the arrival and first day...

i was rather unnerved when the taxi driver turned around and attempted to grab my bags so i wasn't easily able to get out of the taxi...
i'm obviously waaay ahead of myself...go backward about 36 hours...
i stayed my last two days in korea with my friend lindsey...one of those days, while she was at work, i took the subway into seoul and knocked a bunch of chores off my list...visiting the pension office, picking up something from my school, mailing a few postcards, etc...thank goodness for public transport...i got nearly everything finished, including setting up my pension so that i'll be paid just after i leave korea for good mid may...yahoo...pension is definitely one of the benefits of coming back to korea:)

i hopped back on the subway, and made my way out to meet up with lindsey, it worked out perfectly...we went to COEX, which i read somewhere is the largest underground mall in asia...who figured that out, i don't know...and why it matters, i don't know...after dinner, (there is a big food court there) we made our way to the gangnam area of town, one of the richest areas of seoul...it's an area in which to see and be seen...she wanted to go to a jimjilbang, and i was perfectly happy to do so...we went to the jimjilbang i used to go to when i lived in that area of town...i love the way i feel when i walk out of a jimjilbang...sooo cozy and nice...anywho...as lindsey and i were walking from the subway back to her flat, i stubbed my foot on a tree root...OUCH...i figured i jammed it, and limped along...when we got back to her flat i saw blood, which was a surprise...yuck...and of course knowing that there was blood made it hurt worse, if that makes any sense...i could feel it throbbing a little...i could feel my toe (the second toe of my left foot) all the way until i fell asleep that night...
the next morning i got up later than i wanted, and got out of the flat later than i wanted...there was one chore i hadn't done the day before, deposit money in my bank...so i did that...running later than i wanted to be...then, of course i still had to pack up my stuff, since i always procrastinate about such things...so what i've just taken foreva to say is that i was later getting out of the flat than i should've been, and it was all my fault...i got to the airport at 1122...my flight was at 1205, and while i knew i was pushing it, i thought i'd be okay...but i wasn't...as i got to the check in counter, it was empty...there was no one there...not a single person...note to self, check in for mongolian airways flights closes an hour before the flight...in other words, i missed my flight...fortunately, the ladies at information were nice enough to let me call the airline to figure out rescheduling...the lady i talked to wasn't as nice, but she did book me for the next day...the rebooking fee was only $25, which was nice...i feel like stateside airlines charge way more...but who knows...i had to transfer the money before she would do the rebooking, which meant i had to call her back, even though i told her i didn't have a mobile phone...luckily, the information ladies were okay with me making the second call...then, after the airline lady made the booking, she said i should call back to confirm...REALLY? didn't i just tell you i don't have a phone? instead of hanging out then hassling the ladies again, i decided to find the airline office in the airport...that guy was out to lunch (the office was only open 0900-1400, and he gets a lunch hour? i want that job!) but i waited...not only did he confirm the booking, he switched it to the same day, so i didn't have to wait another day...totally awesome guy:)...then i got to kill 6.5 hours...some reading, some writing, some people watching, etc...needless to say, i checked in early...3 hours early:)

