Ulaan Baatar
I’ll admit that I was expecting Ulaan Baatar to be a bit cold, industrial and grim. I only knew two things about it: it’s the coldest and most polluted city in the world, taking the ‘most polluted’ crown of smog from my beloved home-from-home of Hanoi, Vietnam; and anybody who visits Mongolia gets the hell out as soon as they get there, using it only as a layover and transport hub.
In fairness, many online guides or descriptions I found didn’t do much to elaborate any more on the place, and some even warned about the dangers of travelling there.
I’m always curious to see somewhere even if it’s got a bad reputation. Thankfully Ulaan Baatar wasn’t what I was expecting at all. The drive in from the airport didn’t inspire confidence at 3am, as most of the city was asleep and in the darkness the most striking features are, of course, large square anonymous apartment blocks and a complete lack of activity; our taxi driver stopping at a roadside kiosk to get a pack of cigarettes through a curtain was the only sign of life we saw.
By day though, pleasantly warm early summer weather burned through the clouds to show off blue skies rather than apocalyptic smog, even though the outskirts of the city do still feature giant factories with ominous dystopian names like “Power Plant #3” embossed in giant letters on the side, factories straddling both sides of the highway connected by clusters of giant overhead pipes like steam-punk hyperloops.
Back in the city centre the roads are pleasantly wide and tree-lined, the main roads converging on the grand Sukhbaatar Square in front of a government building with statues of great Khans standing sentry in front. Along with traditional Mongolian taverns there are tons of modern cafes, bars and restaurants, along with museums and galleries. See below for more details on nightlife and food.
Changing history
In the years following the removal of the Soviet regime from this independently-minded country, itself once a great conquering power in a bygone era, Genghis Khan has been restored in modern Mongolia’s consciousness as a mix between founding father, symbol of national pride and a god.
His face adorns the national currency, the international airport outside of the capital, and everything from hospitals to universities; pubs and restaurants to beer and vodka brands.
The infamous pollution didn’t appear to be too bad while I was there, and locals told me UB’s air pollution is worst in winter, when the hundreds of thousands of ger (the tent you may know as a ‘yurt’) homes that have settled on the outskirts of the city burn coal as fuel for heating.
This adds to the smog caused by the rather archaic looking heavy industry plants and ever-increasing traffic on the roads. The cars don’t look like they’re bought for their fuel-emissions records, and at rush hour intersections congestion can break into pandemonium as vehicles start relying on their own wits to navigate traffic jams rather than waiting for help from rules or lights or the kindness of strangers. Ulaan Baatar is the only real city in the country, and it has tripled in size in the last decade and a half as people resettle in the city to look for more ‘modern’ lines of work.
This has aided the country’s transformation from its unique nomadic way of life, in many ways unchanged from the days of the legendary Mongol empire.
The city does feel like it belongs to a country sandwiched between Russia and China, with the Cyrillic alphabet dominating signs around the place. Locals tend to have a preference for all things Russian, despite the recent dominance of the Soviet Union, and like most Asian countries there’s some animosity towards their large neighbour China, the home of many of the mining countries which have moved into the area in the past decade and a half.
The Soviet style architecture and genuine isolation from the rest of the world does give the feeling that Ulaan Baatar is a city cut off from everywhere else, but this actually gives it a defiant charm, the sense that it’s its own place, doing its own thing.
The everyday hospitality of the nomad culture, although clearly diluted in the city, there’s a genuine friendliness here which doesn’t have the intrusiveness of other Asian countries. The city centre has the informal friendliness of a smaller town – on the flight home strangers were making friends and hanging out together as the flight went on.
Food and nightlife
The main streets in the city centre converge on Sukhbaatar Square, including Peace Avenue, which runs east to west. The State Department Store here, a few blocks west of the square is a central meeting point, and also a good place to stock up on supplies before embarking on a trip out of the city. Revolution Bar and Grill facing onto the store does decent western food, as does the #hashtag cheese and beer café beside the Beatles statue on the square across the road.
Seoul Street is a block south of here, and it’s the city’s main nightlife street. It’s a strip with all the usual boxes ticked, but it’s surprisingly lively and good fun, and on weekends during the summer the block is overtaken with live music and street parties. Beer House has a good selection of local and imported beers, none of which are super expensive. There are pubs everywhere in the city and the beer is cheap.
