Ulaanbaatar Day 1

          After nearly missing our flight, we piled onto the plane just in time. As with before, we researched our destination on the flight over. Mongolia is a landlocked country, bordered by Russia and China. Currently, the president of Mongolia is a man named Elbegdorj Tsakhia. Mongolian weather can get very very cold, and very very hot. Mongolia is significantly Buddhist, as it is there national religion. They speak Mongolian.Ulaanbaatar, also known as Ulan Batar, is the capitol of Mongolia. It is located in the northwest portion of the country. 
          Our flight to Mongolia was going to be a long one, 23 hours to be exact. Technically, 22 hours and 55 minutes. But who's counting. This time, we decided to be prepared a plan of what we were going to do ahead of time. Since I got to choose what we were doing first last time, so Laura was going to choose first this time.
          "THERE ARE NO ZOOS IN MONGOLIA? THATS COMMUNISM!" she shouted in the quiet airplane. I knew at one point she would mention our little inside joke...
          "Um, Laura...Mongolia actually was a communist nation at one point..." I said.
          "Oh. Really? Cool."
          When we got to Mongolia, we noticed a culture change. Everyone was speaking in rapid, intricate languages. We felt like outsiders. We stayed at the Kempinski Hotel. After we dropped off our bags, we went immediately to Four Holy Peaks National Park. Ironically enough, there are four peaks surrounding Ulaanbaatar,. They're considered holy. It is unbelievably beautiful there. Lush grasslands, dense forests, colorful wildlife, and amazing views. 

The Khuiten Peak

          We spent the rest of the day there, taking in the beauty. "Laura chose well," I thought to myself. That night, we went to a restaurant that served traditional Mongolian cuisine.

         This is what we both had, called buuz and khuushuur. The top left is vegetables, mostly squash, zucchini, and other ground vegetables. The bottom left was a soup containing broth with dumpling-like things, a kind of spinach, and seasoning. The bottom right is dumplings called khuushuur. It has meat, usually mutton, and is wrapped in a dough then is steamed and fryed. The top right is a similar dumpling, but different flavor. We drank airag, which is a fermented milk drink that is slightly alcoholic. You can only imagine how badly that went in comparison to drinking coffee.

   

San Jose to Newark (Day 1)

          At 7:15 we set off to our first destination., Newark, New Jersey. Before boarding the plane, we took a taxi to Starbucks. I got a Mocha Frappucino and Laura got a Vanilla Bean Frappucino. Needless to say, I got slightly hyper. I was hyper the whole way to the airport. We got on the plane, I was still hyper, and we researched New Jersey. Newark is not the capital of New Jersey, Trenton is. On the flight over, we found out New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the USA. Originally, it was inhabited by Native Americans, then Dutch and Swedish pilgrims made some of the first European settlements there. New Jersey was also the sight of several decisive battles in the Revolutionary War.

          When we arrived, it was very cold. The seasonal highs were 64 and the lows were 48. It wasn't too much different from California, but it was still too cold for my liking. Newark is in the northeast part of New Jersey, and New Jersey is in the northeast part of the United States.
          New Jersey is significantly Catholic, but there are also many Agnostics/Athiests, and many Christians. The population of New Jersey has been relatively evenly divided over political parties, but Democrats have been slightly more abundant over the last few years.

         When we got there, we checked into the Wilshire Grand Hotel. It is one of the most expensive hotels in New Jersey. It was still pretty early in the morning, so we fell asleep. I got up earlier then Laura, so I chose the first thing we were going to do. I decided we were going to go Bowcraft Theme Park, so I found the bus schedule, got some money, and woke up Laura. We headed off to the park, and ate breakfast on the way. We rode all the rides and had loads of fun. We stayed until they closed. We caught the bus back to the hotel and crashed as soon as we got into the room.