Note: I turned my journal over to Caitlyn at this point, so the last 8 or so blogs will mostly be pictures.Today was our last full day in Mongolia. We got up, ate breakfast, and packed our things to head back to Ulaanbaatar. Not far from camp, one of the "Sherman" vans overheated, so once again, we were sitting and waiting for a Sherman to revive itself. It did, and we were on our way again.
We arrived in the capital several hours later and I was in a rush to get to the Michelle Hotel to see if Christi had made it safely! She had, and was exhausted from the 2 days of flying, but we were both elated to see each other.
After settling in at the Hotel and taking cold showers, we set out in small groups to explore the city. Christi joined us and we decided to go to the "State Store" which is the Mongolian version of Macy's. We purchased souvenirs for family and Christi picked out 10 pairs of Mongolian shoes for Rigley. She finally whittled it down to 3 pairs.We all regrouped and walked to dinner at a Mongolian theater that showcases traditional Mongolian songs, garb and customs. On the way, one of our group was pickpocketed (this is a growing problem in UB) and Ghana, our guide, raced after the guy and came back with the wallet. We are not sure what transpired once he caught up to the guy, but it sounded like the other gentlemen may not have fared so well when Ghana caught up to him (he may have gotten pummeled...we're not sure).
The theater was interesting and the clothing was incredible. They played traditional instruments and the men sang Long Songs with their very low guttural throat singing.
After theater we went to MONGOLIAN BARBEQUE! I am sure that this place was built for tourists because it looked just like the Mongolian BBQ's in Montana but this was the only one we saw in a city of 1 million. We were excited to eat there though because we know everybody back home was going to ask if we had Mongolian Barbeque!I tried horse meat for the first time. It remined me of moist jerky slabs or stringy roast beef, it was actually quite good. I samples Intesting filled with Beef and Stomach. The only way I can think to describe the flavor and texture comparing it to Meat flavored Jello with chunks of slimy tapioca thrown in. It looked like a tube of intestine (not stretched out like a sausage, just an intesting laying on the table) with pieces of dark meat with cubed white gewey stomach pieces stuffed inside. I enjoyed trying it, but I would never need to "try" it again!
Tomorrow, most people would be flying out. Some are spending time in China on their way through. Christi and I will start our adventure tomorrow.
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