Mongolians enjoy their drinks and nights out, and we found it really easy to mingle with locals in bars being neither pushy nor overly-polite – just good fun. In general English is spoken as much as you need to get by, and plenty of people are quite fluent, especially if they’re working in tourism or hospitality.
Along with this it felt like a safe place for tourists. Although there were some very visible issues with homelessness and alcoholism, there wouldn’t be any issues for foreigners travelling – I was warned however by some younger locals though that certain bars, clubs or areas are unofficially ‘locals only’, and that some Mongolians don’t appreciate foreigners in their country and may look to cause trouble ‘just because’. In my experience it’s like anywhere else – keep your wits about, don’t be stupid – but it’s something to keep in mind if travelling alone or if you feel like you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time.
UB was actually a much friendlier place than the countryside, which often required our guides’ friendliness and knowledge to get us around and introduce us to people – this was understandable given the country’s history, way of life and general isolation from the rest of the world.
On the other side of Sukhbaatar Square, on the bureaucratic sounding Prime Minister A.Amar Street, Doubleshot Café and bar does great cocktails – my dad was hooked on their espresso martinis, which only cost a couple of euro, representative of how good value the city is.
For some reason, there are also over 40 Irish pubs in the city, but I don’t think any of them serve Guinness on tap. I don’t know if the guys who named the Grand Khan at the bottom of Seoul Street realise how clever they are, but the pub does a perfectly ordinary steak and chips if you’re looking for one.
Fun fact: there’s an alcohol ban in Ulaan Baatar (maybe also wider Mongolia) on the first day of each month (it was National Children’s Day when I was there). This means no alcohol available in pubs, clubs or supermarkets. It also means if you’re out on the night of the 30th/31st before, pubs will cut you off at midnight! If you smoke, it’s also quite difficult to get cigarettes in UB (year-round), usually only available from covert street vendors (they don’t sell in supermarkets or bars) and for over 21’s only.
Transport
One thing is transportation – if you’re staying central everything is navigable on foot, but my dad was staying in a hotel on the outskirts of the city and it was a nightmare to find – no-one had heard of it (even though it was a Best Western hotel). We were told people don’t use addresses that much in UB, probably a result of thousands of years of nomadic evolution, and so navigation is done by direction and knowledge of the land.
One thing to remember is that most taxis don’t have taxi plates. If you want a lift somewhere, just stand at the side of the road and look like you need a taxi (you don’t even necessarily need to stick your hand up, though it might help). Agree a fare with the guy who inevitably stops for you (it’ll probably be cheap) and away you go. Though, like I said, it’s best if it’s somewhere you can show the driver on the map.
In any case, accommodation isn’t very expensive and it’s possible to stay somewhere nice and central which makes all planning and travelling around the city possible on foot.
Sights:
- Statues of Mongol Khans (including Ghengis) – Sukhbaatar Square
- Black market – for shopping, traditional clothes, boots, etc available for cheap prices, as well as a look at a more down to earth Mongolian shopping experience than the newer influx of Louis Vuitton mall stores.
- The ger villages on the outskirts of the city. It’s possible to get a guided tour of them, though we were warned not to wander in alone as it might be dangerous for tourists; naturally residents may not want wealthy slum-tourists coming poking around in their lives, but as in the countryside there are those who are happy to show you around their homes – look for a reputable guide who can give you an ethical tour.
- Organise your trips to the countryside!
- UB can also be used as a base to do day trips to some local sites, like Terelj National Park, which is a good way to get a taste of the country without going too far, and has a huge statue of Genghis Khan.
Conclusion
Nobody comes to Mongolia for a city break, and most people will only spend a couple of days here as a base between organised tours into the countryside – the ‘real’ Mongolia that people come to experience – or before and after flights in and out of the country.
But for those couple of days I was pleasantly surprised at the warm, friendly and modern but peaceful city and its locals. There are plenty of food options and things to do for the day or two that you’re here, as well as some museums and sights, as well as loads to learn and chat about with the many locals who are more than willing to accommodate the few tourists the place gets. It’s also the best place to get souvenirs for really reasonable prices, and overall is thankfully free of tackiness and dollar-chasing that a lot of more-visited cities inevitably promote.
It’s almost like a breath of fresh air.