First Impressions and an interesting taxi ride

So writing a blog seems to be the done thing for any VSO volunteer so naturally I have towed the line and decided to write one myself. How well it will go or how many people will read it remains to be seen. Anway, here goes...Enjoy!

I flew out of the UK from Heathrow at 11am on Friday August 14th and endured an 11 hour flight (at least thats what I think it was as the cross-over between UK, Russian, and Mongolian time zones have been a bit confusing) with Aeroflot, including a 3 hour stay in Moscow, and arrived in Ulaanbaatar (UB) at 7am local time. Let me just tell you something about Aeroflot...it's shit. Moving on; Flying into UB was amazing. The sun was just rising over the hills and cast a fantastic golden glow over the steppe. The few clouds that there were hung low in the valleys and the entire landscape was simpy beautiful.
After we landed we got through the airport quickly and were met by two guys from VSO, Chuka who works for the program office and George, an elderly volunteer from New York. We drove into UB and at first it looks grey and oppressive but once you get into the heart of it, well...it's still grey and oppressive (just kidding, there is actually some really great architecture and open spaces but you can see the Soviet influence.) When we pulled up outside the guesthouse which is to be my home for the next 3 weeks my heart sank. To say it looked run down would be as big an understatement as saying Robert Mugabe is a 'bit of a bad chap'. Looks however can be extremely deceiving and thankfully they were. The guesthouse interior is actually great and it's very comfortable. There is a really friendly atmosphere and some great banter as most of the people who stay here are either VSO or with other international organisations. The rooms are dormitories which isn't the end of the world.
We spent the morning of our first day combatting jet-lag by heading out for a walk around the city and drinking an unhealthy amount of coffee. I got my first real look at Mongolian life and met some local people. Mongolians (at least so far) are really friendly and smile a lot. They are often well dressed and many clearly take pride in their appearence which provides a sharp contrast to harshness of some of their surroundings. I think I will enjoy getting to know Mongolians.
In the evening I met up with the volunteer whom I am taking over from and along with a bunch of other VSO's we headed to Mongol Rally after-party. It was pretty awesome and there were a few good bands. I got to meet some of the people I would be working with over the next year including Battuya who is my boss. She is a short lady with a broad smile and an infectious laugh.
When it started to get late most of the new VSO's headed back to the guesthouse but I stayed out as I wanted to go and watch the football at an established VSO's house. Sadly jet-lag finally cought up with me and I hit a wall and had to head home. This proved easier said than dome however as even though a Mongolian had explained to the taxi driver where I needed to go, once we left he clearly didn't have a clue. So I spent the next 30 minutes driving around UB with a crazy driver and strangely, his wife. Every now and again he would stop outside a police station clearly assuming that the police would speak English but true to form, he was wrong. Eventually he drove past a landmark that I recognised and I practically barrel rolled out of the car when he stopped at a red light, leaving what I thought to be an appropriate some of money on the seat. After stumbling alone through the city for a while (the pavements are pretty cracked and uneven) I eventually found my way home by sheer luck.

So that was my first day. I hope it didn't bore you! The next entries will be shorter and probably once a week. I hope you'll read them so that this doesn't become a futile exercise in travel writing.