Trans-Siberia Train - Mongolia

September 19 to October 11, 2001

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September 26, 2001 – Ulan Bator

We checked into the Edelweiss Hotel in Ulan Bator. The hot dusty train ride warranted a cold Mongolian(?) beer and a shower! Then off we were to see the city. What a city it is. It really is a mix of Soviet and Chinese cultures. Fashionably attired attractive women, others wearing traditional Mongolian garb, the big gray non-descript Soviet-style architecture at the centre of the city surrounded by worn old office buildings. In the country most people still live in the traditional 'ger' tents. I saw foreign embassies burning their garbage in their front yards, and everywhere on the street there were OPEN MANHOLES! At night, when the streetlights were not working, we had to be careful not to step into the open manholes.