Click for Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Forecast
--Go on a day trip out of Ulaanbaatar driving a tank, shooting different rifles and launching grenades!!! On the   way, enjoy a nice scenery from a beautiful mountain pass!!!
--Go on a tour to nature and nomadic families observing their routine lifestyle!!!...

--Just call to 98206816 or 976 98206816!!!

Available: consulting on route-planning, rent of strong tents, gas stoves, saddles, saddle bags, safety helmets, fishing gears and sleeping bags.
On August 14th, the shamans are to hold a spirit calling ceremony in "The 13th Century" complex found near Tsonjin Boldog Hill. It's at about 75km to east from Ulaanbaatar.
Support Mongolian people by using services provided by the Mongols themselves!!!"-Now, most foreign tourists enter and leave Mongolia with foreign-owned airlines or trains, stay at foreign accommodations, eat at foreign restaurants in Ulaanbaatar and travel in the country with foreign tour companies"/admitted Davaadorj Ts, the Minister of Infrastructure and Trade. 02.10.2007/.
Mongolia travel companions wanted:
30. Looking for people to travel by bike. Ideally following a river, from Ulaanbaatar/let's plan it together/. I'm flexible. A hiking tour would be great too. saraniort@yahoo.fr Tel: 95001082.  28: An Italian lady can go in coming days on a 4 or 5-day Central Eastern Mongolia tour;Read more...

Welcome to Mongolia!

Dear Guest,
Sain bainu?/ "Are you fine?"/. Ta saikhan namarjij bainu?/"Are you having a good autumn?"

It's me, Bolod, a Mongol man who runs a tour operator-the Bolod's Tours and Guesthouse in Mongolia.
Thank you for visiting my live website! It's about Mongolia and the Mongols.
Welcome to the ancestral heartland for more than 12 mln. Mongols who live now in 8 countries/Mongolia/2.7mln/, China/5.8-6.0mln/, Afghanistan/3.0-4.0mln/, Russia/0.8mln/, Iran, Burma, Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan/. ...If we can bring Herat's Moghols, Kyrgyzstan's Sart-Kalmyks, Kuko-nor's Mongols, Russia's Kalmyks and those Hazaras who are clearly of Mongol descent and who want it themselves, back to the central land of their ancestors ?! They wouldn't be coming to Mongolia as refugees, they will be here at home !  ... If Astana is bringing the ethnic Kazaks from different countries to Kazakhstan in order to make their country stronger, why Ulaanbaatar wouldn't consider to do the same?! We have enough land for everybody who wants to settle permanently in Mongolia for the ethnic reason. UN should help us too. When Soviet Union ended up with the splits, Germany has received ethnic Germans from Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and other former republics too. Remember, Turkey received Turks from Bulgaria when Todor Jivkov changed his mind towards them. Ukraine and Russia welcome their ethnic kinsmen from the post-Soviet countries to settle in their countries.

We, the Mongols are even more separated than the ill-fated Kurdish people. Do we know any person, any family or any nation who is happy for being separated ?!

We invite you to visit the country and its people. You will be visiting a people with centuries-old nomadic lifestyle, listening to the absolute silence and breathing  the purest ever air  and seeing the eternal blue sky dominating over this beautiful land on Central Asian plateau:
green taiga forests, the second largest fresh water lake in Siberia, ancient burials, icy streams of crystal clear rivers,  in its north,
two-humped camels, towering sand dunes, green oases with saksaul trees, rocky mountains in scarsely green plains, natural formations of cliffs... in its South,
endless steppes, homeland of best horses, bird gathering at blue lakes, fishing rivers, numerous gazelles, volcanic craters... in its East,
snow capped mountains, great lakes, rock paintings, steep canyons, yak herds and massive sand dunes, mountain and field caves ... in its West!

