a farewell party for a volunteer

one of the filipinos - a lady volunteer had already spent more than two years of service in mongolia. now she has decided to go back to the philippines. this was a send-off party for her. we had filipino beefsteak, lumpiang shanghai (fried spring rolls) from scratch (wraps and all), fresh lumpia, vegetable salad and steamed rice.

the supposed buffet table with candles. however after all have taken servings, we started swarming around and just ate on it as well.

dance time!

opposite directions....why?

singing duo

karaoke time

go! feel!

watched tv too (or was it a movie?)

people

a bystander standing in front of a variety store. it's like the mongolian version of the filipino 'sari-sari' store.

a closer look - together

woman vendor at gandan

sunset at zaisan tolge

a view of ulaanbaatar from zaisan tolge

sunset

dusk

















twilight
















vesper

all the same, the visual panorama at sunset gives a sense of unusual tranquility

ulaanbaatar on a saturday tour

the meeting place was at sukhbaatar square, 10:00 a.m. we boarded two buses in front of the opera house. the itinerary consists of visits to different museums, the central library, the gandan monastery, and the russian memorial monument.

this is the main square at the heart of the city. a large statue of sukhbaatar, the famous patriot characterizes the square which was named after this historic figure.

the UB city hall facing sukhbaatar square

an edifice nearing completion to house the monuments of chinggis khan and his sons

the parliament building

at National Museum of Mongolian History

http://www.nationalmuseum.mn/

gandan monastery

the view that welcomes you as you enter the gandan complex - the temple doves flying amidst visitors to the monastery...

guests cannot help but to be friendly with the birds too. here they feed them with some nuts available upon purchase at the entrance.

the janraisig datsan

this imposing building has become a symbol of independence for the mongolians. it is a temple for the veneration of janraisig, the bodhisattva of compassion. it ws built in 1911 at the time of bogd khan, the 8th jebzundamba. the janraisig statue stands inside this building, at 26.5 meters. it is made of copper from erdenet mine and is gilded in gold.

for more information visit http://www.gandan.mn