Today the Mongolian government declared May 31 as a public holiday so we took the opportunity to explore Ulaanbaatar on the beaten path. We decided to go to a monastery this time, and prepare ourselves to more country-side experience after adjusting our tight schedules.
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| Vagabundus from L-R:Ate Nelly, Jep and Ate Berlie |
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| Vagabundus from L-R: Ate Berlie, Kuya Junard, Ate Nelly and Kuya Kneel |
Temples, huh? I remember how I got addicted before on the game Temple Run and wonder if this place would hold what I picture out from a "temple". Would there be monsters that will run after you, as well? Haha nah, enough of those whimsical stuffs.
True enough, there aren't monsters. But as we enter the place Mongolian staffs ran after us when we're half way through from the entrance and asking for a fee. Visitors are being asked for an entrance fee if and only if, you are a tourist. After much deliberation and conviction that we're not tourists and that we're working in UB as professionals (we even provide our alien cards), and we wanted to go home safe and complete, we still decided to pay them 3,500 MNT each (that's around 2.50 USD).
Anyhow, our 3,500 MNT somehow paid off.
Right in front our eyes inhabit countless pigeons which are like waiting for someone.. or something. The locals then offered us grain-like thingy in small plastic bags, they are actually selling feeds and encouraging the visitors to do bird-feeding. Woa. Like mini-Venice in the heart of Mongolia. That's hitting two birds in a stone.
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| Pigeons with Gandan Temple in the Background |
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| Ate Nelly on the Loose |
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| Ate Berlie Feeding the Birds (That bag of feeds costs around 1, 500 MNT) |
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| Jep and Orly asking for alms haha |
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| Here comes Jep's first customer |
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| I so love this shot Kuya Kneel, thank you for this! :) |
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| L-R: Jep, Orly, Ate Berlie, Kuya Junard, Ate Nelly |
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| The Vagabundus |
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| Yoohoo I was able to capture this jaw-dropping moment :) |
According to a reliable source, most of Mongolia's buddhist monasteries were destroyed in the communist time, which lasted in 1900; and one of those that survived was the Gandantegchinlen Monastery. It is a tibetan-style monastery and is the largest and the most important monastery situated in Mongolia, with over 400 monks. It's commonly known as Gandan Temple (pronounced as Gandang), with a Mongolian script of Гандантэгчинлэн хийд. The name is translated as Great Place of Complete Joy or Great Way to the Cosmos
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| The Gandantegchinlen Temple |
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| Monks used to rotate these cylindrical bells as part of their rituals |
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| Another selfie post with Gandan Temple in the background (And yes, it is a foot that I'm sitting on) |
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| Mimicking How Monks and Locals Pray |
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| Borrowing a Mongolian Toddler for a while to complete our Family Portrait Haha |
Aside from enormous pigeons within the monastery, it features a 26.5-meter statue of Magjid Janraisig (the lord who looks in every direction).
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| 26.5-m tall Statue of Magjid Janraisig |
We ended the tour with good food in a local restaurant. The lamb in thick, spicy sauce was a good pick! Was just a bit confused on their beverages, though.
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| Tell me, how will I drink these? O.o And I wonder how Red BENS tastes like. Poor Ben. |
Nevertheless this day is overall remarkable. Not to mention a very relaxing Thai Massage with the ladies to conclude it.
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| Happy Faces :) |
Yeah.. so this is definitely a holiday.
Sources:
Some photos were captured by Kneel Lirazan Eleuterio
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