Discover Mongolia with Bolod's Tours which operates since 1991! Stay comfortably in Bolod's guesthouses operate since 2000! It's a truly experienced native tour operator and guesthouse reccommended by Lonely Planet's "Mongolia" guidebook of 2001/page 139/ and 2005/pages 69, 72/ and its "Trans Siberian Railway" of 2006/p. 263/, "Mongoru"/in Japanese/ by Globe-Trotter/ of 2007-2008/page 56/, "Mongolie" by Petit Fute of 2008-2009/page 86/and on the www.mongoliatourism.gov.mn- the official tourism website of Mongolia.

What's now the situation with Mongolia's tourism like? As Mr. Davaadorj Ts, the Minister of the Manufacturing and Trade admitted on October 2nd, 2007, on TV, "-Now, most foreign tourists enter and leave Mongolia by foreign-owned airlines or trains, stay at foreign-owned accommodations, eat at foreign restaurants and travel with foreign tour companies". It's true, indeed, nowdays.
This country doesn't need foreign investments in fields where the Mongols are capable or must do businesses themselves. What kind of foreign investments does Mongolia indeed need? The country needs foreign investment in manufacturing and technology most!!! Mongolia's rulers must serve in the interests of their own people.

I'm almost one of patriots who want to remain in this  last homeland instead of emigrating abroad as too many Mongols do so. Exodus of its young population and export of Mongol women are the greatest threats to the further existense of  Mongols as a nation...
Nationwide mining boom and gold rush are the greatest threat to Mongolia's nature... The gold may feed the people for 50 years, while preserved Nature-Mother would be able do it for another 5000 years.

Thank you for taking your time visiting my modest website.

I will keep my website live and constantly updated.

Bolod

Some of Mongol-owned restaurants and canteens in Ulaanbaatar:
1. "
Avtai Sain Khaan", a Mongolian meals restaurant with high-quality service in Ulaanbaatar. Located opposite to the USA Embassy. Tel: 99116670.
2. "Ikh Mongol" restaurant\original Mongolian draft beer and food and european food\, Opening hours : 10am to 11pm, located opposite Asa Circus, Tel: 320450
3. "
Ikh Khuraldai" restaurant, located at 400meters to south from Peace Bridge on Chinggis Avenue, tel: 976-11-342511, 976-11-343553

4. "Modern  Nomads" restaurant. www.modernnomads.mn

Web: 
Some of Mongol-owned companies in Mongolia:
1. www.gmobile.mn G-Mobile is the first Mongol-owned cellular operator in Mongolia!!! I'm now with G-Mobile.
2. www.monos.mn - The company's great brand  is "Salimon".

3. "Mill House" LLC, the newest flour making factory: www.millhouse.mn
\continued\

Монголчуудын тухай сэтгэгдлүүд\Impressions of the Mongols\эх үүсвэрийг заалгүй хуулахыг хориглоно!!!
Сэтгэгдэл 1: "Two were Mongolian lamas in shabby robes of saffron and crimson, bound at the waist by twisted sashes of faded purple cloth. One lama had a crushed felt hat on his shaven head, the other was bare-headed, and both wore high, leather Mongol boots. The one with hat was tall and rather gaunt, with a long nose, and sunken cheeks below high cheekbones. The other was shorter and more thickset, with a broader face. Both might have been taken for American Indians. As we camp up, they were in the act of replacing their carved snuff-bottles in their belt-purses, having taken them out to exchange them with third man, who had just joined them.
The newcomer was a layman, with a frank, pleasant expression in contrast to the somewhat furtive looks of the lamas. He too would have resembled an American Indian except for the long, drooping moustache under his small, finely chiseled nose. Unlike the lamas, he was wearing a dark blue summer robe of heavy serge, with a red sash, a brown belt hat, and cloth boots. Though the features and dress of all three were so typically Mongol, and unlike anything we had seen in China, I thought I would try the experiment of greeting them in Chinese. The taller monk answered, with quite a strong accent, explaining that he, like many other lamas of the border regions I had visited, often had occasion to deal with the Chinese merchants in buying things for his temple, and had learned their language in that way.
pages 6, 7. "The Land of the Camel" by Schuiler Cammann. 1950. The Ronald Press Company. NewYork.