i arrived in ulan bataar at 2210 after a 3.5 hour flight...originally there was a lady with an infant seated next to me, but they moved her when the attendants figured out there were two seats free across the airplane...(am i really that awful?)...the airport in ulan bataar is small...only 6 immigration lines...3 for locals, 2 for visitors, and one for diplomats...and one of the visitor lines wasn't open...thank goodness the diplomat line was, and i was able to go through that line...there was only one baggage carousel...it didn't move quickly, but eventually my bag came out...that's always the most nervewracking part of flying for me...
then i had to find a taxi...i went with someone who looked official...not surprisingly, he didnt' really understand where i wanted to go...thankfully there was a phone number in the guidebook, the taxi driver called and got directions...though he still didn't really understand where to go exactly...when we (i spotted it before he did!) found the guesthouse, he told me i owed him $100...RIGHT...it's not that expensive in new york city, for a much longer ride, do you really think i'm paying that here? not so much...i politely said no...then he typed it into his phone, in case i had misunderstood...i hadn't, and i still wasn't about to pay $100...then he typed in $50...yeah, that didn't work either...on our way out of the airport i listened to what other taxi drivers were offering, so i had an idea of what i should pay...i handed him the equivalent of $20, and went to grab my bags and get out of the taxi...he wasn't thrilled with that, and tried to grab my bags...thankfully, i was stronger and at a better angle for pulling my bags out of the taxi...i got out, though totally unnerved...
after searching for a little bit, i found the entrance of the guesthouse...entrances in this city aren't always obvious...that probably makes no sense, and won't unless you visit here...thankfully, they had a room for me...(it was after 2300, i didn't have other options or ideas at that point)...my room had a tv, so i fell asleep watching bbc news...yay!!
the next day i slept late, it was good...after being REALLY slow getting out, i walked to other guesthouses and inquired whether they had beds that night...my place had told me they were full up, so i needed a new place to go...thankfully, i found a new place quickly...it was right next to a tour company i'd read about in the guidebook, called ger to ger...the premise is that they have specific routes set up for travelers to go on at any time...travelers get to stay in gers, get to know families, and participate in regular daily life activities of the nomads...nifty...i walked in, looked at what they had available, (it's still winter now, so i didn't have as many options) and chose one...depending on how it goes, i might sign up for another tour when i get back...after having that settled, i went to the state department store, as i'd been told there was an atm on the 5th floor...atms aren't as common here as in other asian countries...it was actually on the 4.5th floor, but that's beside the point...i always feel conspicuous withdrawing money...
i went back to pick up my stuff, and found out that the guesthouse had room for me after all...i switched rooms, and that was that...

in the afternoon, i went to visit the biggest temple/monastery complex in the city...according to the guidebook, nearly everything was destroyed by the soviets in 1937...when a US president came to visit in the 60s (i can't remember who) he asked to see a place of religious importance, not knowing that pretty much everything had been destroyed...the soviets had to scramble and make it look as though this place was still functioning...they did, and until communism collapsed in 1990, it became a tourist site...after that, it became a functioning monastery and temple again...inside the temple is a huge buddha...20m tall i think? something along those lines...there are prayer wheels along all four walls, sometimes two rows of wheels...it was awesome...in addition to the impressive buddha, there was a square out front where people were feeding pigeons...it was entertaining watching kids run through and make the pigeons fly...occasionally all the pigeons would lift off at the same time...that was nifty to see...i walked from there up a hill, because i could see gers a little ways off...ulan bataar is a (mostly) modern city, but the culture of the country is that of nomads...i find it amazing that even now, people live in what are portable digs...awesome...on the way to the hill, i could see an ovoo, mentioned as a place of honour in the guidebook...there are rocks typically piled in a triangle pile, with bits of blue and other colours stuck in...i walked up to the ovoo, and could even see a horse head on the pile..ewww...yuck...
from there i walked back to my room, as my hands were freezing, and so were my camera batteries...after relaxing a while, i walked to the nearby state department store, which is huge...5 floors, and definitely the biggest store in the city...i already mentioned this...there was a grocery store at the back of the first floor, and i explored...the place was BIG...i loved it!! i didn't buy much, only water and yogurt, but it was still fun to see what is available...mongolia doesn't really have agriculture (a bit, not much at all) so nearly everything is imported...i haven't seen that much stuff from germany in a looong time!!
i know that doesn't sound like much, but that was the end of my first day...i hung out in the common room at the guesthouse, listening to others talk...a couple girls are peace corps volunteers, which made eavesdropping interesting...i know it's awful to say, but in some ways all peace corps volunteers are the same...it's hard to explain, but if you know multiple pc volunteers, i think you'll understand...they're not all the same, but in some ways they are...pc volunteers definitely know the country in which they're living far better than other travelers, but sometimes this comes across as snootiness...

before going to bed that night i walked down the street to get one more photo...walking alone down a street after dark isn't something i do very often anymore, not since being mugged in kuala lumpur, on a lighted, majour street...anywho...when driving into the city with the taxi driver i saw that the chinggis statue and government building are lit up at night, so i wanted that photo...and i got it:)
sweet dreams:)