Mongolia > Wandering through Ulaanbaatar

oday is a day to explore Ulaanbaatar. We walk out of the hotel towards the city center. The Land Rover dealer, close to the hotel, is closed on Sundays. Tomorrow morning we’ll drive there with Brutus. We heard a strange noise, have some doubts about the left front suspension, and can no longer open the oil reservoir of the transfer case.

Mongolia - The central Genghis Khan square features a statue of Sukhbaatar on his horse

Hopefully we can get everything fixed here. At California, the restaurant where we ate last night, we order lunch. We have just sat down when a short but heavy rain shower bursts loose. We stay dry. After the rain we continue walking to Sükhbaatar Square. South of the square lies the Choijin Lama Monastery. The walled complex is now a museum. It is squeezed in between the tall apartment buildings of the modern city. A strange sight. In the temples, beautiful Buddha statues, fine masks, and painted cloths are displayed. Still, the temple loses some of its value now that it has been turned into a museum. In the middle of Sükhbaatar Square stands a statue of Sükhbaatar on his horse. He led the conquest of Mongolia from the Chinese in 1922. This marked the beginning of the period in which Mongolia became communist. On the other side of the square, in front of the parliament building, stands a statue of another important figure in Mongolian history: Genghis Khan. His posture, seated in a chair, gives him a rather bulky appearance—not the image one would expect of such a leader.

Mongolia - Monks praying in Ganden Khiid Monastery in Ulaanbaatar

From Sükhbaatar Square we walk back westwards. Here lies the Gandan Khiid Monastery complex. Unfortunately, some temples are closed because it is Sunday. In the Tashchoimphel Datsan temple, however, prayers are just taking place. Several hundred monks are gathered together in prayer. Special to witness. The largest temple of the complex, the Janraisig Süm temple, is also open. Here stands a twenty-eight-meter-high Buddha statue. Impressive. It is a replica—the communists melted down the original. In the evening we eat on Seoul Street. The motorcyclists have spent the whole day working on their machines. Tomorrow it’s our turn when we visit the Land Rover dealer.