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| Ulaanbaatar view from Zaisan |
Recently, my archaeological teacher and friend went to Ulaanbaatar
to attend a conference. It’s cruel enough to tease me who can’t leave my job
behind. Moreover, they keep posting Mongolian pictures on Facebook! Oh I miss
their food and weather soooooo much!
I’m still a bit sad about that I can’t get a Mongolian job
immediately after I finish the former job in May. But getting this current job
is also quite lucky. When I heard the currency these days (TWD:MNT=1:60), I’m
shocked. When the time I stayed in UB (2011-2012), it was 1:40; last year when
I visited, it was 1:50. Now what! Might next year become 1:70? If so, it’d be
not so worthy to work there. Furthermore, skipping the problem that the average
payment is low, the price to live in UB is actually quite high. I’m keeping an
eye on rents in UB, they’re normally around 300~500 USD/per single apartment.
Furthermore, because lack of local manufactures, Mongolia is depending on
import goods. And with the mass popularity and high rising crime, these made UB
not so comfortable for living.
But anyway, I just love Mongolia so much that I can endure all these
problems.
Back to our topic. Because my teacher and friends’ visit, made me
rethink this both small and big city. When they asked me to introduce some interesting
places or restaurants, I always saying what I’m thinking. But later I found
it’s not a good way to introduce a newbie to know UB. It’d better be a
point-list. That’s why this post appear.
It’s my “Knowing Ulaanbaatar for Dummies”. If you have other
thoughts, you’re welcomed to post a comment.
1.
Landing. Usually people first
arrive Mongolia by airplane. I know some would prefer trains. Actually that’s a
lot easier, because train station is far more nearer to downtown than airport.
So let’s just talk about airport transportations. There are 4 options: hotel’s
shuttle service, taxi, bus, and friend. Remember, it’s always easier to do
anything in Mongolia if you have a trustworthy friend. Just ignore their sense
of slow-flowing time, a nice Mongolian is very hospitality, friendly and
willing to help. But if you don’t have a friend to pick you up, and you want to
save money, your next choice would be buses. The bus station is on the left-side
street when you walk out of airport. There is no signal of bus stop, but you
will see bunch of people stand together. That’s the correct place. The bus you
need to go to downtown is number 22, takes about 40~60 min. When you see a very
big square and palace, you should get off. They’re Sukhbaatar Square (now
renamed to Chinggis Khan Square) and government building. Your hotel/hostel/guesthouse
should be somewhere nearby. Remember, always take good care of your luggage,
thieves are very active on buses. Hotel’s shuttle bus is always the most
expensive choice. But if you’re too lazy to bargain or worrying about your
luggage, it’s the best option. You could try to take a taxi too, just remember
to bargain a good price before you hop in. Most taxis in Mongolia are without
taxi licenses. They’re only normal cars. Don’t be afraid to get in.
2.
Currency. Mongolian currency
called “Tugrik”. TWD:MNT so far is about 1:60, USD:MNT=1:1,837.5 (2014). My
suggest is, when you arrive Ulaanbaatar, change some small among of money in
airport in order to get a transportation to downtown. Then go to 2nd
floor of Tsetseg Tuv, which is in the west side of Chinggis Khan Square, placed
on Peace Avenue. There’s a very big souvenir shop in the 1st floor.
They have better exchange rate.
3.
Landmark. Usually when you live
in Ulaanbaatar, the biggest landmarks should be the government building
alongside with Chinggis Khan Square, and State Department Store. These two
places are settled on the biggest street: Peace Avenue.
4.
Shopping. The biggest
supermarket chain in Mongolia is Nomin. There’s one inside State Department
Store, too. Most foreigners go there to buy supplies. If you’re interested in
traditional markets, there’s one near downtown. It’s called Bumbugur, which is
near Gandan Temple and Tengis Cinema, placed on Ikh Toiruu Street. There are
two building with 3, 4 floors, selling items for daily use, clothes, fresh meat
and vegetable, dairy products and almost everything. But if you want some
antiques or Mongolian traditional stuff, you better go to the biggest and most
famous market: Naran Tuul (Black Market). It’s also a spot for visitors just
hanging around. They’re selling Mongolian traditional clothes, carpets,
horse-riding equipment, antiques and even a whole Mongolian yurt with
furniture. But be careful of your personal belongings. There’re a lot thieves inside
markets.
5.
