Smoke

I figured it could theoretically happen but I hadn't seen it yet. In an earlier post I wrote about the open sewer holes all around the city. UB has a shortage of sewer grates, I'm not sure why but it does. Some of the open sewer holes are on sidewalks, some are on the streets. Some are huge gaping things, others are smaller but big enough to fit a car wheel. On my way home from work yesterday I saw a car stuck in one of the small ones. One of the front wheels had sunk into the man hole. The people riding in the car all came out and lifted the car front to free the wheel. A man walking in front of me rushed over to help them out. I can't imagine the damage this would do to a car. Poor car. Cars lead difficult lives in Mongolia.

If any of you look at the Ulaanbaatar weather forecast once in a while and see "Smoke" as the description, it's not a translation issue. It may look like fog but it's actually the smoke from the coal power plants and from the surrounding ger districts that has come down on the city. I could smell it in my first breath of "fresh air" when I got off the airplane on the way back from Japan. No wonder Mongolians always talk about the fresh air of the countryside.