Ulaanbaatar Things to Do

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ULANBATAAR
Located very near to where I was staying I decided that I would visit the The Mongolian Museum of Natural History. I definately wantedto improve my knowledge of the Mongolians people and their culture...I must confess that apart from reading up on the capital and my accomodation I had little idea of the History of this country at all.I arrived just after an extremely cold winter and the country suffered badly with very heavy stock losses that created local food shortages that were very noticeable. I wanted to learn much more about this interesting country.
There is a large display of old Mongolian life over the years with a large display of horsemans items including various saddles and riding items, various weapons and even a full sized "yurt" which is set out inside for everyday living.There are many items and historical artifacts on display here from precious stones to the Yurt..

I was quite surprised when I came across this big Irish pub while out walking around the city...I decided that I would have a look inside as this is the last sort of pub I expected here..so after a peep at the Menu I decided to have something to eat and also have a local beer..well the food was good and so was the beer...as usuall everyone outside were busy with the ongoing job of cleaning sand and dust from everywhere and also the windows were being cleaned..The staff were friendly and spoke english.The interior reminded me of not so much a pub but a Hard Rock Cafe with so much in the way of Musical Instruments and various other music memorablia...This Pub is worth a look when your in Ulanbataar.and the beer was cold also..

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The Centre of Mongolian Buddhists is the "Gandantegchenling Monastery" located not far from the centre of the city. Originally located in the very centre of Ulanbataar the monastery was moved to its present location in1838 This Monastery would be the most popular of places to visit when in Ulaanbatar.I walked here from the city centre and although a long walk not overwhelming as the hills to the Monastery are not very steep..While walking it is easy to see the huge variation in buildings and architecture that make up Ulaanbatar.The dryness and the dust and sand from the winds that blow into Ulanbataar from over the Gobi Desert permeate everything.
Upon entry into the compplex you will find many buildings with various significance The main building the Migjed Janraisig built in 1911 is quite large and the interior holds A huge buddist statue that stands nearly 27 meters tall is made from copper and is plated with gold..The original statue was destroyed in 1938 by the communists along with around 900 monasteries buildings and temples while they supressed the religionand jailed or killed the monks.

The exhibits here about Mongolia's flora and fauna are exquisite and very comprehensive. There are many history and geography lessons to be learnt in this museum as well. I discovered quite a few things here in this museum.

The most impressive display must be the complete dinosaur skeletons found in the Gobi Desert - the meat-eating Tarbosaurus, 15m tall and weighing 5 tons and the plant-eating Saurolophus, 8m tall.

The museum is old and a little dingy but it has that old museum smell and atmosphere. Very nice.

The museum contains very interesting exhibits of, what else, Mongolian History.

The ground floor displays the cultural items related to Mongolia, the ger, farming implements, horse saddles, musical instruments, items related to Buddhism.

The second floor is wonderful. It contains the traditional costumes and head-gears from the various minority groups of Mongolia. All very interesting.

The third floor is, to me, a little boring, mainly historical photos, documents, etc...

Better to spend more time at the first two floors at the visual displays.

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The Bogd Khaan Palace Museum, located 30 minutes walk from the centre of Ulaanbaatar, comprises of two parts: The temple area with some temples and pagodas - and the winter residence/palace of the last Bogd Khaan of Mongolia (named Javzandamba), who lived there for 20 years.

The palace compound was built between 1893 and 1903, but was nearly destroyed during the communist campaign in the 1930s. Bogd Khaan had three other palaces – and they were all destroyed – but for unknown reason, the winter palace was spared.

The place is now a museum and we went through the exhibitions. There were a huge collection of gifts from foreign visitors - and a even bigger collection of some of the private belongings of Bogd Khaan and his wife. We also visited some of the temple buildings and saw a collection of Buddhist arts. IMO the old buildings were the most interesting...

If you want to take photos in the museum you must pay an extra fee.

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The Natural History Museum is the oldest public museum in Mongolia - established in 1924. The museum is large and contains exhibits about geology, geography, flora, fauna, palaeontology, and anthropology.

There is a large section with stuffed animals, birds and fish – but the most impressive and interesting are the two (nearly?) complete dinosaur skeletons found in the Gobi Desert. It is not every day you see a 15-meter long carnivorous Tarbosaurus or an 8-meter long Saurolophus… Quite interesting…

If you want to take photos in the museum you must pay an extra fee.

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Gandantegchinlen Khiid (short name: Gandan) is Mongolia's largest and most important monastery. It is a Tibetan-style monastery and the Tibetan name means "Great Place of Complete Joy".

The construction of the monastery began in 1830s, but it was nearly destroyed during the communist campaign in the 1930s. Hundreds of monasteries throughout Mongolia were destroyed, and monks were killed or imprisoned. Temples were also destroyed here at Gandan - and other temples and buildings were used to house Russian officials - or as stables for their horses! In 1944 the monastery was, however, reopened, but under the strict supervision of the Communist government. After the democratic revolution in 1990, Gandan has been restored and revitalized - and there are currently about 150 active monks in the beautiful monastery.

IMO the most beautiful temple is Migjed Janraisig, which is honouring Janraisig (the Bodhisattva of Compassion). There used to be an old statue of Migjed Janraisig inside the temple, but it was also destroyed by the communists in the 1930s. The statue is now replaced by a new one, completed in 1996, made of copper, gilded in gold, and stands impressive 26.5 metres.

A must see in Ulaanbaatar.