Ulaanbaatar

I'm here for 5 weeks to learn as much of the language as I can, and to attend various meetings and workshops about education and related issues. Every morning we are up at 6.30am to catch the bus to college, where we have 3 1/2 hours of language lessons. Then we get the bus to a restaurant for lunch. In the afternoon we have presentations from people such as the Mongolian police about the crimes that foreigners commit or are victims of, and how to avoid this; or from someone from the Ministry of Education about school attendance and school drop-out; or from other volunteers about the kinds of projects they've been involved in, and problems and successes they've had. It's a bit intense, but inbetween times it is great to get out and explore Ulaanbaatar.

The city is large (about the size of Dunfermline, or maybe slightly larger?). There is a grid of streets and concrete buildings, mostly built in the Soviet style (Mongolia was a Soviet-governed country from the 1920s until 1991, when there was a peaceful revolution). There is still plenty evidence of the Russian influence - we drive past a statue of Lenin every day. However these days it is very congested, with constant traffic jams, dust and fumes. Despite this, there is lots to explore. Yesterday I walked out to the foot of the mountains - Ulaanbaatar is on a flat plain, surrounded by low hills. There is a giant Buddha statue, about 100 feet high, all painted gold. It is beautiful, and yesterday evening the room that is at the base of the statue, underneath the Buddha, was open.

Inside was a tiny museum of treasures - golden statues of different gods, ancient vases, books wrapped in silk embroidered scarves. There were offerings of sugar and incense in front of some of them. People were coming in to bow at the altar and touch the glass in front of the statues. A young monk was watching over the place. I'd been to the statue before, as it is at the beginning of tracks that lead up to the hills. I've seen lots of birds of prey up there - I thought they were eagles as they were huge, but local people say no. I wonder what size the eagles are ....