Сэтгэгдэл 2: " We found the Mongols to be a hospitable people with full, healthy-looking faces and often with handsome and intelligent intelligent features...
In the morning several Mongol men and women looked in on us and very kind-heartedly sewed the extensions on our sleeves and fixed knapsacks for us. The Chinese have a long way to go to match the Mongols in kindness...".
"The Chinese Agent In Mongolia" by Ma Ho-t'ien. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Press, 1949.

Сэтгэгдэл 3: " Here, for the first time, we accosted representatives of pure Mongol race; truculent-looking rascals they seemed to us, after the reserved and rather timid Uriankhai/энэ тохиолдолд Тувачуудыг хэлж байна.А.Б/. The natural influence of the wild life and freedom of the open Mongolian plateau could be traced in their careless and reckless manner; they were loud-speaking, rough soldiery, used to a hard life, apt to bully those below them, but respectful to their superiors./page 260/
...Thus we never saw the Khan/of the Durbets/; and much to our regret, for he was a rare type of an hereditary prince of ancient stock, claiming direct descendent from Jenghis Khan himself. One evening two of his sons visited us, giving us thereby an idea of appearance of a Mongol of a good birth. After our dealings with the rift-raft of the herdsmen, with rough soldiers and with primitive hunters, we had grown accustomed to the idea that all Mongols were heavily built, rough, ill-mannered, ugly to look upon, and with leathery faces, but these two Mongol gentlemen astonished us by their indefinable look of breeding and by their charm of manner. Of average height, and lightly built, with clean, sharp-cut features, soft, dark, olive skin and small hands, they showed a marked contrast to their retainers. Their had the refined air, the politeness of manner, courteous style, which belongs only to those Mongols who are accustomed to rule...There is still "spirit" left in the Mongols, judjing by these two men of a good birth; they, at any rate, gave us no impression of decay or deterioration. Turned into the right channels, the Mongol Khans could wield great power to good effect. Even now the tide is turning, and when the nomads have realized their strength and regained their self-reliance, they may also regain their independence..."/pages 269, 270/.
"Unknown Mongolia"/a record of travel and exploration in North-West Mongolia and Dzungaria/ by Douglas Carruthers. 1913. London. Hutchinson & Co

Сэтгэгдэл 4: "Саяын хөдөөний монголчууд огт танихгүй хүнийг зочилсонд би их баярласан, сэтгэл минь их хөдөлсөн. Гэвч надад нэгэн гунигт бодол төрж байна. Тэд одоо мөхөөд байхгүй болсон миний ард түмнийг санагдуулчихлаа. Гайти арлын уугуул- монголжуу төрхтэй хүмүүсийн сүүлийн хэдхэн төлөөлөгчийн нэг нь би\Одоо тэнд чинь гол төлөв африкчууд болон миний ард түмнийг хядсан европчуудын үр садаас цөөн хүн байдаг\. Манайхан үнэндээ, яг саяын монголчууд\малчин 2 айлыг хэлж байна. А.Б\ шиг зочломтгой, цайлган зангаасаа болж мөхсөн юм. Өөрөөр хэлбэл харийнхан тэдний минь зочломтгой занг ашиглан арлыг маань эзлэн авсан юм даа. Бас тэд нар жаргаснаас хойш гадагшаа гардаггүй уламжлалтай байж. Энэ үеээр нь европчууд тэднийг минь жинхэнэ хяддаг байсан. Тэд минь хэт гэнэн, болгоомжгүй байж дээ...". Швейцарын парламентын гишүүн байсан гэх нэгэн авгай 2009 оны намар Төв аймгийн нутагт надад ярьсан билээ.

