12/2/2012 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia TRANS SIBERIAN RAILWAY

After our sleepless night we made it to the hotel in Mongolia after changing money at the 24 hour bank on the way! We showered and relaxed for a few hours before our honcho took us to a delicious restaurant next to the hotel for lunch. It was a balmy -15 degrees (a lot warmer than we were expecting) and a clear blue sunny day (Mongolia has an average of 265 sunny days per year!).  After lunch we walked to the main square and saw the Genghis Kahn statue before heading up a nearby hill for views out over the city. Ulaanbaatar is a rapidly growing city with construction sites everywhere; it is surrounded by amazing snow covered hills and little ger camps in the outskirts of the city centre - spectacular to see from the lookout despite being freezing! We then explored some of the shops around the hotel before meeting the rest of the group for dinner at a nearby restaurant where we had more tasty Mongolian dishes and watched a traditional Mongolian band play with throat singing and all – awesome! After dinner we went to a karaoke bar – very big in Asia, before heading back to the hotel for sleep. 

The main square in Ulaanbaatar

The main square in Ulaanbaatar

The Genghis Kahn statue in the main square in Ulaanbaatar

Our honcho in front of the Genghis Kahn statue in the main square in Ulaanbaatar 

Buddha in the main square in Ulaanbaatar

Our group in front of the buddha statue in the main square in Ulaanbaatar : Chris, Anya, Martha, Ellie, Andrea, Susie, me and Sophia

The view of Ulaanbaatar from a viewing point on the outskirts of the city

The view of Ulaanbaatar from a viewing point on the outskirts of the city 

The view of Ulaanbaatar from a viewing point on the outskirts of the city 

Statue at the top of the viewing point

Statue at the top of the viewing point

The view of Ulaanbaatar from a viewing point on the outskirts of the city 

The view of Ulaanbaatar from a viewing point on the outskirts of the city 

The view of Ulaanbaatar from a viewing point on the outskirts of the city 

The view of Ulaanbaatar from a viewing point on the outskirts of the city 

The view of Ulaanbaatar from a viewing point on the outskirts of the city 

The view of Ulaanbaatar from a viewing point on the outskirts of the city 

The view of Ulaanbaatar from a viewing point on the outskirts of the city 

Chris, Andrea and I at the top of the viewing point - words cannot describe how cold this was!

Driving through the city...

Ellie and Sophia enjoying a Mongolian brew

Tasty but slightly bland Mongolian stir fry!

The team at dinner: Andrea, Chris, our honcho, Anya, Martha, Susie and Ellie

Martha, Susie and Anya getting into the karaoke