Chapter Four: Mongolia

Train to Ulaan Bataar leaves at 08.00, 06.00 rise and shine a little. Coffee will do the rest. In the carriage I am staying with a lot of Dutch people, it I so more fun to meet foreign people. Ahh, this only for one day. Besides the railway takes me miles and miles along the Baikal lake, enough distraction. The water turns into green hills, this goes unnoticed. First there is a dance of water and grass, than the grass takes over, followed by endless green horizons.
To enter Mongolia we have two rituals, one at the Russian border and one at the Mongolian border, just takes four hours. At dawn we arrive in Ulaan Bataar, at first sight a modern city, but when I looked deeper it is a poor city. A city with 2 faces and Mongolia is hit hard by the drop in commodity prices. A lot of unfinished buildings are in retreat.
From the outside my guesthouse looks not that promising, but from the inside oke. A hot shower and a bed is all I need. I stay with Boris, in the same apartment. Boris is one of the good Dutchies on the train. We explore the city for a day and a half. Along the road we were interviewed by the Mongolian TV, we were asked regarding the crime in the city and than especially tourist, I was broadcasted at 1900, but our TV was not working. 
Next day I am going to the Genghis Kahn complex, a massive aluminum statue of the man himself. Quite impressive, I had my own private guide Tom who was telling me unbelievably background stories about the rise of Genghis Kahn. The statue is 40 meters high and there is a platform on the head of the horse. The view was brilliant. They chose this place because Genghis Kahn found his whip again. He received the whip as a gift from one of his best friends, who later became one of huis enemies. All in all a nice day out. 2 massive blisters are preventing me from doing anything else. Fortunately my new roommate Cath from America took care of that, such a sweet lady. She will buy a horse a ride for 5 weeks in Mongolia, that's the way to do it!