Erdenet

Ulaanbaatar train station

  We were so excited for our overnight train ride to Erdenet!

Callie, Me, Jerry, Nina, Scott, Nan, Paisley

Extra long train!!!

 I slept on the top bunk.  We ate Snickers (which taste sooo much better that U.S. snickers!), cookies, chocolate covered raisins and played card games.  The most stressful part of the train ride was not being able to get our cabin door open and closed!  My cabin mates were troopers and we had a good time!

Callie, Nan, Paisley, and Me

 Ok, so this was kinda stressful too!  I had a hard time being ok with flushing the toilet contents directly onto the tracks!!!!

Erdenet branch of the National University of Mongolia

  This university is beautiful.  The hall and doors and floors were gorgeous.  The director of the school met us at the train station and took us to the university so we could clean ourselves up and they fed us breakfast.

Gorgeous

This is where we hung out to eat and get ready for the day 

 This is a traditional Mongolian breakfast.  Bread, "bologna" and cheese.  They also made us eggs.


Then Ms. Flower, a lawyer, picked us up and spent the day showing us Erdenet.

 Erdenet Copper Mining.  It is one of the biggest mines in Asia.  The mining manager told us that the mine has been in operation since 1978 and has about 40 years of mining left.  It was interesting that he also new about Kennecott Copper in Utah.

Mining waste - reminds me of our melting mountains in Utah

Huge trucks!

 We could not believe how big these trucks were!  The tires were HUGE!!!!

 Erdenet Carpet Factory.



We got a tour of the Erdenet Carpet Factory where we saw how the raw sheep wool was transformed into the beautiful threads to make rugs with.

 After the mine, and the carpet factory, Ms. Flower took us to the ministry building where the social workers meet every day at 11:00 to discuss issues of the community.  We were introduced to the different ministries such as child welfare, work and labor, education, family relationships etc.

The Ministry/City Building

All of us with Ms Flower and her son in front of the
City Building

  I wish we would have had more time to talk with the individual social workers.

Marriages are performed here.

An average of 17 marriages are performed here daily.  They run them every 30 minutes and there are rooms on each side for celebration afterwards.  Everyone that wants to get married must be married by someone with authority in the government.

This is one of our translators, Da-wa

Flower tea

Buddhist Temple in Erdenet

Russian monument in Erdenet.  One hand symbolizes Russia and the other Mongolia.  Mongolia loves Russia despite the devastating persecution that happened in the 1930's

LDS Chapel
A little taste of home right here in Erdenet!

We were walking down the main street in   Erdenet and I glanced up and saw this chapel.  It shocked me! I had to do a double take to make sure I wasn't imagining it!  The warm feeling of home that washed over me boosted my spirits.

The train ride home was fun because it was early enough to get to see a good portion of the country side before it was dark and time to sleep.

Camels

This was a heartwarming scene... The train would occasionally stop in between towns and drop off men that had been at work or supplies to outlying dwellings.

Sleeping on the train was fun.  I slept better the second night than the first night.  With my earplugs in, the window open, my pillow and warm blanket I let the rocking of the train sweep me away into a deep sleep.  I would love to do the Trans-Siberian Rail some day to see parts of Mongolia that I didn't get to see this trip.

My bed for the two nights we spent on the train!