Сэтгэгдэл 5: "The houseboys, Chinese privates from the Sarachi district of central Suiyuan, tried to crowd into the mess hall, saying that if "that no-account" could come in, they could too. They recognized him as a Mongol by the scarlet vest he wore with his student uniform-no Chinese would wear anything as bright- and Sa-hsien people, as members of the first wave of Chinese migtation into the Mongol grazing lands, are the most open in their scorn of the people they dispossessed.
Their feeling was even more obvious next morning when Fred went to ask the cook for an extra plate of eggs to give Dunguerbo. "Mongol no good!" the Chinese servants said with emphasis. This annoyed us very much, as Dunguerbo had a far finer personality and a much more generous nature than most of the Chinese we had contact with up there"
page127, "The Land of the Camel" by Schuyler Cammann. The Ronald Press Company. New York. 1950.

Сэтгэгдэл 6: "...I call the whole thing a tragedy because it does not give either Chinese or Mongol fair chance. The Mongols at present are, as a race, at a standstill, if they are not dying. Yet with wise treatment they would become again withing 2 generations a proudand self-reliant people. The world needs more and more its pasture lands, to supply civilazation with wool and meat and hides. The Mongols, with Russia on one side of them and China on the other, are powerless. As a nation they are unarmed and incoherent.."
"The Desert Road to Turkestan" by Owen Lattimore. 1929, Boston.

Сэтгэгдэл 7: "Huc and after him, Prjevalsky have described the Tsaidam Mongols as morose and melancolic, speaking little-in fact, hardly better than animals. I was glad to find all those I met quite different from what the accounts of these travelers had caused me expect. Not only they showed themselves ready to do anything for me, but they expected themselves to make my stay agreeable, inviting me, or playing on a rough kind of banjo they manufacture themselves".
page 130, The Land of the Lamas" by Rockhill W.W/a journey into eastern Tibet and Mongolia in 1888-1889/.

Сэтгэгдэл 8: "Away in the distance we had seen some black spots from which faint columns of blue smoke were raising peacefully in the morning air. these were the yurts, or felt tents, of the Mongols, towards which we were making.. .. All round the sides of the tent boxes and cupboards were neatly arranged and at one end were some vases and images og Buddha. In the centre, was fireplace, situated directly beneath the hole of the place. I was charmed with the comfort of the place. The Chinese inns, at which I had so far had to put up, were cold and draughty. Here the sun came streaming in through the hole in the top, and there were no draughts whateever. Nor was there any dust; and this being the tent of a well-to-do Mongol, it was clean and neatly arranged"
-"Among the Celestials" by Captain Younghusband, C.I.E. London. John Murray, Albemarle Street. 1898

Сэтгэгдэл 9: "At Urga, in June, the great meet which the Living God blesses with his presence is an amazing spectacle, reminiscent of the pageants of the ancient emperors. All the elite of Mongolia gather on the banks of the Tola River, dressed in their most splendid robes, and the archery, wrestling, and horse racing are famous throughout the East. This love of sport is one of the most attractive characteristics of the Mongols. It is a common ground on which a foreigner immediately has a point of contact. The Chinese, on the contrary, despise all forms of physical exercise. They consider it "bad form," and they do not understand any sport which calls for violent exertion. They prefer to take a quiet walk, carrying their pet bird in a cage for an airing ; to play a game of cards; or, if they must travel, to loll back in a sedan chair, with the curtains drawn and every breath of air excluded"
page 158, "Across Mongolian Plains" by Roy Chapman Andrews. D. Appleton and Company. New York. 1921.

