Speaking of great...It was great to see all my friends. We didn't do much more than eat at amazing restaurants, go to American food stores and lounge around, taking showers-- not bagging coal, preparing lessons, adding dung to the fire, etc.
We didn't end up staying at Khongor Guesthouse because it is apparently being renovated. So we stayed at UB Guesthouse. It was nice, but I am partial to Khongor. Khongor's beds are magical! But, UB Guesthouses bathrooms are cleaner and nicer...
One of my friends went to America a couple of weeks ago and brought back a bottle of Dr. Pepper for me and Justin. Can you believe it?! Every where they sell Coke we look for Dr. Pepper. No luck. This was our frist sip of the Dr.'s orders in 9 months. It was delicious.
Another one of our friends, Erin, invited us to dinner with her Mongolian friend. It was a great meal and the Mongolian couple actually had a lot in common with me and Justin...same age, same graduation year, started dating the same year, have been married for the same amount of years. It was interesting to compare lifestyles that are so similar yet different to ours.
All in all it was a success! I only got thrown up on once on the bus to Ulaanbataar. Our bus seats 28, yet on the trips to and from UB there were over 40 people on the bus, so we were packed. On the way back we even had a live rabbit sitting on a man's lap waiting to be taken to his ger for supper. This is my last visit to the big city for a long while. Now I'm back at school, smelling like smoke and just not as squeaky clean. But it's okay because summer is on its way, right? :)
7 comments:
I can't believe they sell Oreo O's!!! They have discontinued them here, and that's my FAVORITE cereal. Glad you had some time away! Put some meat on Justin, he's oober skinny! :)
Yeah, it's an import from Japan. I was excited, too, when I saw it! Mongolia doesn't produce much stuff. Dang, and I feed Justin the best I can...he is super skinny. It's all the extra work we do to live in a ger--he's burning all those calories off!
Did you find some cocoa powder? I would have tried to buy everything in that store! I saw some yummy nutella on the shelf. Hope you enjoyed your vacay and brought home some goodies! Is there anything you are missing except the good Dr.'s orders?
Yeah, we got some cocoa! Unfortunately our list of 'what we're getting in UB' is short because American food is so dang expensive. I thought about how I could easily drop $200 at a grocery store for 2 weeks of groceries in the states. But, here we're only budgeted about 20,000 tugs a week for groceries. Which bought me cocoa, a small thing of parsley, some Louisiana hot sauce, a bottle of ranch and a bottle of mustard. But it was well worth the money!
Great trip, what a treat !I'm so glad you enjoyed it.
I'm so glad I found your blog! My husband and I are coming to Mongolia...if we check luggage I'll bring you a Dr. Pepper. ;)
Would a Dr. Pepper-flavored chapstick count? Do they still make that?
Right now we are figuring out where to stay...we've heard great things about the Khongor (esp. the tours!).
Of course, a ger would be so rad...and I can't wait to smell like smoke!
Cheers!
Hey mrs boo radley! Nice to meet you. Why are you and your husband making the trek out here? Touring? Khongor is a nice place, but if you're looking for a more friendly and helpful service (with more English speakers), I'd go to UB Guesthouse. I think they may be more tourist friendly. My husband and I live about a 7 hour bus ride south of the capital, but if you're interested we'd host ya for a couple nights in a ger. Happy traveling!
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