The capital, Ulaanbaatar was freezing, contained one unfinished skyscraper (the funding ran out before it was completed) and several statues of Chinggis Khaan. We ate horse, slept in a ger, made buuz (traditional dumplings), shopped in The State Department Store, lingered in Gandantegchinlen Khiid monastery, listened to Mongolian throat singing, visited an orphanage and wandered around in -9° temperatures.
In 2010 there was a terrible drought in Mongolia so nomadic families who had lost all of their live stock (the skeletons lined the railway track) set up their gers on the outskirts of the city to try to find work. It was an interesting contrast with the concrete and brick houses next to the tradition round ger.
The highlight for me was visiting the Natural History Museum. Not only did it contain the dinosaurs found in the Gobi Desert but it also had the most interesting taxidermy with plastic goggle eyes stuck on some animals!
Next time I would like to find the worlds largest Chinggis Khaan statue. I don't know how we missed it the first time!
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