2024 09 Mongolia

First time to Changi Terminal 4 and first time flying Korean Air. Of course, they serve excellent bibimbap on board. Some family wanted our seats to be together, so we got shifted to the bassinet seats with extra leg room.

Short transit in Korea. Transfer was super smooth, 30 min gate-to-gate. Starbucks seems like the only choice for caffeine fix. Impressed with the Korean's operational efficiency both in-flight and airport operations.

So far, we only have good things to say of Korean Air.

Small airport as expected but with all the essentials, E.g. ATM and a good supermarket.
Grabbed a takeaway coffee for the 2hr road trip from Airport to our hotel in Ulaanbaatar.

About a 1.5 to 2 hours car ride from airport to hotel. Check-in to Best Western Tuushin Hotel with a great view of the city square and a decent sized room.

First impression of Mongolia? For sure, air pollution and bad traffic was not what i had in mind.

While it is called a museum, it is actually 1 of the 27 temples in Mongolia that has been recognised by UNESCO, which are more than 100 years old and having the interior of the temple and their artifacts preserved in its original form.
Nested in the middle of the city, literally surrounded by tall modern buildings.
Each of the temple halls were small, no more than 20x20m but were overwhelmingly packed with artifacts from early 17-19 century, some of which were made by the Bogh and his disciplines.
Sorry, no photos inside the buildings but definitely worth a visit if you are into Buddhist artifacts and fine arts.

Thank You, Nassa, our guide who happened to run into the director of the museum, and opened up more doors for us 😀.

In the adjacent building, we spent some time sitting in the hall observing the chanting classes of the young monks.
A friendly resident cat welcomed us to the monastery which housed a 26m statue of Avalokiteśvara ( aka GuanYin).

The great conqueror that needs no introduction.

Lunch stop at one of the National Park Resort. Beef cutlet for me. Cabbage roll for Sock.

As they are in a national park, they do not burn coal in their heater. In place is a man-made material of compressed wood shaving and recycled paper.

Legend has it that there are treasures hidden under the turtle by the king 🤔

108 signboards of meditation teachings line the path up to to the temple.
Midway up the path, there is a large prayer wheels that you can spin to get a number to tell your "fortune" on the signboards further up the hill.

Cross the "Bridge that brings you to another world" covered in autumn gold.
Up another flight of steps and finally at the meditation hall.

Yawn ... 4am airport transfer, to catch the domestic flight to West Mongolia.

Hanging out here for an espresso while waiting for hotel check-in. Love the quaint building exterior and modern internal facilities.

It took me 2 days to figure out the name of the hotel we are in. In the 10-story building, it houses 3 different hotels and some other business establishments, i.e. each few floors of the same building, was actually a different hotel ... 😅

Hotel overlooks the square with a great view. Room facilities are ok. Restaurant service is another matter. They have a habit of not clearing their tables the night before, so if you are at breakfast early, do expect messy left-overs from last night.

The main reason for my visit to west Mongolia was to attend this event. It is an annual gathering of about 20+ Eagle Hunters for 2 days of competitions around the scenic Lake Tolbo.

Casual festival mood as the folks set up stalls of traditional handicrafts and foods along side the competition arena.

Random shots around the competition arena as participants gather for the event opening.

About 20 to 30 participated in this year's event.

The eagles are released from the top of the cliff. The hunters will call their eagles from various marked circles on the field. The further the circle, the more points. The fastest eagle to reach the hunter also gets more points.

For both days, we decided to have lunch at the various "pop-up" stalls at the event. Turns out quite nice and saves the 40mins drive back to town restaurants.
Choices included: Beef shish kebab, bbq sheep's tail (very yummy and guaranteed collagen packed 👌), Khuushuur (freshly fried "dumplings") which are more like flat bread, must go with their chinese 丁丁 chilli, Beef gloush rice, meat ball soup.

Day 2 started with the hunting competition. Each hunter on horseback pulls a "bait", and the scoring is based on how fast the eagle zooms in on the bait.