In such a sparsely populated country, pollution doesn't seem to be a problem. However, the train curved around to reveal a thick haze. Ulaan Baator. Cough...cough..wheez. The impact of diesel engines on this valley capitol is visible from a distance, and I pity the smaller villages downwind. Wearied from Russian "service with a shrug," I was immediately awestruck by the professional and gracious representative from our Hostel that greeted us at the train station. We didn't even arrange for a train station pick-up service, but there it was!

The service didn't end there. The Nassan hostel, only 5 USD per person per night, offers excursions to the Gobi desert, which we will do in a couple of days (yay!) and even gave me one free night at the hostel for being their 400th registered guest of the year! Ok, admittedy it's only a 5 dollar value, BUT  I still feel like I won the lottery :). It's also extremely well situated near internet cafes, a wonderful German bakery (mmm...Berliners), and only a 10 minute walk to the Naadam Festival. Speaking of which...

The Naadam Festival is like our July 4th, only, being Mongolia, this is their 800 year anniversary! The streets were riddled with policemen on the walk to the stadium. We were herded into section 3, squashed among foreigners, locals, and not so local Mongolians. Lining up is not a popular concept here, but we found good seats and the opening ceremonies began. We will post some videos to give a better idea, but imagine a show worthy of the Olympic games. People were doing amazing horse riding tricks, dancing in large and synchronized groups, and there was an orchestra of hundreds people playing oddly shaped stringed instruments. It was a show of nationalism and cultural heritage that I will not soon forget.

From here we will take an excursion through the country side for 4 nights, 5 days. We'll be trekking through the Gobi on camels and horseback, and internet access will be...shall we say...limited...to none. Expect a post on the 17th when I'll describe my excursion to the ancient capitol of Karakoram and the Gobi desert. Thanks to all posting and emailing - Keep them coming!