The ger, or yurt, is a felt and canvas tent supported by an ingenious system of collapsible walls and poles leading to a central circular support. We had the opportunity to help prepare our couchsurfing host's ger for winter by taking it apart and adding extra layers of thick felt as insulation. It was a fascinating way to see how everything fit together.
The children of the family warmed to us quickly, as they are very used to having couchsurfers to play with, and I soon became a climbing frame.
Our couchsurfing host made us feel very welcome, and his wife made us a traditional breakfast of bread rolls and orom -a thick cream they had produced from their dairy cows. We tagged along one day as he walked the cows to the hills nearby to forage on the wild grasses there.
We soon felt like part of the family, and really enjoyed making dinner one night on the hearth. I usually make enough for 7 when I cook for 4, so this time I made enough for 12 when there were 8. Luckily, they invited the grandmother and a couple of neighbours around to help finish it off.
The children were very talented, and treated us to a few Mongolian dances.
And we also got to listen to the horsehead fiddle played by the eldest son.
As for the city itself, many travelers we met did not like the dust, the sloppy footpaths and messy construction. We thought it was an interesting place, though our experiences in the ger district certainly influenced our views. There was a lot of history and culture to be seen, like these guards staring unflinchingly into the sun in Sukhbataar, the main square.
It was also fascinating to see the layers of history in UB, with new skyscrapers being thrown up with mining money alongside gigantic buddhist statues and communist relics.
I really liked this communist mural with fantastic views over the city. The Mongolians don't seem to harbor any bad feelings towards Russia, with the written alphabet they introduced still being used today.
What really made the city though, was staying with this kind and generous family. The great-grandmother would drop by and even slept over one night. When I asked if I could take her picture she dressed up in her finest clothes.
Our last night we spent with two new couchsurfers who had just arrived in Mongolia. There were 12 of us in the cosy ger.
