Mongolia, you were amazing! 5 days in the most sparsely populated country on earth
Me and my girlfriend spent 5 days in the beautiful country of Mongolia, which served as a brief but sufficient introduction to what the country has to offer: unique history, the nomadic way of life, splendid nature, remarkable architecture and incredible hospitality. That’s why we hope to return soon, this vast and sparsely populated country definitely deserves a more thorough exploration. We both live and work in China with frequent and cheap (less than 100euros) flights to Ulaanbaatar, otherwise a trip this short wouldn’t be viable.
We flew from Shanghai to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's capital and spent the first two days there.
Day 1+2: Ulaanbaatar
Ulaanbaatar is notorious for a multitude of reasons. Firstly, it's known for its horrible traffic (a result from its location-a long and narrow valley with only a few ways in/out of the city center). That reputation seems to be correct: the 55km-long drive from Djenghis Khan international airport to the centrally located Sükhbaatar square took us a little over three hours. Secondly, it's often referred to as "the most polluted city on earth". This can be attributed to a combination of its narrow valley-setting and the fact that that most of the dwellings still lack central heating, forcing the inhabitants to burn coal and wood in small stoves. The majority of Ulaanbaatar's residents live in so-called "ger districts". These neighborhoods, named after the traditional Mongolian tents (similar to the central asian yurts), all started as informal tent settlements and are incorporated into the city proper to a varying degree. Some of the tents have been replaced by more sturdy-looking and comfortable wooden cabins, though even then there'll be a ger sitting in the backyard (which still house one (or more) essential function(s), like the kitchen.) It's actually not surprising the city grew in such an organic way since the Mongolian constitution explicitly allocates one plot of land to each Mongolian family on a "first come first serve"- basis.
Anyway, after making our way to the city center we still had an almost full day of exploring ahead of us (thanks morning flight!). We started at Sükhbaatar square with its famous Djenghis Khan statue, and found it to be full of elderly Mongolians dressed in traditional attire. It's quite literally the epicentre of the modern Mongolian society (the parliament, major museums, national university,... are all nearby) and is often the stage for celebrations.
Afterwards we went for a meal at Shulundu, which got recomended to us as a “must-try" by a Mongolian redditor. It's jokingly referred to as "the Mongolian McDonald’s" and serves a simple (and cheap!) version of traditional dishes at its 8 city-wide locations. I'm not sure what i exactly ordered but it was tasty nonetheless (as proven by the fact that we kept going back for more). We also went to the offbeat Daischolin monastery nearby. Most Mongolians are followers of Tibetan buddhism but this monastery looked nothing like the ones in India or China: a couple of oversized ger-/yurt-like structures, all painted brightly yellow and adorned with traditional motives. The adjacent modern building houses an oversized buddhist statue, apparently one of the biggest in the world.
We also went to the national museum, an old-fashioned and informative affair that covered all things Mongolian (from traditional attire of the various regions, architecture, how Mongolia almost became part of the USSR because of an arranged marriage between the Mongolian prime minister and a Muscovite lady, the equipment of the first Mongol astronaut,...). We ended the day by walking around one of the cities informal ger districts, witnessing the eclectic mix of small wooden cabins and traditional tents as the sun set was a wildly unique experience.
The next day was spent on the Mongolian national art gallery, the Bogd Khan palace museum and Gandan monastery. The national art gallery proved to be dissapointing as only a small collection of modern art, some kind of joint venture between Mongolian and South Korean artists, was on display. Sadly no sign of the prominent "permanent" collection. The Bogd Khan palace is the former residence and winter palace of the last “Mongol emperor” (who was actually of Tibetan descent and born in Lhasa- the connections between Tibet and Mgolia seem to run deep). The complex, built at the end of the 19th- century, is an interesting mix of styles (some of the temples are Chinese in style, otherd Tibetan while the living quarters are almost European, Tsarist). It provided an interesting insight into the life of the Bogd Khan, with Tibetan buddhist art on display and the interior of the living quarters almost fully intact (bed of the emperor, official portraits, all kinds of furniture, crown of the imperial elephant-yes, there was an elephant brought all the way from Russia living in the harsh steppe climate). Last stop of the our second and final day in Ulaanbaatar was Gandan monastery, with 600 residing monks the biggest monastery and spiritual heart of the country. There are a couple of halls, though it's still a relatively small-scale affair.
Day 3: Шатанга and surroundings
On the third day we took the train to Шатанга (Shatanga), a small settlement only accesible by rail. Despite the fact that it's only 120km north of Ulaanbaatar, Shatanga felt like a totally different world (perhaps because it took us four hours to get there- resulting in a feeling that we travelled a far longer distance?). The picturesque hamlet is situated in a forested valley and consists of a couple of small wooden cabins at each side of a river, in which children and horses were bathing. It all felt very rustic, back-to-the-basics and even kind of primitive in an idyllic way. We arrived around noon and planned to hike over the hills to the next train station, aptly named "290-km", from which we would take the 9pm-train to Darkhan. The following hours were spent horseriding (after being invited to do so by a local horseowner) and swimming in the river with the local children, who warned us about the presence of bears.
