Day 63: Mongolia! (Ulaanbaatar)

Day 63:  Thursday, April 23

Slept in a bit which was great and then went to explore the city!  The owner of the hostel gave me a map which I fruitlessly tried to follow - it just made absolutely no sense at all.  I think I ended up at the temple I wanted to see, but a guy kept trying to talk to me and just acting creepy.  I pretended I didn't speak English and only spoke to him in Dutch but that didn't deter him, so I just left there and luckily he didn't follow or anything.

View of the mountains from the city

Got some cash from the bank and then went to the markets!  I honestly didn't find anything that interested me.  I really wanted a pair of riding boots but I couldn't find any, which was super disappointing.  I kept getting lost - the map was crap - and I think I ended up in a residential area?  My feet were so sore from walking.  I went to a place that said "Irish Pub" for lunch, hoping it was an expat that ran the place.  Nope, no one spoke English.  I had spaghetti (at an Irish Pub) because they had that one listed in English too :P

Backroads in the city

Went back to the hostel to rest for a bit and let my feet feel better before going out once again.  I really wanted boots.  I ended up buying a pair of work boots that seemed a bit too big for me, but they were sturdy and a nice color and I really just wanted to be done.  I had found a pair of boots that were absolutely beautiful - nice leather, a pouch on the side of them, just a great design - but it was 3 sizes too small.  The shopping area reminded me of Dongdaemun, just shops crammed in little buildings and no overstock really at all.  I had a little bit of cash left so I bought some sunglasses since I somehow forgot all like 4 pair I own back in the States, and I was planning on wearing contacts the next day.

I went out for dinner at a Korean restaurant - there were loads of them there, and I figured I could order in Korean then since people didn't really speak English.  It was pretty good.  Back to the hostel, showered, repacked my bags, and then went to bed.