Сэтгэгдэл 10: "There were several Mongol yurts about, and we had visits from some of the men. They were tall, strong, muscular fellows, but very childish, amused at everything, and very rough in their manners.
Looking on these uncouth, indolent men, it was difficult to imagine that they were the descendants of the wild Tartar ordes, who under Chengiz Khan had conquered China, had penetrated to India, had subdued all Turkestan and Pursia, and swept through Russia even to Central Europe..."-
page 128, "Among the Celestials" by Captain Younghusband, C.I.E. London. John Murray, Albemarle Street. 1898

Сэтгэгдэл 11: "The question naturally arises, Why the Mongols decreasing when they own so good a land? whatever the cause of Mongol decadence, it cannot be through lack of available territory"./page 290/
"Lama-ridden, and fleeced by the Chinese, the Mongols remain in a state of serfdom under their chiefs"./page 293/
"Such questions came to us as the red-coated Mongol horsemen rode near us during the day, sat around the camp-fires with us at night. They could tell us nothing, they were unaware of their ancient greatness. Only the name of Jenghis remained in their memory, and him they treated as a deity and spoke of with reverence"/page 295/
"Let us look at the Mongols of the present day. The traveller in Mongolia, alive to the history and former greatness of the people who dwell there, will recognise much at the present day that corresponds to those old accounts of the Mongols as here quoted. He will note that they are still hardy, still capable of enduring fatigue, cold, and hunger; so far, indeed, as physique goes, the Mongol of to-day is probably equal of the men Jenghis Khan let to battle"./page 306/
"Lamaism in Mongolia has been countenanced, and in every way encouraged, by the Chinese, who were clever enough to realise the influance such an organisation would exercise over nomad people. The Chinese patronized and endowed the monasteries, and granted special privileges to the lamas... Lamaism absorbes a large portion of the male population by inducing a vast majority of men, who under ordinary conditions of life would be the bread-winners and workers, to turn into a species of parasite. The boys, for instance, who in the earlier days devoted their time to martial and physical exercises, camp-work, or herding the flocks, are now entered at early age as students in the lamaseries, and their lives are entirely sacrificed to the forms and services of religion; when grown up, this tends to make them lead idle, useless lives, wholly dependent on others, when they should be independent and self-supporting."
pages 312, 313, "Unknown Mongolia"/a record of travel and exploration in North-West Mongolia and Dzungaria/ by Douglas Carruthers. 1913. London. Hutchinson & Co
/үргэлжлэл бий/

Traveler's Tips

зохиогчийн эрхээр хамгаалагдана.

1-Dangers and annoyances; 2- Health issues; 3-Currency; 4-Time Zone; 5-Laundry; 6-Prostitution; 7-Food and drink; 8-Cultural tips;  9-Museums; 10-Theaters and concerts in Ulaanbaatar .....

1. Dangers and annoyances: The biggest threat for foreign travelers is pickpockets in Ulaanbaatar !!! So keep your valuables/passports, credit cards, cash etc./ in your safety belt!!!  Don't flash your money around or carry money you don't need, or keep it anywhere obvious or easy for pickpockets to take it from. Most notorious pickpockets act in team. Two or three them might block your path and push from the front while  another  dives a hand  into your pocket. Crowded places and narrow entrances are the places where you should be very careful. Railway Station and Narantuul are the heavens for pickpocketing. At very arrival in Ulaanbaatar's Railway Station, travelers, especially female and elderly people face a risk of being tried by some notorious pick-pockets who specialise on foreigners.  Foreigners are targetted ruthlessly at the Narantuul Central Market and pick-pockets might use razor blades to slice through to your wallet. Be careful even while waiting traffic lights to switch. Don’t be too relaxed about your bag while sitting in a café or in a restaurant. 
 
-Don't wander around by yourself at night especially in back streets!  Robbery attacks are not very rare on dark streets.

-Watch up cars!!! In Ulaanbaatar , some drivers keep going even on green traffic light. It' very important for your safety.

