Today was the first of two days where my friend Finn and I lead the team. We planned the day out yesterday and decided we are going to the black market (Naran Tuul), Ger to Ger (To drop off things that we needed to store) and go to the national history museum.
Leading is alot of fun, I really enjoy it but I do feel the sense of responsibility for the whole team. It is quite abit more work too but it is really rewarding when everyone is enjoying the activities and keeping safe.
The first thing we did was walk to the black markets. It was a very interesting experience and wasn’t what I quite expected. The market is mainly full of little stalls selling items like branded clothing, camping equipment and cheap jewellery. I thought the markets would be more traditional and sell mainly Mongolian specific items. It was still very chaotic while we were there. At one point a guy was riding his bike really fast and a woman walked in front of him. His bike flipped and he landed on the ground which resulted in him yelling at the woman. In the markets if you haggle a bit with the stall owners you could normally lower the price about 5000-10000 Tughrik (about half) depending on the item. It was really fun and felt good to get things cheaper by haggling.
Afterwards we walked to a shopping centre to collect snacks for tomorrow’s long bus ride up north and then had lunch back at the hotel.
After lunch we went to the national history museum. The museum showcases the evolution of Mongolia and ranges from the Stone Age to the latest socialist age. It showed the traditional clothing that a man or woman would wear depending on the occasion, the houses and living styles that people had to experience day to day and even old currencies. It was awesome to learn about the sophisticated Mongolian culture and the rules/traditions they had in place and the reasons for them.
We had our last dinner at Ulaanbaatar before going up north for almost 2 weeks. We had really nice drinks and a good meal.
We have to wake up very early tomorrow in order to catch the bus up north and we should arrive in Murun at around 5:00pm. It is over 10 hours drive.
I will update the next entry as soon as I have internet connection again. I am not sure how much reception I will have while up north.
Hi Dean: Great job on the blog entries! Love the photo’s also, helps put it all together! You all look like you are having a great time, wonderful to see! Black Market looked interesting and hope you purchased some goodies to bring home! Whenever I would travel I would always bring back a small vial of dirt or a small rock from each place…great reminder and something you can hold in your hand when you think of a place…just an idea! Have a safe bus trip and look forward to your next entry!
Great blog Dean keep up the great work very interesting to read your adventures! The scenery is amazing keep the photos coming 🙂