Erdenet -> Ulaanbaatar

Returning to Mongolia has been a really interesting experience. Since my mission was so long ago and in a country so foreign and far away it sometimes feels like it didn't happen. It's strange to show up in a completely foreign town, not your home, no friends to pick you up, but knowing exactly where you are and how to get everywhere. Going around to the different places seems like chasing your own ghost. Each street corner has a memory, each building a different conversation. It felt like I was in 'A Christmas Carol' or something.

So anyhow, before I left Erdenet I got a used cell phone and a charger, and a one month pre-paid plan for about $20. Not bad, I figured. There were some people in Erdenet that it was hard for me to get in touch with because I didn't have a phone. Definitely worth it. Armed with my new phone, I decided I would take a minivan to the city (Ulaanbaatar). I saved a whole $8 by not taking a car, and it took only about two more hours. Plus! I got to sit in a 13 seat minivan with, by my best count 17 other people. One of the drivers pulled a head rest out of the socket and jammed it in between the seat and the wall. This poor little girl had to sit on it the whole way.

The dude next to me was a herder from the countryside. He was trying to sleep and it was a little like Rusty and Audrey on 'Christmas Vacation.' (If you don't get that reference, how about Buster and Michael...anyone?) I swear we made a thousand stops, not including the 1/2 hour we waited at the driver's house before we even left Erdenet so he could pick up some boxes. All of these stories are being prepped for my next next, book (after the sketchy food book) called 'The Mongolian way of Business.'

As we approached Ulaanbaatar I asked some people which district we were in and realized I probably knew better than them. I was right. I soon found out a taxi wouldn't go near the city center where my hostel was located, so I took a bus.

When I got to the hostel there was this German girl and Tazmanian woman chatting about their adventures. The Tazmanian woman, about 10 minutes earlier, had her purse swiped while crossing the street. The German girl had been living in the countryside with a family for the last month. Brave soul. There were a couple of people like that in our hostel that were raving about their experience, the families, the goats, and especially the food (sheep testicles and all). Skeptical about whether or not they really loved ALL of the food as much as they were claiming, I tried to dig a little deeper. "Did you eat ____?" "Yes, I loved it." "What about ___?" "That was very good." Tough girl eh? So I pulled out the big guns. "Intestine filled with congealed blood?" By the look on her face I could tell that she had eaten it. And that she didn't in fact love ALL Mongolian food. Haha, I KNEW it.