Black Market visit and 666 steps climbed!

Saturday’s excitement was a trip to the black market – Naran Tuul – which is not an illegal market but rather a huge market that sells absolutely everything! We all were given our winter clothing allowance the day before so we had some money for clothes and stuff. Luckily I had bought most of my stuff already so I did not need to buy anything in particular. It was the most crazy market ever – just like the supermarkets around here there are thousands of stalls selling all sorts of different things. But it is a little more organised as there is a home ware section and there is a clothes section and a boots section so things are a little organised. But still every stall has similar things so you have to search for good bargains. I was on the look out for a hat with ear pieces and I spotted a traditional Mongolian one which was leather with animal fur lining. I tried it on and I looked completely ridiculous! Lol, I was banned from buying one! I did however find a hat and scarf set which I liked and I bought that. I also found some jelly beans sold by the kg, so I bought half a kg! They are quite tasty. We stopped for coffee as it was absolutely freezing there and we were getting pretty cold. I had more Husshur and also tried Mantu – steamed bread which was pretty good. From there we headed to the ger section where they had all the makings of a ger – the felt, the traditional furniture, the ropes and the flooring, all can be bought there. There are also all the requirements for horses – bridles, headcollars, saddles and rusty bits – it was insane.

We had a rest in the afternoon as it has been a long week. In the evening we headed out to try a pizza place that had been recommended to us. We got completely lost but we ran into some other VSO vols and they pointed us back in the right direction and after we got lost again we ran into some American Vols who we had met before and they knew where the pizza place was and pointed us in the right direction. Pizza Broadway was really nice, it had a good selection of all kinds of foods and the pizza was pretty amazing! The cocktails also looked good, which we will try at some point!

On Sunday we headed to the Backerli Cafe for breakfast which is run by a German woman who speaks fantastic English and who makes wonderful German baked goods. It was a lovely breakfast and a good place to find. She also imports yaktraks which are miniature crampons which attach to the bottom of your shoes to allow you to grip on the ice. And she has an adorable dog who I trust has not got rabies. It is so tough to see so many adorable puppies on the street who are so cute and look so safe but we just cannot trust that they do not have rabies.

After lunch we headed up to Zaisan where they have a Russian Monument. It is about a 1.5 hr walk from our guest house and then there are 666 steps up to the monument. The walk there was not very picturesque but the views from the top were fantastic! We could see out over all the city and see all the hills that surround UB. The countryside looks beautiful and I am looking forward to getting out to the countryside later in the year.
















I am writing this having just spoken to Mum and Dad and the power went out mid-conversation.! So we are sitting through our first Mongolian blackout! We had an early night as we wanted to capitalise on the pitch blackness outside. The lights did come on again after about 2.5 hours so it wasnt too bad.

Week 1 of ICT

From the faces and smiles of previous volunteers they hadn’t really enjoyed their ICT (In Country Training)so much as they found it mind numbingly tedious! So we were really really really looking forward to starting these 3 weeks.

The way it works is we spend the first week at VSO getting information about VSO, Mongolia, VSO’s policies and our placements. The second and third week we spend at language school learning Mongolian which is according to the Peace Corps the second hardest language for the countries they work in – they only harder one is Chinese! So no pressure then!

It has been a rather long first week that included nearly getting pickpocketed, walking 666 steps to a Russian war memorial and finding a good pizza place on top of 5 full days of in country training.

I am not going to bore you with all the details of the various sessions we sat through this week as although most of them were very informative and interesting to me, they may not be to those not based in VSO Mongolia! In short our sessions covered everything from safety and security, a talk on each area VSO Mongolia covers- Health, National Volunteering, Education and Secure Livelihoods, working with and without interpreters, child protection, HIV/AIDS, Visa's and work permits etc, etc, etc. We also had a visit to the two medical clinics which both appear to be Western standard which is nice and reassuring!

All these sessions were carried out in a rather small space so we did suffer a little from cabin fever but we survived and managed to get to a few social occasions during the week!

The vols who were taking these sessions had come in from the countryside and it was nice to meet them and make some contacts who may be useful in the future via email or for a floor to sleep on!

