A hike, public transportation and other random notes.

We went hiking a few weekends ago with some veteran volunteers. They know a lot more Mongolian than Aaron and I ever hope to learn. We took a "taxi" from downtown to our chosen hiking spot, the hills just south of the city.

A note on taxis
There are official taxi companies here but people also stand on the side of the road and put their hand out and solicit any private car for a ride. If a driver feels like making a little money, he or she will stop for you. The fare is calculated by the number of kilometres on the odometer. It's pretty cheap too. Everybody does it from women with children on their way to school to the odd foreigner. (Note for my mom, Linda and all other mom-like figures in my life: I won't do this alone no worries.)

Back to the story:
So that's what we did last Sunday, stood on the street put a hand out and a car picked us up within 30 seconds. There's a spot on the south side of the city with a massive gold buddha, and a Soviet accomplishment monument on top of a hill. We checked those out and then hiked off to a nearby hill. It was more of a urban hike than anything since we could see the city at all times spreading out in the valley. Beautiful panoramic views. One of the hills we climbed has a massive drawing of Genghis Khan painted on it. It's like the Penticton sign for those who've seen it but instead of letters it's the face of an ancient ruler. The drawing is more impressive from the city than from atop the mountain we climbed. There are a lot wildflowers and fragrant herbs in Mongolia and we saw some on our hike.

We went home by bus as one was hanging out on the corner when we came down. Buses here are old, slow things. I hadn't noticed just how slow until that Sunday afternoon. They're cheap though. 200 tugriks or about 20 cents. I may be taking a lot more of them in the winter...

Note on money:
There are no coins here! No toonies or loonies to weigh down pockets. The smallest denomination is 10 tugriks (1 cent) and the largest 10,000 (10 dollars). The bill size changes with the denomination. I'm getting used to finding the right bill from my wad of bills in a timely manner.

mc