviet and Mongolian soldiers killed in World War II.  Starting in the 1920s and going through to 1990, Mongolia was very much under the firm pressure and influence of the Soviet Union. The view is now filled with lots of skyscrapers but there is a spot just below the hill where it is clear that families who live in gers (these are called yurts in other parts of the world) are being overtaken by these skyscrapers.

After descending the steps from the top of the hill and walking through the very modern mall that is a part of the new developments here, we found a monument to the tank brigade that was built by the Mongolians to join the Soviet Union’s march on Berlin in World War II.  It was impressive to see one of the actual tanks.

On our way back into the city center, we grabbed small salads and chicken pockets at the deli in one of the grocery stores.  We’re still challenged occasionally figuring out what things are, even when using our translator.  This was one of those times where we weren’t sure exactly what we were getting but they were fine.  Across the street was our next stop – the Winter Palace of the Bogd Khan.  We had a fun little tour given by a 15-year old high school student who spoke very good English.  He’s a volunteer here at the palace for the summer and this was his second day.  I don’t think he had all the facts exactly accurate but he was fun.

The palace was built in the late 1800s and is one of the few structures to have survived the destruction by the Soviets when they came in and eliminated almost all signs of anything that might be revered higher than the Soviet state.  This was the residence of the last Bogd Khan who died in 1924.  The Bogd Khan was the theocratic ruler of Mongolia, which was a Buddhist nation prior to the Soviet takeover.

In the evening we walked to the Fat Cat Jazz Club, which we had seen in the MIAT airline magazine flying in.  What a great discovery – this has to be the coolest place in Ulaanbaatar.  We were able to get our tickets at the door, although it did nearly reach capacity.  We had a table toward the back.  We ordered food, which is provided by Veranda restaurant upstairs – one of the better restaurants apparently.  We had salads and a bottle of wine.  The jazz band was great, the vibe was perfect, and the highlight had to have been after the first set when one of the audience members went onstage and proposed to his girlfriend while Elvis’ Can’t Help Falling in Love With You played.  It was such a perfect night.

Tuesday, we walked to a sports club in the southern part of the city.  A volleyball competition was taking place to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations between Germany and Mongolia.  There were clubs from around both countries of different ages – kids and adults – taking part in the three-day event.  The day we went, we saw two Mongolian under-18s play a thrilling match where one team lost the first two games but came back to win the next three.  We then watched one game of the next match between a Mongolian under-18 team and a German under-18 team.  It was fun to take in the event, which is something you just don’t get a chance to do when following the normal tourist trail.

On our way back to the apartment, we checked out eMart – a South Korean department store that has expanded to Mongolia in a partnership with a Mongolian company.  It was a nice store and I’m so excited because I found an eSim card for my phone that will last for a month and the cost is a fraction of what I would otherwise be paying.  By way of comparison, instead of $60 for a month with the online options I was considering, I get this one for around $7.  I like that.  We also grabbed a few groceries back in our neighborhood and had sliced chicken (or at least that is what we think it was) and cheddar cheese sandwiches in the apartment for dinner.

Wednesday started with a workout along the Tuul River south of the city.  We took a bus down to the area and then ran the four miles on the trail along the river.  It was fantastic. Unfortunately, there has been a lot of rain in the area and the river is very high, causing flooding in some parts outside of Ulaanbaatar.  Hopefully, there will be a break from that and allow the river level to go down.

We took the bus back toward the center and Sandy had seen an American diner a couple of days before that we wanted to try.  It is called Miusa American Diner and it is very clearly owned by an American.  It felt very “at home” for us.  We had eggs, pancakes, and French toast. They have a small shop as well that sells products from the USA.  Very fun spot.  The server/chef asked me if I had suggestions to improve the quality of the food. I told him everything was great, but they needed to get true buffalo chicken wings on the menu. 😊

After getting some things done at the apartment, we walked a few minutes to the Modern Nomads location by our apartment.  This is a restaurant group with multiple locations throughout the city and they have a huge menu of traditional Mongolian dishes. We dove right in with the drinks and the main course.  How did it all taste?  The entrée was delicious.  The red bilberry drink was better than the one with sour curd, but they were both ok.

In the picture with the drinks, there are four ankle bones.  These are typically from sheep or goats, and they are used for a variety of games in Mongolia.  One example is rolling the four bones like dice and the way they land will dictate the number of points you get.

Thursday was laundry day.  Not only did Sandy get all of the laundry done, but we also went to the gym and got our workout in.  Sandy did some research on one of our future destinations after Mongolia.  We had spaghetti at home in the apartment with garlic toast, where I put about three times the amount of garlic that I should have.  No fear of vampires on this night. 