On Monday during lunch Sarah and I went shopping and managed to buy the makings of Spaghetti Bolognese and even communicate via sign language that we wanted minced meat, and we got it! This was a big achievement as we have about 3 words of Mongolian between us. Unfortunately I wasn’t paying close attention to my backpack on the way home and half way back I discovered a guy with his hand in my bag. I was astonished that when I shouted out he just looked me straight in the eye and then walked on slowly, he didn’t even appear guilty. Apparently this is normal but I was a little shaken.

However aside from that we made it home without bother and that evening Sarah and I cooked. The Bolognese turned out really well, but unfortunately the spaghetti went all starchy and was revolting. We rinsed it 3 or 4 times with cold water but nothing was going to save it so eventually we had to have rice Bolognese. It was a pity but it still tasted good. We also made the most of the current supply of fruit and we had pineapple for dessert.

On Tuesday I had the morning off which was nice as I got a lie in and a leisurely start to the day. We were warned to go easy on the layers at the minute because if we wear all our layers now when it is just below freezing we will not have anything left for when it gets really cold. So we have scaled back and it actually is much easier to leave the house!

Richard cooked a beef bourignon for us which was fantastic, even if we learnt that we should never buy Mongolian wine as Mongolia is not known for having a climate that is good for growing grapes!! But it didn’t taste too bad in the food.
Afterwards some of us ventured out on our first evening excursion to one of 3 Irish pubs in UB, the Grand Khaan. I am pretty certain I am the only Irish person who was there that night and according to other vols, in the last year! But the cocktails were good, if expensive for volunteers and there is some western food on the menu which is worth noting for the future. There was some really weird Mongolian drinking games which we refused to get involved in, 2 songs from a band and some singing competition, very strange but funny!

On Wednesday although exhausted the UK vols did still make it to Mike’s apartment that night for dinner and drinks! Omelettes, Mongolian Vodka and good company made a very enjoyable evening.

On Thursday Sarah and I decided to go for some Mongolian lunch at a place recommended by VSO staff and volunteers just across the road. They spoke very little English so we got out our food sheet and the waitress pointed at what they had! I had the noodles with mutton which was fantastic, and Sarah had the Beef Goulash which came with mashed potatoes which tasted really good! It also only cost just over 1 quid which fits in with my budget – I can see myself eating at this place quite regularly as my work is just around the corner.

In the afternoon I had a meeting with Tsolmon, my programme manager who is essentially my contact within VSO who is in charge of my job in Mongolia on the VSO side. It was really great to hear what was expected of me in terms of which bits of the job description were most important. It seems to be that I am going to be doing a little of everything: Networking, fundraising, awareness raising as well as organising a handover conference in the Spring and setting up and running a debating programmes in the high schools of Mongolia. My organisation have a lot of stuff based in rural areas and 7 regional offices and they take field trips every month so hopefully I can get out and about a bit as 20 days off a year is not much when you want to see a huge country!

In the evening we had our networking event with the other volunteer agencies based in Mongolia – Peace Corps – Americans, DED - German and AYAD – Australians. They were all really nice - and most of them were quite young which is great. We had free food and alcohol which made the networking much easier and it was great to also get to chat to the other VSO vols as well. From there we headed to Oasis – a cheesy ex-pat nightclub which we arrived at at around 8.30!! It was very strange being in a nightclub so early but after a few drinks we managed to start dancing and enjoying ourselves. However I am just giving up on even trying to look good as the Mongolian girls are naturally beautiful and I cannot compete! So the Western guys all love the Mongolian girls and then the Mongolian men are not that attractive themselves so we have very little choice!

On Friday our final volunteer arrived and she is vegetarian so we had vegetarian for lunch and in the evening we met some other vols for vegetarian at Luna Blanca. This was much better than the lunchtime meal because there was fake meat which was better than veg!

I have opted to do the homestay next weekend which sounds a bit scary but an experience.

Slow Sunday - 18th October

We had a slow start on Sunday before heading out to the shops to get some necessities with one of the current vols. It was strange because as Mongolia is a Buddhist/Shamanist country they don’t observe the same traditions we do, including things like shops closing or having limited opening hours on a Sunday. This was a bonus for us as it meant we could get the bits and pieces we needed before the hectic week of ICT (In country training) started.

