MONGOLIA
DAY ONE
To get to Mongolia from the US, you have to have a layover. The layovers are usually in Seoul, Beijing, Moscow, or Istanbul. Many people land in one of those 4 cities and then take the train to Mongolia. You do not need a visa if you are visiting for less than 90 days, but you must have a valid passport. When packing for Mongolia, make sure to bring breathable and clothes for the warm weather. The climate in Mongolia is high, cold, and dry, with the average summer temperature being 50° to 80 °F, and the winter being 32 °F.
The place I decided to stay in Mongolia was a Ger in Ulaanbaatar. This place is a collection of gers, each acting as a different room in a house. You share the living room, kitchen, and bathroom with your host, Oyuntsetseg. It costs $68 USD a night, but since Mongolia uses the Mongolian Tugrik (MNT ₮), it cost 231,018.54 ₮ a night. I spent 2 nights, so it ended up being 461,956.05 ₮. Oyuntsetseg accompanies her guests to the markets and into town, and she even makes you food. People said that Oyuntsetseg was very nice, but it was difficult to talk to her because she mainly spoke Khalkha Mongolian (main language of Mongolia), and not a lot of English.
After settling into my ger, Oyuntsetseg said she had to make me food, so she made me the cuisine that Mongolia is known for. Buuz. Buuz is a Tibetan-style dumpling. Inside the dumpling is either minced lamb, mutton, or beef, and it is flavored with onion or garlic. Some people make it with sprouted fennel seeds as well. Oyuntsetseg made my buuz with mutton inside, since that is her specialty. The buuz was served with rice and cabbage. For dessert, Oyuntsetseg makes her guests Boortsog which is a fried dough pastry, and it is the most common cookie in Mongolia.
Since I was in the capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, I could do a lot of things. Ulaanbaatar has a population of 1.5 million, which is about half of Mongolia's population of 3.3 million. My ger was only an hour train ride away from the main city of Ulaanbaatar.
The first thing I did in Mongolia was visit The Fine Arts Zanabazar Musuem. Admissions for the museum is 15,000 ₮ ($4.43). Their upcoming exhibition is “Airag Feast” which is named after a painting made in 1995, originally painted by B. Sharav and about the resolutions of the Mongolian government. The exhibition features the actual painting, along with photographs, 2D animation, and other paintings are influenced by the original piece of art.
After visiting the museum, I went to Genghis Statue & Gorkhi-Terelj National Park with Oyuntsetseg. The reasoning behind the statue of Genghis Khan is because Mongolians recognize him as their founding father, and without him, Mongolia would not exist. His statue is 130 feet tall and made of stainless steel. The statue points east towards his birthplace. You can go inside the horse that Genghis Khan is riding in the statue. Nearby the statue is Gorkhi-Terelj National Park. The highest point in the park is Avkhan Mountain which is 2664 meters tall.
DAY TWO
In Mongolia, Buddhism is the majority religion, with 51.7% of their population practicing. Their second-biggest group is nonreligious people, that percentage being 40.6%. And finally, their third biggest is Islam, with a percentage of 3.2%. Buddhism first arrived in Mongolia in the 2nd century BC, but it became widespread in the 16th century.
I decided to look at Buddhist temples in Ulaanbaatar today. I stopped at Gandantegchinlen Monastery. The temple was founded in 1809, and between 1944 and 1989, it was the only active monastery in Mongolia. Today it is the center of Buddhism in Mongolia, there are more than 100 resident monks. In the temple, there is an 85-foot statue of Avalokiteśvara (who is a tenth-level bodhisattva) made of gilded bronze. The name Gandantegchinlen is a Tibetan word for “complete rejoicing.”
After the temple, I went to Lake Khövsgöl, which is the largest freshwater lake in Mongolia based on volume. Second-largest by ares after Uvs Lake. I had to fly in from Ulaanbaartar to Mörön to get to the lake. The lake is named Huvsgul in English texts, and Далай ээж in Mongolian text, which means 'Ocean Mother.' The lake is 5,397 feet above sea leave, 85 miles long, and 860 feet deep. Lake Khövsgöl holds 70% of the freshwater of Mongolia, and 0.4% of the freshwater in the world. I don't know if that is a large amount or not. You can get a tour of the lake, but only if you were staying at one of the cabins or gers located along the water. The water is very calm, so many people like to go sailing or kayaking. There is a good deal of wildlife around Lake Khövsgöl, including, ibex, argali, elk, wolf, wolverine, musk deer, brown bear, Siberian moose, and sable.
DAY THREE
I am leaving Mongolia today. I enjoyed my time here. Mongolia is full of culture and beautiful scenery. I also loved Oyuntsetseg and I will forever miss her. I am glad that Mongolia isn't like a super touristy place, so I didn't have to go to all these little stupid shops with expensive stuff. The climate here was amazing, it was like Minnesota but better. Let's see if the Philippines competes with this amazing experience.
