Ulaanbatar

After a good nights sleep and a nice breakfast , we struck out to explore the largest city in Mongolia on foot.  At slightly over a million people, this is not like tackling NYC or even Dallas.

Our first stop was to take care of gifts for loved ones back home. Spoiler alert: if you normally get a present from me between now and Christmas, I hope you like cashmere.  Much better than a key chain, the cashmere made from the Mongolian goats (it can also be made from yak and camel) is beautiful and soft and probably will be a favorite of our families.  

After a leisurely lunch of Italian which seems to be a universal food, we went to the State Department Store.  Think of a multistory Macy's and you'll have a pretty good picture of our shopping experience. School starts on September 1st so it was packed with back to school shoppers. The store had everything you might need from clothes to camping gear, books to groceries.

On our stroll back we went into the Zanabazar Museum which houses historical art mainly from the Buddhist period.  It was all very zen with bronze Buddhas and temple rubbings with a few weapons thrown in for good measure.

Crossing the Chenggis Khaan square, the main square of the city, we saw people enjoying their final days of summer.  Children rode power wheel cars while parents filmed them on their phones.  Others roller skated and skate boarded in the wide open space.  Some just sat holding hands as the sun set, not unlike a scene we might find at our local park.

Our second day in the city found a little rainier weather so  we visited the Temple Museum.  This former Buddhist Temple has been converted to a museum where you can wonder around the former temple to get an idea what it was like before the communist rule ended Buddhism in Mongolia.  You can tell that at one time it was quite a beautiful complex.  It still is quite interesting.

The rain brought the umbrellas out in Chinggas Khaan square.  Gone were the children from yesterday, replaced by business people hurrying to their jobs.

Tonight we met up with the rest of the group.  Everyone's a little tired from travel, but it seems like a group we'll enjoy.

Tomorrow: Out to the Gobi Desert