Our first stop was the mobile phone shop to get connected! I was very lucky that my phone worked with a Mongolian sim card. Some of the others weren’t so lucky and they had to buy new phones, but the cost of a new Nokia phone was around 7 pounds, so it wasn’t too bad.

In my manic packing frenzy in the days before I left the UK I managed to forget to bring a hair brush with me. So I survived for the first few days with a pair of hair straighteners but by Sunday I was sick and tired of looking like I had been pulled through a hedge backwards! Luckily one of the vols took us to the market which was insane but which did stock both hair brushes and hair driers so I am now looking a little more put together.

As it was Sol’s birthday we then headed to Los Bandidos a Mexican/Indian restaurant around the corner from our guest house with some of the other volunteers. It was a really nice dinner if a little expensive on a volunteer salary – 8 quid for curry, rice and naans when your salary is about 2 quid a week. It was worth it as it was delicious. It was also really nice to get to chat to the other vols about their work and experiences in Mongolia and about my intake’s backgrounds.

17th October

After a rubbish nights sleep where my body decided it was morning at 2.30am, we headed out of Ulaanbaatar to a local national park, Terelj. A number of other volunteers also joined us which was great as we got to hear all about their experiences in the months they have been here. It took about an hour to get there on interesting roads. Becuase of the freezing and thawing the roads are pretty cracked so it makes them a little bumpy but it wasn’t too bad. The scenery out of the windows was fantastic. Ulaanbaatar is surrounded by hills/mountains and they were all covered in snow which made it look a bit magical. There were also a few gers on the way out which were puffing smoke out of their roofs.



Our first stop in Terelj was at an Ovoo which is a religious offering place which we correctly walked around 3 times to show our respect. There was also a camel and a couple of Mongolian horses there for tourists to ride, which we avoided. On the road through Terelj we came across a number of herd of animals being herded by Mongolians on horseback. The horses are very small, more like ponies, but seem very hardy! There are also strange cattle which are a cross between a yak and a cow.
Our second stop was at turtle rock which is, as it sounds like, a massive rock that looks like a turtle. We climbed up it and played in the snow and took some more pictures.






It was lunch time next and we were fed by a local woman in one of the tourist gers. This was our first time in a ger and the older volunteers explained the rules such as you do not stand on the threshold, you walk clockwise around the ger and you do not lean on the poles. Although it was made of canvas apparently and not felt, it was surprisingly warm inside with the fire going. We also got to eat some of our first Mongolian food – curdled milk and tsai (milky, salty tea) neither of which were great, and then deep fried meat parcels which were really good! It seems I shall not starve in Mongolia.


From there we headed to the old monastery. There was a big snowball fight among the male volunteers and the children! One of the female volunteers did remark on how nice it was to have more women arrived in Ulaanbaatar! The monastery was beautiful and really Asian in style. When I was preparing to come to Mongolia I hadn’t really considered Mongolia a part of Asia, but it is right beside China and is obviously part of Asia. The Monastery was really nice and beautiful colours and a nice way to end the day.






We then headed back to Ulaanbaatar on the bus, and a number of us slept and we had dinner in again before watching a movie and heading to bed.

16th October

I actually was lucky to have slept reasonably well for the few hours we had before morning and the jet lag didn’t hit me as hard as some of the others. Mike and Steve met us at the guest house and took us for a walking tour of Ulaanbaatar. There was still quite a bit of snow around and it was a bit chilly to start with!

The buildings were very run down and decrepit looking from the outside and too be honest were a little intimidating. However when you get inside they are great. It makes sense that the outside of the building doesn't look so good if you consider the weather and the amount of times it freezes and thaws between Summer and Winter. I don’t know if this is the correct reason but I imagine it may have something to do with it.

They showed us a typical apartment (to lower our expectations apparently, but it was pretty good!) and then we went to the Mobicom shop where we could buy mobiles, to Sukhbaatar Square, one of the major tourist attractions, Peace Avenue one of the main streets where the embassies are and the state department store is

Then down past the Beatles statue, towards the circus, a large dome building; to the market. At the market it was a bit strange because it appeared that you could buy whatever you wanted, all sorts of fruit and veg, cereals, juice, chocolate, sweets etc and then the meat counters were extensive, but yet apparently the variety does drop over the winter so we need to make the most of the food while it is there. It is also weird because there isn’t necessarily one area where you buy each type of food. It appears that different people own or rent or run different sections of the market and they sell whatever they have there. It is all a bit confusing and overwhelming but I am sure we will soon get used to it.

