Ulaanbaatar

Ulaanbaatar

Statue, National Museum of Mongolia

For a lot of visitors, Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar (or UB as English speaking expats insist on calling the city) is just a place to fly into before they fly or drive out to the countryside as quickly as possible.  In my humble opinion, that is a huge mistake.

Here’s a short guide to Ulaanbaatar for anyone in town before or after the Derby and looking for a bit of inspiration.  I’ve focused on relatively central attractions, as you'll get more than enough steppe action during the race so all are within easy walking distance of the state department store (with the exception of the black market which is a short taxi ride away).

Getting around
Walk, or the easiest way to get around is the ever-reliable VIP taxi service. All of the drivers speak English and you can pre-book a taxi on +976 7000 4499. If they're busy you can always hail a taxi from the street, though best to check how much the trip will be before you set off.
Talking the talk
Even in Ulaanbaatar, be prepared to have a go at speaking Mongolian as most of the people you meet won't speak English.  It's not hard, though and you can always fill in the gaps with good old sign language and a big smile.
Hello        …  sain bain uu
Thank you … bayar la laa
Good bye  … bayar tai
For more helpful phrases, have a look and listen here.
Currency
The Tugrik.  It's helpful to bring dollars and change into Tugrik when you get here, but don't expect to be able to spend your foreign currency even in tourist shops.
Travelling with children
Ulaanbaatar is the most child-friendly city I have ever visited. Everywhere you go there are smiling aunties waiting to cuddle your baby, children to play with your older children and playgrounds. It's great, honestly - every dinner out is an unstressful pleasure. Which for those of you with small children will understand is No Small Thing.

ARTS AND CULTURE

Mongolia was a world power with the world's biggest ever empire not that long ago. Don’t miss the opportunity to see the world from a different but very interesting perspective; the Mongolian empire didn’t leave much behind in the way of material remains but its impact on the course of world history has been enormous.

The National Museum of Mongolia

Location: Juulchin Street -1, Ulaanbaatar
Hours: 9am-7pm, 5.30pm mid-May–mid-Sep, 9am-6pm daily Tue-Sat, 4.30pm mid-Sep–mid-May, last entry ½ hour before close
Price: adult/child T8000/1000, photography T10,000

Lots of interesting displays cover Mongolia’s human history, from Bronze Age deer stones (large stones with cravings of deer and other animals) through the Middle Ages and the great Khans to the modern day.  Perhaps the most astonishing exhibits are letters from the khans to European rulers and dignitaries; standing looking at them in Mongolia is a curious experience - a bit like looking at ripples on the surface from underwater. 

Letter of Khan Gazan to Charlemagne

Then, on the same floor and hanging in the darkness, the golden horde’s linen shirts, chain mail shirts and bows.  Brilliantly curated - not to be missed.

Mongolian cavalry linen and mail shirts

Fine Arts Zanabazar Museum  

Location: Sambuu St, Ulaanbaatar
Hours: 9am-5.30pm Apr-Sep, 10am-4.30pm Oct-Mar
Price: adult/student/child T8000/2500/1000, audio guide free, photography T45,000

Dedicated to Undur Gegeen Zanabazar (1635-1724), perhaps Mongolia’s most famous artist (but also polymath & spiritual leader), this is the place to come for traditional painting and sculpture in Mongolia’s Buddhist tradition. Even tourists may recognise some of Zanabazar’s work - it pops up everywhere and you can buy excellent reproductions in the art and antique shops next to the state department store if you are that way inclined. 

It’s a peaceful, quiet gallery which was empty both times I went. If you’re interested in Mongolian modern art, artists work on the ground floor selling their own work, some of which is very good.

Ogodei Khan, third son and successor of Chingghis Khan

Central museum of Mongolian dinosaurs

Location: Sambugiin Örgön Chölöö, Freedom Square
Hours: 10am-7pm mid-May–mid-Sep, 9am-6pm mid-Sep–mid-May
Price: adult/student/child T3000/1000/500, photography T5000

This is a small but interesting showcase of fossils found in Mongolia, including an entire Asian Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton in the main room which is worth the visit on its own. 

There was a portrait guy selling pictures on the balcony - he’s a total charmer but I have never seen another portrait quite as bad as the horror he sketched of our oldest daughter. At your own risk.

Asian Tyrannosaurus Rex

Choijin Lama Temple Museum

Location: Genden St
Hours: 9am-5.30pm Tue-Sat
Price: adult/student/child incl audio guide T8000/3000/1500

I spent a long time working in the city of London (bear with) so the juxtaposition of this beautiful old temple with modern office towers really appealed to me. It isn’t an active monastery, but it’s a great stop off if you’re wandering around the central city.

FOOD
Ulaanbaatar is stuffed full of good restaurants. Last time I was there I couldn’t eat enough Korean food, but there’s all sorts on offer particularly if you live in the sticks at home and want to try a range of international food. I must apologise for not recommending any Mongolian restaurants - I have tried a few, but I could never resist the urge to order khuushur (deep fried meat pie) which gave me food poisoning. Every time. I know it’s my fault for ordering khuushur in the city (everyone will tell you this is a mistake because they're made in the country and have to survive a long journey to tables in the city), but I can’t in good conscience recommend those restaurants as much as I love all the Mongolian food I ate on the steppe.

