Patamateria

19th April – Next leg of the journey – to Ulaan Baator

At 9pm we were off, back to the station, down the steps, up the steps and onto the train. This time we had lovely Mongolian attendants who were friendly and helpful. It made such a difference – as did the cool temperature on board.

Well, a reasonable night’s sleep, then the usual activity on board: photographing out of dirty windows..! There was no dining car this time so we were confined to our compartments – not so bad for such a short journey. We’d been warned that the border crossing could take hours, but personally I didn’t expect 5 hours at the Russian border (the first three of which we sat in the station and no one appeared….lunchtime?) followed by another two hours 17 kilometers down the line at the first Mongolian station on the line. One of the highlights of the Russian border crossing was the female officer in mini skirt and killer heels; and another was the sniffer dog they brought on the train – a poodle! There was a lot of knocking on compartment walls and unscrewing wall panels in the corridors – and lifting the carpet and opening up a floor cavity – before we were finally allowed to get on with the journey. And all this time, no photos allowed. At least not on the Russian side.

After the stifling heat of sitting at border stations, we now had paralysing cold when we tried to sleep. I ended up getting fully dressed and making coffee in the early hours. The samovar was still bubbling away! We finally arrived in Ulaan Baator at about 6am, were met by lovely hostel owners – the Golden Gobi hostel – and taken there, given breakfast, showers and a bed to relax on, before the tour which they’d arranged to a local monastery. They really were the best hosts! While I showered, behind a simple curtain at the foot of the stairs, with a shower missing its showerhead, one of the family who run the hostel asked if all was OK. I replied that there wasn’t a showerhead but I was doing fine with the hose, whereupon she asked if she could see…I replied I was showering! and she commented: ‘I’m a woman too,’ before walking staright in. What can you say!

So this is the fabled Ulaan Baator!
Land of Biggles’ adventures! Now I’m showing my age…for those that don’t know, Biggles was a pilot – I think in the first World War – who had adventures all over the globe. One book I remember reading was ‘Biggles in the Gobi Desert’ or something similar. It fired my imagination and I always thought the Gobi and Mongolia were places I’d never get to – so far off the beaten track as to be virtually impossible. But here I am!

Our tour to the local monastery – a beautiful spot, with traditionally decorated buildings and temples, people worshipping, boys chanting in the temple, monks scurrying to and fro, pickpockets doing their business, children selling seed for the pigeons. We had a very good guide who answered all our questions and made sure we got the best out of the experience. We saw a magnificent golden Buddha and the best, most complex Mandala I have ever seen. I can see what sort of influence Buddhism has had on the Buryat people who moved north from Mongolia to Russia – mixing their faith with a helping of more pagan shamanism.

After the monastery, we spent some time in Suhbaatar Square with its massive statue of Ghenghis Khan dominating the area. While we were there, we witnessed a peaceful demonstration of nomadic Mongolians, complete with their Gers and horses, raising awareness of the lack of government support given to the nomadic people who provide the entire population with all their meat and dairy products. Apart from banners and flags, they did not proclaim their case, remaining dignified and proud. They would stand around in small groups, talking earnestly; a few policemen stood at the perimeter, but also looked peacable and friendly.

The day ended with lunch in a nice restaurant, a bit of shopping in a tourist shop and then in the State Department store near the hostel, and another meal in the Green Olive. I’m amazed that I can get food in a country I was told was all mutton – but apparently they ship in all their vegetables from China or Russia. Nothing grows in the sandy, fine dust of Mongolia. Just grass and crocuses as we found out the next day at the Ger in Terelj National Park.