We then headed to VSO where we had some lunch with the staff at VSO, got paid for the next 2 weeks and got an introduction to Mongolia. Everyone was fading a little by this stage so we were then walked back to our apartment by Aki another volunteer. The other thing that doesn't help the tiredness is the heat of the buildings. The heat is turned on by the government once a year in October, and it goes off again in March/April and there is not usually any way for you to control the temperature of a room, there is only one temperature. This means you wrap up ridiculously warm to go out into the freezing weather and then strip off said layers immediately upon walking in, to leave only a very thin summer layer of clothing. It seems rather ridiculous!

Sol treated us to a lovely Phillipino dish for dinner in the evening which was great and saved us having to go out for dinner.

The guest house were are staying in is run by the Lotus Centre, an organisation that takes in abandoned, orphaned, or children in difficult circumstances. It is a great idea and the girls who staff the guest house are also from the lotus centre. The founder of Lotus, an Australian woman, came over with one of the babies and we really enjoyed chatting to her and playing with the absolutely adorable baby!

14 - 15th October - Travel to Mongolia

I arrived at Belfast City Airport on Wednesday the 14^th of October at 2.30pm with the most enormous amount of luggage! My weight limit was 30 kg after I had negotiated with Korean Airlines and BMI, but my checked in bags were about 33 kg and my hand luggage must have been at least another 20kg! Yet no-body on any flight charged me extra money.

After Mum and I said tearful goodbyes I went through security and they all laughed at me carrying my huge hand luggage and 2 big puffy coats. The xray man thought it was hilarious that I was carrying a hot water bottle as well – apparently he could see it on the machine! I was not the most ridiculous as one of the women in the queue beside me had her hand luggage full of minstrels and revels.

I arrived safely in London Heathrow with all my bags and bits and pieces. I was about 4.5 hours early for my flight and I wasn’t even sure if check-in would be open. However when I arrived at the check in desk there was a huge queue, apparently everyone was early for the flight. I got really lucky on the plane and I asked for an exit row seat and got it for the long flight, and a window seat for the second flight.

I also spotted the other Sarah who travelling with me to Ulaanbaatar in the line and we were able to meet up and arrange to have dinner together in the airport later. I managed to accumulate even more luggage after security as I bought the liquids I had to take out of my hold bags to bring the weight down. We had a nice dinner at TGI Fridays and then we eventually headed to the gate – it was quite a long time to hang around between flights.

At the gate we met Richard who was also headed to Ulaanbaatar with VSO and who had about half as much luggage as either one of us girls! At the gate we also noticed a woman with a full gas mask on. We had seen people with the paper masks on but this was a proper WW2 look alike gas mask.

It was a rather uneventful 11 hour flight to Seoul. There was a bit of turbulence and we had Korean food on the plane, but other than that I tried to sleep and rest as much as possible.

Seoul Airport was really impressive. It was huge with full length windows and lots of expensive shops! We didn’t do much shopping but we did try out the restaurants. Unfortunately as my stomach wasn’t doing too great I opted to McDonalds rather than another Korean dish, and even the McDonalds nearly blew my mouth away!

We were delayed a little in Seoul airport which wasn’t unsurprising as I had read that if there is bad weather in Ulaanbaatar the planes can be delayed for a while. The weather forecast for Thursday was that it was going to snow. The delay wasn’t too long and the flight was fine so we were only a few minutes later than we thought.

We were met at the airport by a current VSO volunteer and one the VSO staff members and there were 3 others who arrived on our plane from the Phillippines. Our journey got off to a good start as our bus got a puncture and the spare was also flat but there was enough air in it to get us to the guest house where we were staying.

It was quite a nice time to arrive in Ulaanbaatar as there was snow on the ground, and it made the soviet buildings look a little less intimidating. But inside our guest house was lovely, clean and comfortable. I was sharing a room with the other two girls and there is still one more to join us next week but she got delayed due to visa difficulties.