Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar 3

October 8, 2010: Last night was quite exciting. Unfortunately my plan to grab a taxi back didn’t work out. Even though it was already late in the evening, the rush hour still hadn’t let up. I’ve never seen such jammed streets – nothing was moving at all. So I hurried along the road, past the stationary avalanche of sheet metal, ignored the curious stares and „enjoyed“ the never-ending honking concert. In the end I made it back to my host’s place in one piece.

I slept like a log that night – probably thanks to my earplugs. Cathy, on the other hand, had a disturbed night because of an incident. At around 2:30 a.m. the neighbour directly below us decided he had to force his way into his apartment. Cathy told me about various people screaming and a hammering noise. The result was there for all to see the next day: the apartment door had been kicked in…

Impressed by these latest events – in a bad way – I planned my day. On the to-do list: the Indian embassy for a visa, the post office for postcards and a quick stop at the supermarket. Raring to go, I set off for the Indian embassy in the morning in light sleet. While I spent over a quarter of an hour arguing with the guard to get through to someone at the embassy, I noticed three young guys nearby. My conversation with the embassy revealed that they’re too slow for an Indian visa, and I’m certainly not going to extend my stay in this city. Fine, forget it then. On my way to the post office I spotted the three characters again, keeping a safe distance – and, purely by coincidence, after I’d spent about 15 minutes in the post office, there they were, standing nearby having a smoke. Only a cynic would suspect anything. On to the supermarket. There I stocked up on a few snack bars, bread derivatives and something to drink. At the checkout I looked outside and there were my three „friends“ again. Somehow I doubted they were keen to act as my bodyguards and protect me from the big bad world out there. With lots of gesturing I got across to a shop assistant that I’d like to use a different exit. Luckily there was one, so I slipped out the back and hurried straight back to the apartment. I hope my three friends didn’t have to wait for me too long… What kind of city is this? I spent the rest of the day relaxing in the apartment, writing postcards and enjoying the view…

October 9, 2010: The next morning Cathy had the day off (Saturday) and we went for breakfast at a German bakery with all kinds of goodies. In the evening we rounded off my last day in Ulaanbaatar at a chic Thai restaurant with delicious food and good Genghis beer.