We then traversed over the hills unto the next village and railway station, which seemed an even smaller and more rural affair compared to Shatanga: the homes were dirt-roofed and less well-kept, the railway station only equipped with a short wobbly wooden walkway as the platform. The temperature dropped considerably after sunset so the both of us were relieved with the sight of our train approaching.
Day 4: Darkhan+ Amarbayasgalant monastery
At 2 in the morning, after spending five hours or so on the train, we finally arrived in Darkhan. Darkhan, with 70,000 inhabitants the third-biggest urban centre in the whole of Mongolia, was only founded in the 1960's with considerable financial backing and logistical help of the USSR. Meant to be a an industrial manufacturing hub, its urban core dominated by 5-story commie blocks felt rather drab and lifeless. No gers or colourful cabins here.
After exiting the railway station building we were immediately greeted by a communist-era mural titled "Welcome to Darkhan" and a neon-lit hotel sign. Initially we planned to rough it out for one night and depart early in the morning to our next destination, Amarbayasgalant monastery, but couldn't help but feel tempted by the welcoming hotel sign. After being greeted warmly by the owner (does this man ever sleep?) we ended up spending the night in the hotel.
The next morning the plan was as follows: take a bus with Erdenet, Mongolia's second biggest city, as end destination and ask the driver to be dropped off somewhere in-between Darkhan and Erdenet. From there we would try to hitchike across the grassland towards Amarbayasgalant monastery. Unfortunately there didn't seem to be any scheduled departures that day so we decided to hitchike the whole way. Mongolia is said to be the easiest country to hitchike, which luckily seemed to be true since the first passing car gave us a ride. Mongolians tend to not leave any travelers stranded because of the desolate and unforgiving nature of the Mongolian landscape. It was our first time hitchiking and our driver immediately refused our offer to pay for the fuel, which felt awkward. Our luck dwindled after being dropped off though: few cars turned off towards Amarbayasgalant monastery, and the ones that did were already filled to the brim. Two hours passed until a father with his three children decided to take us with him. After driving for 35km over a "road" that ranged from a single dirt track to simply grass, the landscape opened up and we arrived in some sort of wide valley surrounded by low hills at all sides. And there it was: Amarbayasgalant monastery. A remote 17th- century UNESCO world heritage site, surrounded by high-altitude grasslands and a small nomadic settlement at its base. Nothing around except for the grazing cow, sheep and horses. Truly breathtaking and one of the most incredible sights i've ever seen. Our “driver" took us to his family, who lived in a couple of tents grouped together. We were immediately invited inside by his wife and older relatives, who frantically started cooking some egg-dish for us. They also allowed us to replenish our bottles with water that came straight out of a barrel. The wife then made a couple of calls to a fellow nomadic dweller, who let us sleep in her spare tent free of charge. Our Ger was the one closest to the monastery, almost touching its outer walls, which made the experience all the more special. Life here seemed harsh: herding the sheep all day long, zero creature comforts, water out of a barrel, no indoor plumbing, outhouses as toilets,... When i asked our host about this she firmly ensured us that life here is fulfilling in its own way and that only 20% of the people outside of the capital have access to modern toilets anyway, with the majority of them limited to provincial capitals. After settling down in our tent we decided to explore the monastery and watch the sunset from the stupa on the nearby hilltop afterwards. Except for a couple of monks we were the only ones there, having a place so unique and unspoilt all to ourselves felt very special. This is unfortunately bound to change with the construction of a new paved road. The monastery felt authentic in the sense that it was still clearly used as intended by the monks on a daily base. It's also not a reconstruction/renovated pastiche, with grass covering the roofs... I liked those little unkempt touches! In other countries those temples are often polished to the extreme, not in Mongolia! The main monastic halls officially close at five, though the monks will open them when asked, allowing us a sneak peek inside. allowing us to have a sneak peek. We were not alone at all times though: a local herd dog accompanied us to the hilltop stupa, from where the three of us watched the sun set.
After stargazing for a little while we went to sleep in our ger, took a succesfull lift straight back to the capital the next morning (roughly 300km, we were very lucky to meet a young couple who was also headed that way) and hopped on the evening train to Hohhot, the capital of China's Inner Mongolia province. We arrived the next evening after a gruelling 28hour-long journey and continued our way to Xining, the starting point of our roadtrip through the culturally Tibetan parts of Qinghai and Sichuan.
We can’t wait to return and recommend Mongolia wholeheartedly!
Feel free to ask any questions:)