Of Mongolia’s cities

Mongolia is in a time of transition, from old to new. The capital and the larger cities have been drastically influenced by western culture and the 21^st century, whereas the countryside and small villages tend to stick to the traditional ways of living in gers (the traditional Mongolian home) and herding cattle or planting crops. More and more people of the younger generations are drawn to the large cities where possibilities seem endless.

Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar (Red Hero), already hosts half of the country’s population (roughly 1.5 million) and continues to increase almost daily. This is definitely a city lover’s city: taxis and cars always moving slowly through road traffic, tons of supermarkets and department stores selling almost anything you can get in the Western world, foreign or ethnic restaurants and food shops, karaoke bars and night clubs, even new apartment buildings not following the stereotypical Communist Block blueprint are being constructed. Yes, Ulaanbaatar is the metropolis capital in the middle of large mountains, wide open steppes, the Gobi desert, miles of rivers & lakes, and several native wild animals (i.e. the Gobi Bear).

The other two cities, Darkhan and Erdenet are very close behind in the western development, but not as large or populated as Ulaanbaatar. Darkhan, located just due north of UB, is spread out and separated into new and old Darkhan. Erdenet, Southwest from Darkhan, is more compact than Darkhan and UB, but still has the same big city feel. As like UB and Darkhan, Erdenet host several large supermarkets, a large gymnasium with a heated swimming pool, and communist era apartments, but also has an art gallery and a skiing slope. Erdenet is definitely my favorite of the 3, due to the laid back and chill atmosphere, friendly PCVs with a nice apartment, and not to mention I’m closer to it than Darkhan. If you are ever in Mongolia and want to see a more relaxed and less tense city than the capital, check out Erdenet or Darkhan.

Extra facts: Both Erdenet and Darkhan are the capitals of their own aimag (province), and both have a few soums (small towns or villages) in their aimags as well.