I was in Mongolia in May 2007. I arrived in Mongolia by hitchhiking to it's border with China from Manchuria. I was tired and just arrived in time to catch the train to Ulan Bator. My first impression was bad. The guy taking me over the border took too much cash and then he found me a spot on the train without my buying a ticket, but his friend the train conductor then tried to gouge me on the cost. It worked out in the end. UB feels like a provincial Russian city, the architecture, the supermarkets, the use of Cyrillic. It didn't fullfil any of my ideas that it would be a frontier sort of place. It is very much a major hub for travelers. The many people coming overland from Europe. Or just flying in to see this magical frontier. So the city it packed with travel agents, hotels, cafes. It's comfortable in a way, but not at all off the beaten track. The countryside was more so, but there are still many travelers coming through this country. The cheese is excellent. Make sure you change your money before you leave. I'm still trying to get rid of 40.000MNT.

Map of Mongolia

Getting on the train at Zamin Uud. May 2007.

Shady character on the train, Gambal. May 2007.

The wide open spaces of Mongolia. May 2007.

More of Mongolia. The relative lack of trees reminded me of Iceland. May 2007.

More Mongolia. May 2007.

Ulan Bator train station. May 2007.

Most of the pay phones were house phones will cellular radios and batteries. Interesting. May 2007.

Buddhist temple in Ulan Bator. May 2007.

Temple in Ulan Bator. May 2007.

A lot of the architecture was very Russian. May 2007.

Some old Soviet monuments and a huge new statue of Buddha. May 2007.

Soviet war monument. May 2007.

Detail of a mural at a Soviet memorial. May 2007.

View of Ulan Bator from a hill. May 2007.

Me at a war memorial. May 2007.

Like in all Russian cities there was a statue of Lenin in a park. May 2007.

Government building in UB. May 2007.

Quite a good band playing modern Mongolian music. May 2007.

A couple hours by bus outside UB. May 2007.

More of the countryside. May 2007.

I met Wade in Ulan Bator and we ended up traveling together for a while. May 2007.

Tough Swedish artists. Not only were they traveling with a toddler but there was another baby on the way! May 2007.

Small town a couple hours from UB. May 2007.

Countryside near UB. May 2007.

The Golden Gobi hostel. Once of the nicest I've seen. May 2007.

Pay phone vendor. May 2007.

Some guys were carrying boxes somewhere. This guy looked perfect for a photo. May 2007.

At the main post office in UB. May 2007.

Going south on the train. May 2007.

Nice girl I met on the train south, Enkhuush. May 2007.

Picture of me on the train taken by my friend Wade. May 2007.

Terelj National Park.

View of Ulan Bator.

Soviet Mural in Ulan Bator.

View of Ulan Bator.

Passport Stamps

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