I honestly didn’t know what I got myself into when I landed in Mongolia. I was so relieved to get off my flights and was ready to go to bed. My family friend and her husband both picked me up from the airport and gave me a tour of Mongolia. I didn’t know what to expect. Ulaan Baatar is a developing city, constantly building and people are always on the go. From men painting guard rails green to repaving roads, the city is becoming itself. It reminds me of New York City. Chaotic and crowded. As we were driving around I was surprised to see so many karaoke bars. Some blocks had more than one and sometimes next to each other. I didn’t know that Mongolians liked to sing so much.
The city isn’t that big. I’ve traveled around a lot and somehow I always know where I am and what’s around me. You basically just need to remember a couple of big buildings and that gives you a relative idea of where you are. The city is quite unique. My favorite thing about this city is that there are mountains surrounding it. I think that is the most beautiful view to see from a city. You can detect what happens in the mountains from the weather in the city. If it’s foggy and cloudy then you know that there was a forest fire in the mountains. It’s so interesting and I love always looking up at the mountains.