We decided to see another one of the traditional performances (similar to Tumen Ekh a couple of weeks ago).  This one is called Melody of Steppes and it was one of our stranger experiences.  We spent the day relaxing at the apartment and then walked to the Ulaanbaatar Theater (20 minutes) for the performance that is scheduled for everyday at 5pm. On arrival at 4:30, we could hear some warming up of the musicians and we only saw a security guard when we walked in.  He indicated to come back at 5.

We walked a block and grabbed one of the ubiquitous small soft serve ice cream cones – these little stands are all over the city and they cost about 60 cents. We went back to the theater a few minutes before 5 and a woman came out to get us and took us inside the theater and put us in seats right in the center of the theater.  She indicated the cost (it was around $15 each) and we paid her.  We sat for a few minutes and then all of a sudden, the lights went out, the curtain rose, and the musicians started.  Remember – we are the only ones in the theater. We could not tell if they were rehearsing or if it was the actual show.  There were posters outside saying the performance was every day at 6pm, which conflicted with the 5pm start time we saw online.  It didn’t take long until we realized this was the actual show and we just happened to be the only people who came. It was a really confusing experience for the first 10-20 minutes and then it was just weird the rest of the time to be the only people there (other than the technicians and performers).  The performance was a little under an hour, however the description indicated it was 70 minutes. We liked Tumen Ekh better, but this was still good and we are glad to have seen it.

After the show, we walked to Veranda for dinner.  I had gnocchi and Sandy had chicken and mushroom pasta.  We enjoyed a couple of glasses of merlot and then had lava cake and a chocolate mousse cake for dessert.  It was a delicious meal.