Namaste
Location: Inside Margad center building, opposite Geser monastery, Ulaanbaatar 65030
Price: a honking bargain
Phone (for takeaway): +976 7555 2020
Fantastic North Indian restaurant, loads of choice and totally reliable. A great place for a salad if you’re in need of green stuff after time on the steppe, they also do a good selection of Indian street food favourites (papdi chaat etc.) and they speak English so if you feel like a takeaway, you can ring ahead.
http://namaste.mn/

Korean restaurants
If you walk north with the state department store on your left, you’ll walk past several small Korean restaurants. They’re all good.  Pick whichever you like for fried chicken or bibim bap (don’t forget to ask for the small plates, though!).  The internet will suggest Sura Korean, which is good but it’s quite pricey and a bit of a palaver so it’s one for dinner if you have time.
Sura Korean
Location: J. Sambuu Street.  The google maps location is accurate,if improbable - go into the office block and Sura Korean is on the second floor (from memory)
Price: not terrible by Western standards, crazy expensive by Mongolian standards

Western food
Rosewood kitchen and enoteca
Location: Seoul Street 7/1, 1st Floor MGG Office Building, Ulaanbaatar
Price: expensive, but the food is good
Phone: +976 9402 0561
Good western food, with a private room if you have a big group.  The pizzas are decent and it’s a good option if you crave a salad.  The staff speak English so feel free to ring ahead for a reservation if you like

Cafe bene
Ubiquitous and absolutely fine. The staff often speak English, which is impressive although disappointing for anyone trying to be polite or interested in learning Mongolian.

Japanese food
Miko sushi
Location: next to the Beatles statue on Tserendorj Street
Price: mid-range
Sushi but also the usual range of Japanese food.  Reliable and worth a visit, but be careful of over ordering as their platters are ridiculously generous.

Snacks
If you like curds, there’s a good shop underneath the Ikh Toiruu shopping centre (on the corner of Ikh Toiruu and Sukhbaatar St).  If you find anywhere to buy Orom, let me know - this is a sort of mix between cream and curd, but it’s sweet and delicious.  I never found anywhere to buy it in the city.

SHOPPING
State department store
Location: Peace Avenue, but everyone knows this place if you get lost
This isn’t just a visitor attraction, it’s a comprehensive department store that sells everything.  Visitors will probably be most interested in the tourist shop on the top floor which sells antiques, books, art and craft, some of a good quality and some wolf jumper type tourist rubbish.  If you’re staying in self-catering accommodation, the supermarket on the ground floor sells lots of food you won’t find elsewhere.  If you’re stuck for time, there isn’t much you would want to buy that isn’t sold here.  Don’t expect to find things cheaper in the black market.  If you want good quality it will come with a very similar price tag wherever you go.  Beware pick pockets around the entrances...

Grand Plaza
Location: west of the state department store along Peace Avenue
Another enormous department store. This is more geared towards foreign goods but as this is Mongolia, that includes lots of unusual (if you’re a Westerner) Chinese and Korean imports.  

Black market
Location: Narii Road
Worth visiting out of curiosity, you can buy anything and everything here.  It’s enormous and can be exhausting, especially if it’s hot.  As well as more decorative items, there is everything you need for life on the steppe including gers, furniture, stoves, cleaning products... you get the idea.  You'll probably meet a few drunken herders enjoying a day out in the city and missing their children, which benefitted our children to the tune of several sweets, an ice-cream each and some slightly sweaty Tugrik all passed on with affectionate pats on the head.  I should say the couple in the photograph were sober!  They just wanted a photograph and a cuddle.

Word of warning: to anyone visiting with children, be aware that your children will be cuddled, patted and spoilt by everyone. Put your fear of sugar to one side. Expect many people to ask for photographs with your children.

Art and antiques
As well as the state department store itself, there are a few art and antiques shops just off the square to the right as you look North. We spent some happy hours in one particular shop thanks to the owner being very hungover (and asleep) when we got there, his children being very sociable and playing with ours, the owner’s enthusiasm for drinking beer once he woke up and our request for traditional Mongolian calligraphy.  We didn't buy any antiques because I felt uncomfortable carting Mongolian heritage away overseas, but we did buy two excellent copies of famous Mongolian paintings and the aforementioned calligraphy which was produced for us by two art school students who would have been recognisable as such anywhere in the world.

Traditional clothes
You can buy ready-made everything (reindeer skin boots, fur hats, cashmere and the rest) in the State Department Store.  If you would like to buy a deel made to fit (the traditional Mongolian coat, still worn on special occasions or everyday in the countryside), there are quite a few fabric shops in between the state department store and the grand plaza who will be able to recommend fabrics and a tailor to make it for you.  Deels are very practical, actually, especially if you ride and I had an autumn weight deel made for me which I ride in at home in New Zealand throughout the winter.  Just bear in mind you’ll need to give them enough time to make it for you and it might be a good idea to take someone who speaks Mongolian with you.  The ladies I bought mine from were as honest as the day is long, but they didn't speak a word of English and I can't speak Mongolian so if I hadn't had a friend with me it would have been difficult to explain exactly what I wanted.  The black market is the best place for leather boots and children’s clothing.  The little boots our daughter is wearing here were a brilliant buy - perfect for a Kiwi winter as they are felt lined and easy for little fingers to pull on and off.

Anyway, these are just some ideas!  Feel free to add your recommendations below —>