2. Health Issue: Being a country with relatively dry and cold weather in most of a year, Mongolia has much less infectious deseases in comparison with many Asian countries. Due to change in water, food, weather and eating habits etc, foreign traveller might catch health discomfort or sickness.  The weather can be very changeable. Dress and pack with this in mind. About diarrhoea: travelling in Mongolia has a risk of getting a traveller's diarrhoea. It is safer to drink boiled milk. Although, in the northern section of Mongolia, water is mostly pure and cristal clear, It reccomended to take containers with water and some bottled water when departing for a tour, specially for southern  or Gobi tours. When packing a basic medical kit for long trip in vast Mongolian countryside, take water-purifying tablets, charcoal, throat lozenges, indigestion tablets, anti-diarrhoea capsules, hydrocortisone cream/for bites and allergetic rashes/, good drying antiseptic powder, broad spectrum antibiotic/for respiratory, urinary or skin infections/, fine-pointed tweexers, surgical spirit, thermometer, burn ointment and plasters.

3. Mongolia currency: Currency is the togrog/MNT/. The exchange rate is approaximately MNT1200=1USD. Some banks open for 24 hours. Banks and exchange offices are numerous in Ulaanbaatar . Exchange offices are found in State Department Store and Flower Center for example. Visa, Master Card, American Express, JCB and Thomas Cook travelers cheques are accepted at banks. In the countryside most tourist camps will not accept travelers cheques. Most credit cards are accepted at bigger hotels, restaurants, antique shops and supermarkets in Ulanbaatar/credit cards are worthless outside Ulaanbaatar /. In province centers, you can only cash USD at lower rate. In very countryside and in villages, you have no chance to cash your dollars at all. ATM machines you can find in the lobbies of bigger hotels/”Chinggis Khaan”, ”Bayangol” and “ Ulaanbaatar ”/ and banks/the Trade and “Development Bank”/. Money Gram and Western Union  are the easiest way to have cash sent from home/there is no charge for receiving money/.

4. Time Zone: Standard time in Ulaanbatar is UTC/GMT +8 hours.When it’s noon in Ulaanbaatar, it’s also noon in Perth;  2pm in Sydney; 8pm the previous day in Los Angeles; 11pm the previous day in New York; and 4am in London Mongolia is divided into 2 time zones:the three western provinces are 1 hour behind Ulaanbaatar and the rest of the country.

 5-Laundry: MetroExpres is a quick laundry service spread throughout Ulaanbaatar.

6- Prostitution: It's serious problem. Last  years, the number of Mongolian citizens infected with HIV, has doubled. The number of HIV infected are officially 35.

7-Cultural tips:

If your car stops by an Ovoo, the sacred mounds of stones, you are expected to circle the stones clockwise three times and toss something onto the file. A stone will always do the best in that case.

  • Don't step to the eastern side of the Ger, when you visit a nomadic family. It is customary for visitors to sit along the western side of a Ger.
  • Always accept some food or drink. You don't have to eat everything, but it's rude not to accept a gesture of hospitality. Both food and drink are passed with and accepted by the right hand.
  • It is very unusual to pay for staying in a ger and offering to do so may be seen as an insult by your host. Give a small gift instead.
  • Give little children some candies and small items that can be interesting for them, if it is possible. It is usual that they expect something from visitors, as they are inaccessible to shops and entertaining places.
  • Don't ever whistle when in a Mongolian ger, as this is really rude.
  • Never step over dishes and cooking utensils when they are placed on the ground. The hosts of the family can be badly offended.
  • Putting your feet up on someone's table is also very offensive.
  • One of the most important rules is-never place someone's hat on the floor. Because a man's or woman's hat (or deel sash) represents his or her fortune, according to Mongolia's etiquette tradition. If they are placed on the floor it is bad lack for the wearer.
  • Take both light and warm clothes. Though it might be not during the day time, the weather gets chilly during nights and early in the morning in the countryside.
  • Don't approach a horse from the hind and the right side. He may kick you, as he can be scared.
  • Mount or dismount a horse only from the left.
  • Don't put your feet deep into the stirrups. It can be dangerous, if the horse is scared from something.
  • Put on long-legged trousers and jeans. Mongolian traditional saddles with high wooden frame and silver decorations may make your legs sore, if you ride with shorts.
  • Don't wear too bright colored clothes or those with loose flaps. Because it may scare your horse.
  • Don't take pictures with a flash-light camera whilst riding.
  • 8. Museums in Ulaanbaatar :

