Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Ulaanbaatar (U.B.)

I had been to Ulaanbaatar in February of 2004 where it was 20 degrees below zero. This time, May, it was 60 degrees above.  The day I arrived, many of the young people were wearing shorts and tee shirts due to the summer like weather.

The Great Khan - Chinggis Khan. ( The Mongolians prefer this spelling )  Chinggis lived from approximately 1162 - 1227.  His armies conquered Asia and at one point they were at the gates of Vienna, anticipating that Europe would soon be their next conquest.

The gateway to the Khan monument.

The great man himself.

Somehow the monument looks better in this photo.

Inside the monument are two museums and displays such as this.  The boot, as they proudly point out, is the largest boot in the world. Also shown is the Khan's horse whip.

For Mongols, finding a horse whip was the sign of great luck, Chinggis  found such a whip before his first great battle and as they say the rest was history.

Right below the monument was a gher camp. The gher is the Mongol traditional house, actually a large tent. It could be broken down and put on the back of a mule or horse to allow the ancient Mongols to continue their nomad ways.

These camps are used by the many tourists who have recently "discovered" Mongolia.  I met a couple,  in their late sixties,  part of a two bus convoy of folks in their late sixties, , who would stay at three different gher camps over their two week stay in different parts of the country.

Many Mongolians, outside the city,  now live in actual houses but still keep a gher next to the house.

Not all tourists were ready for the two week immersion trip into Mongolian culture. Like me, this guy was there for a day trip.

These tourists were on their way to the monument also and stopped to take photos.

Inside the city, Mongolians live in apartment houses and condos.  There are many new and  beautiful buildings in UB but I did not get a chance to photo in the newer part of the city. The reason: terrible traffic jams  that can turn a fifteen minute trip into a forty-five minute one.  Many new cars and new road construction to handle the increase cause  the problem.

Beijing, China

We had been to Beijing before and had seen the major tourist attractions. But. one Saturday, we decided to join ten thousand Chinese and foreign tourists at the Forbidden City and Tiananman Square.

The entrance to the Forbidden City is lovely but nowhere near the grandeur inside the city itself.

Here is a foreign tourist who has just realized how many people "ten thousand people"  are who then opted to stay on the outside of the attractions.

Like all communist capital cities, Beijing had a huge square where parades and power displays could take place. But unlike other countries, the square was constructed in the mid 1600's and later, 1950, expanded to be used for government events.

We walked the streets of an old type neighborhood known as a hutong. The area has narrow streets and lanes where people have lived for centuries.

The entrance to the neighborhood.

The rickshaw was a popular way to get around town.  Many were used by the tourists but we noticed the local folks using them also.

In the middle of this particular hutong was a lake with paddle boats.

My favorite sign : no cars, no motorbikes, no rickshaws.  Unfortunately, it was only for one street leaving the rest of the streets open to crazy motorbike riders, in a hurry rickshaw drivers and cars too big for the street.

Home away from home : our favorite hotel.

The Marriott Hotel

In addition to famous markets -the Pearl Market and the Silk Market is this one where you can buy pearls, silks, watches, clothes at reduced prices.  Usually, the merchant starts off high and the tourist offers half that price which they readily take.   Medi would offer 10 % and start to walk away.   A shop owners, putting our purchase in the bag,  told me "Your wife is an excellent bargainer but she breaks my heart with her small offer."

A hotel guest and heart breaker returns to the  hotel,  satisfied with her travels and her shopping.

Seoul, Korea

We enjoyed Seoul and the mixture of the old and the new.  Mostly, Seoul is "the new" with many modern skyscrapers and elegant shopping centers.

Fortunately, Seoul has kept "the old" and has drawn the line of what can be torn down and what had to stay.

Just a half  block down from the palace, previous photo, is this modern building.

Walking along the modern streets, you would come  to structures like this.

I think there were 7/11 s in most countries in Asia.  Down the block was a Starbucks, also ubiquitous in Asia,

On the week we where there, there was a special holiday where lanterns played a great role.

 Dividing a major downtown street is a plaza  where statues of Korean heroes were placed.