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.