Eat. There’re actually quite
many choices to eat in Ulaanbaatar. Of course it can’t beat Taiwanese high
density of street snacks, but already enough. Because of the friendly relations
between Korea and Mongolia, there’re a lot Korean restaurants in Ulaanbaatar,
selling real Korean food and kimchi. If you want to try some Mongolian food, a
big restaurant chain Modern Nomads would be a good choice. They have English
menu and service, but the price would be not so friendly. Or you can try some bigger
restaurants near State Department Store, they will have English menu, but rare
people speak in English. For a cheaper option, there’s one that I like called
Sentosa, which is on a small alley in the east side of Chinggis Khan Square. It’s
like a food court, with Korean, Mongolian, Chinese stalls. They have pictures
of dishes, so you can just point to what you want. English is not used here.
And if you just want a homemade, easy dish, there’re a lot small restaurants on
every street. On the signboard you can see Khuushuur (Mongolian deep-fried pie),
Buuz (Mongolian steamed dumpling) or Bansh (Mongolian dumpling with soup). Almost
every dish in Mongolia contains meat (mutton or beef). Even if you see Nogoon
Shul (vegetable soup) on the menu, it just means that meat soup contains
vegetable (usually potato, carrot and onion). If you’re a vegan or don’t eat
mutton, a vegan restaurant chain Loving Hut is spreading across Ulaanbaatar. It’s
a restaurant chain held by The Supreme Master Ching Hai.
6.
Night Life. To be frankly,
there’s no such glamourous nightlife in Ulaanbaatar the capital. But thanks to
the big amount of foreigners, there’re still bars available. Ikh Mongol is one
of the oldest bar. It’s near State Department Store, next to the circus. They
have music performance almost every night. A new bar called MB+ is in the south
of Chinggis Khan Square. The building is all covered with glass, and the
signboard shines in the night. Their beer is one of the best in Ulaanbaatar.
There’re also some Irish bar and restaurants provide drinks in the night. There
is a special bar chain called Tse. They have many decors and paintings of Nazi.
It should be very rare to see around the world.
7.
Scenery Spot. Beside the two I’ve
mentioned above (Chinggis Khan Square and Black Market), Gandan Temple is a
must-seen spot. Mongolia follows Tibet, also worshiping Tibetan Buddhism. The
figures of Buddha looks very different from Taiwanese ones. The Buddha, the prayer
wheels and the temple square make a quiet and peaceful atmosphere. It makes you
feel nice even if you only sit somewhere outside. Zanabazar Museum is also settled
in downtown. Zanabazar is the 1st Mongolian incarnated lama. He was
also a very talented artist. This museum preserves many of his work, like
Thangka, paintings and carvings. Near Zanabazar Museum, there’re some of few
Mongolian cafés. Another must-seen museum is Choijin Lama Museum, which is in
the south of Chinggis Khan Square. It was first a temple, contains many wall
paintings and Buddha sculptures. Go a bit far to south, there’s Bogd Khan
Winter Palace Museum. Bogd Khan was the last emperor of Mongolia. It also
preserves many paintings, sculptures and stuff that Bogd Khan had used. Besides
historian or art collections, National Historian Museum and National Natural
Museum are two museums you have to visit if you want to know Mongolia in a day
or two. For outdoor lovers, in the south of city located the monument Zaisan.
It’s built to symbolize the friendship between Mongolians and Russians. It is
on a small hill. From which, you can overlook the whole Ulaanbaatar city.
8.
Souvenir. Souvenir shops
gathered on the street from Chinggis Khan Square to State Department Store.
There’re many choices, but here I want to recommend one fair-trade souvenir shop:
Mary & Martha. The owners of this shop are a British (?) mid-aged couple. Their
products are bought from Kazakh communities in western Mongolia. Their stuff is
a bit more expensive than others, but also better quality. You can know who
made your gift by reading a small card tagged on it. If you want some cheap and
small gifts, I usually go to the 1st floor of Bumbugur market. There’re
two or three stalls selling souvenirs. For example, a leather coin purse or a
small Mongolian yurt costs 3,000T, a small Mongolian doll key chain costs 2,000T.
They’re not very delicate, but are good for friends or children. If you need
something for friends who are interested in Buddhism, on the street in front of
Gandan Temple, there shops selling Buddhism stuff.
9.
Notice. In Ulaanbaatar, the
number of thieves is comparably high. Because of the concentration of
popularity, the inequality of wealth, and the lack of job opportunities,
thieves are very rampant. Take care of your belongings every second. Better to
put them inside your inner pocket. There’re some anti-Chinese complex among
Mongolians. Be careful not to talk too loud and stay low-key. Better to wear
lenses than glasses. Mongolians have good sights, if you wear glasses, around
50% you will be recognized as a Chinese.