 

 

 

 1- Bogd Khaan Palace Museum /tel:342195/.    2-  Choijin Lama Monastery  Museum/tel:344788/.  3-Mongolian National History Museum/tel:325656/. 4- --Natural History Museum/tel:321716/.   5- Mongolian Costumes Museum/tel:91910917/.    6-Calligraphy Museum/315388/.     7- Asian Art Museum/317837/.    8- Theater Museum/tel:326820/.  9- International Intellectual Museum/tel:461470/. 10-  Post Stamp Museum/tel:362972/. 11-  Mongol Military Museum/tel:261782+261863/. 2-  Museum of Political Repression/tel:450960/. 13-  Museum of Mongolian Traditional Medicine/342650, 99244135/.

Natural History Museum:  Museum displays views of the geography, flora and fauna of Mongolia. Here is   a collection of dinosaur scheletons, eggs and bones, which were found in the Gobi Desert. First sensational discovery of dinosaur bones were made by the expedition of adventurous American, Roy Chapman Andrews back in 20s. Since then, expeditions from Russia, Poland and recently from the USA and Japan are coming regularly. The museum is located just across the street from the Government House.

 National History Museum:   The museum offers the richest collection on the history of Mongolia, from Stone Age to modern times. It allows to retrospect the unique culture of steppe nomads and their lifestyle. The exhibition contains many artifacts of traditional handicrafts and arts, military equipment and arms of Chinggis Khaan warriors. The museum is located on the corner of the downtown Suhbaatar Square.

Gandan Monastery: Built in 1840, it is the biggest monastery in Mongolia. It is easily seen north west of the city center. In the past it was one of the main Buddhist centers in Asia having two dozens of chapels and famous for its library collection of religious documents and the typography. The monastery was severely damaged during the repression of 30s and only few building remained among them a chapel for 20 meters high statue of Megzhid Janraisig god erected in 1911 as a symbol commemorating the Mongolia's independence. During the WW II the statue was taken to Russia to be used as scrap metal for shells. In 1990 the statue was built   on donations. The Gandan Monastery is the central place for major religious ceremonies and festivities, including Tsam Dance, a theatralised performance. The monastery has a Buddhist School.

 Fine Arts Museum:This museum is dedicated to paintings, religious arts and artifacts. You will find a wonderful collection of archeological artifacts from Hun period (III-II centuries BC) and panel embroidery. It houses the largest tanka scroll (Buddhist embroidery tapestry) in Mongolia, but the museum premises are not spacious enough to display this 36 meters long tanka. The museum also has two unique Tsam Dance masks lavishly decorated with 15,000 and 5,000 pieces of deep purple corals. The museum is on a five minutes walking distance east from the Suhbaatar Square. 

 Winter Palace of Bogd Khan:This is the only remaining palace out of four residences where Bogd Khaan, the last Mongolian king, resided. This palace now displays the collection of personal belongings of the last Khaan and his wife. The museum offers a wide variety of Buddhist arts. Special attention attracts by paintings by Marzan Sharav depicting with a slice of humor and irony scenes from the everyday life of Mongols in the turn of this century. The Bogd Khaan was known as a true lover of nature who spent tremendous amounts on setting up large gardens with small ponds and boats. The palace zoo had even an elephant and a giraffe. He also collected staffed animals, some of which are exhibited.

10. Theaters  and Concerts in Ulaanbaatar : 1.      National Folk Song and Dance Emsemble/tel: 323954, 99718218,  91199961/.   2.      Tumen Ekh National Song and Dance Ensemble/tel:99199542/.  3.      State Drama Academic Theater/tel:324621/.  4--   Opera and Ballet Theater/tel:322854