Our sleeping in gers is at an end as we will be back in our hotel in Ulaanbaatar tonight. I do not think the gers were bad at all. They were clean, as were the restrooms and showers, the food was decent (especially if you loved beef) and the availability of electricity and internet was not all that bad. It was much better than I anticipated.

It will be another 240 km driving day, but mostly on a real highway! We were back in Ulaanbaatar in time for lunch at a nice local restaurant where we had chicken, not beef! It was then back to our original hotel (Hotel Grand Hill) where we had a chance to shower, sleep or simply relax until we left for a short city tour at 4:30 PM.

Our first stop was at the Gandan monastery, the largest functioning Buddhist monastery in Mongolia. Its formal name is Gandantegchinlen Monastery, which means Great Place of Complete Joy. It is one of the few monasteries that was not destroyed by the Communists. It is thought to have originated in 1809. It is the site of several active Buddhist temples, at least 4 universities and has about 150 active monks. While there we observed monks praying with a local family, young men training to be a monk, a local wedding party and the 26 m  high gilded, 20 ton statue of Migjid Janraisig, the Buddhist deity who represents compassion. The statue was built in the 1990s to replace the one destroyed during the communist purges of the 1930s.

From the monastery we went to the huge Genghis Khan square where the Mongolian parliament building is located. It is a popular gathering spot for people and we saw many of them walking around. There were also a lot of children riding around in little battery powered cars. While there we had an opportunity to spend about 30 minutes shopping at one of the largest cashmere companies in the country. I was amazed at how many different mens and womens products were being offered at very competitive prices compared to what they would cost in the USA. As we waited for a few people to complete their purchases the entire store lost electrical power. Luckily it was still light outside so we did not have a problem leaving the store with our packages.

We were driven a short distance to a local auditorium where we were scheduled to see a show featuring Mongolian singers, dancers and musicians. But as we arrived we learned that the building had also lost power. Not to be denied, the staff at the auditorium said they would move the show out to the large lobby where we waited. As they prepared bringing chairs into the lobby, the lights went back on and we were back into the auditorium with only a 15 minute delay to the start of an excellent folkloric performance highlighting Mongolian song and dance. It was top notch. I even bought a DVD of the show.

We then drove back a short distance to a restaurant where we had our “farewell dinner”. Hugs, goodbyes and wishes for safe travel was extended to all, as we each went our separate ways back to our homes or onward to more travels,

Tomorrow morning Scott and I will be retracing our steps to Seoul, South Korea where we will do some sightseeing and then spend the night before each going our separate ways to our respective homes.