For starters, neg means one in Mongolian. After being in Ulaanbaatar (UB) for one week, I am starting to feel pretty comfortable. I have moved into a private room at the Steppe Guest House. The guest house is across the street from the central post office, next to the Russian embassy and right on the southwest corner of Sukbaatar Square (which translated means axe-wielding hero square). The square is at the center of the city and it has the Parliament building, the state opera, a museum and a larger than life statue of Chengis Khan (yes its Chengis not Ghengis and don't be caught mis-pronouncing that in front of Mongolians or the they'll send the horde after you).
The guest house is very comfortable and it has everything you could need, including a tv, shower, laundry service, fully equipped kitchen, and the occasional peace corps volunteer to hang out with when your bored. The landlady, Natsaga, is probably the nicest person in UB. She loves foreigners and she and her aunt clean regularly and occasionally make food for the guests. I highly recommend this place.
There is lots of stuff to do in UB. The city has lots of restaurants, bars and clubs. My second night here I went to BD's Mongolian BBQ on Seoul Street near the circus. I went with everyone from the bank and the occasion served as a goodbye dinner for the two departing interns and a welcome dinner for me. The restaurant is "make your own stir fry," all you can eat for 15,000 tugriks, and if you get your ingredients right it can be really really good. Unfortunately, this restaurant is an American chain from the South, which legitimized its name by opening a restaurant in downtown UB, so its not real Mongolian food by any means. But its some of the best tasting food I have had here.
The following night I went to Ikh Mongol, a restaurant off of Seoul Street next to the circus. There I met a few Canadian travelers, a guy from Montana studying goats for National Geographic, some American banjo player who is living in UB so she could learn to play the morin khuur, a traditional Mongolian bowed string instrument...she also brought her Mongolian friend with her. I also met a young Mongolian guy who recently graduated in economics and poli sci from Hunter College in New York City and his neighbor, a girl from Minneapolis who is a full bright scholar filming a music documentary for MTV. So it was a motley crew and they were all at this restaurant to see Altan Urag, a Mongolian rock band that combines traditional Mongolian wind and string instruments with a rock and roll drum beat. They were pretty impressive, especially the throat singing. The video that I will link doesn't give them justice, but it will give you an idea of what the instruments are like.
Now to the food. I got a pizza, which was pretty good. But the chef at this restaurant is German, so their Weisswurst is supposedly the best on thing on the menu. Next time I go, I will probably get that.
That's it for now...more to come later.
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| Chengis Khan! |
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| View of parliament building and the square on my way to work |
There is lots of stuff to do in UB. The city has lots of restaurants, bars and clubs. My second night here I went to BD's Mongolian BBQ on Seoul Street near the circus. I went with everyone from the bank and the occasion served as a goodbye dinner for the two departing interns and a welcome dinner for me. The restaurant is "make your own stir fry," all you can eat for 15,000 tugriks, and if you get your ingredients right it can be really really good. Unfortunately, this restaurant is an American chain from the South, which legitimized its name by opening a restaurant in downtown UB, so its not real Mongolian food by any means. But its some of the best tasting food I have had here.
The following night I went to Ikh Mongol, a restaurant off of Seoul Street next to the circus. There I met a few Canadian travelers, a guy from Montana studying goats for National Geographic, some American banjo player who is living in UB so she could learn to play the morin khuur, a traditional Mongolian bowed string instrument...she also brought her Mongolian friend with her. I also met a young Mongolian guy who recently graduated in economics and poli sci from Hunter College in New York City and his neighbor, a girl from Minneapolis who is a full bright scholar filming a music documentary for MTV. So it was a motley crew and they were all at this restaurant to see Altan Urag, a Mongolian rock band that combines traditional Mongolian wind and string instruments with a rock and roll drum beat. They were pretty impressive, especially the throat singing. The video that I will link doesn't give them justice, but it will give you an idea of what the instruments are like.
Now to the food. I got a pizza, which was pretty good. But the chef at this restaurant is German, so their Weisswurst is supposedly the best on thing on the menu. Next time I go, I will probably get that.
That's it for now...more to come later.
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