Here is an interesting thing we learned today.  We’ve noticed how cars pack parking lots full – they use the lined spaces but then every place where you would normally drive in the lot, they park as well.  This is their process – in the picture below, find the white car on the right all the way at the front of the row.  Each car has the owner’s phone number in the window.  When that white car needs to leave, they would need to call every car’s owner who is parked behind them to back out and let that white car out.  We’ve watched this process play out several times from the windows of our apartment and it is absolute entertainment – for us.  I guess they are just used to this process, but I can’t believe that is how it works.  It is time-consuming for all involved.  The people who are trying to leave and the people who must move their cars for people to leave.  I guess it’s a function of not having enough space in this city for how large it has grown.

Friday meant Sandy Starbucks time.  As there are no Starbucks in Mongolia, we went back to the coffee shop at the Chinggis Khan Museum and this week, they had hot chocolate for me – one of the better hot chocolates I have had.  Sandy had her chai latte.

Our plan was then to go to the National Museum and the Modern Art Museum, but it turned out that they were closed for election day.  Yep – today is election day in Mongolia.  And it’s an interesting one.  The Mongolia People’s Party has been in power for a very long time and there was considerable protest a couple of years ago that resulted in changes for this election.  They are expanding the size of parliament considerably and there are over a thousand candidates from across the country in over 20 different political parties.  Candidates are only allowed to campaign during the two-week period leading up to the election.  It’s interesting to learn about given the context of our own situation in the USA. They are trying hard to get multi-party representation in parliament and it will be interesting to see how things play out.  We’ll hit the museums a different day.

We had lunch at what’s become a regular spot for us – Greeno Café and headed back to the apartment.  Sandy worked more on travel planning while I started a video course on the Mongolian Empire.  This is my first time watching one of the series from the Great Courses catalog and I am impressed.  Another bonus – it’s available through Hoopla (a benefit of the Manatee County Library) so there is no cost.  However, there is a limit to what you can borrow each month so it will take me a while to finish the course or maybe I will buy some individual episodes.  We shall see. For the evening, we went to the Tumen Ekh National Song and Dance Ensemble.  It was moved to a different location inside the National Amusement Park because the normal place is a voting precinct.  What a show!  It’s a combination of traditional song, dance, performance, and beautiful videos from around the country.  There were so many highlights from the show, but we would both call out the throat singing and the archery/contortionist performances.  But really, it was all fantastic and very well-paced.

After the show, we walked to #Hashtag Beer and Cheese because they have wings on the menu.  And we scored.  I hadn’t had wings since Cologne Germany (early April) and so I was thrilled to find some.  And they were very good.  Not exactly buffalo style hot sauce, but not too far from it – just a little sweeter.  They were out of beer so I had a chocolate shake instead. Sandy enjoyed a burger and then we headed home.  We’ve started watching Amazing Race and Cheers to wind down our days.

Yesterday, we were able to enjoy the two museums.  The National Museum was a chronological journey through Mongolia’s history.  They have a ger on display, which was fun to see.  And we both really enjoyed the displays on the history while a part of the Soviet bloc and then the movement in 1990 away from communism.  They’ve done a great job with their museums here.  Before heading over to the Modern Art Gallery, we shared a pizza at Pizza Hut.  Neither of us can remember the last time we had pizza at Pizza Hut, but it was surprisingly good.

The Modern Art Gallery had two floors of exhibit space and included some really neat pieces.

Our plan was to go to a karaoke bar last night but they were all closed.  We weren’t sure why but when we got to the restaurant where we decided to eat (Tores Spanish and Mexican), we discovered the reason.  And we also realized that last night’s restaurant was not out of beer.  The mayor of Ulaanbaatar ordered there to be no alcohol sales the day before the election, the day of the election, and the day after the election.  There you have it.  Who wants to do karaoke if there is no alcohol??  After chicken burritos and thoughts to probably go back because we think they may have a familiar version of a margarita, we had a nice walk home.

Today, we enjoyed brunch at the bakery across the street called Jur Ur.  I had a croissant sandwich and chocolate cake while Sandy had sweet bread and carrot cake and then we went over to the grocery store to get some food for the week.

There is a boxing tournament taking place in Sukhbaatar Square for the next few days.  We went to watch some of it, but there weren’t any matches taking place.  There were a lot of announcements and awards for dignitaries, but no boxing.  We left to go to the cinema at Shangri-la Center.  We got tickets to see A Quiet Place: Day One.  We’re not big scary movie or sci-fi fans, but we’ve gravitated to these movies and we liked this one, too.

After the movie, we had dinner overlooking the city skyline at Agartha Restaurant inside the mall.  We both had salmon and Chinggis beers and then we headed home to watch the I Am Celine Dion documentary.