in transit

here i am sitting in a beijing hotel coffee shop, killing time until my flight to genghis khan country is called early evening tonight.  by this time, had the schedule been followed, i would be lunching with amber — probably on mongolian barbeque.  but no, ulaanbaatar weather is not cooperating.  it couldn’t be heavy snow and low visibility that won’t allow the plane to land. it’s the onset of spring, according to fellow stranded travellers.  most likely there’s too much wind blowing from — where? - the gobi dessert?  
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UB in two days

day 2 in ulaanbatar.  arrived the other day close to midnight to a -12oC temperature.  boots, pashminas, thermal undies, cardigans and downs feather-filled winter coat are doing very well. yesterday and today were chilly but nice and sunny.     
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update

it’s been more than a week since my last posting. not only that i was busy, but also because my laptop conked out.  must be the power surges in UB. 

in any case, it has been a wonderful mongolian experience, although in my eight days in the country, í didn’t manage to get a taste of THE real authentic mongolian barbeque.  what i did discover, and which i became totally hooked on, was a kind of traditional lamb soup called "bantan" - a thick lamb stew made of thin slivers of lamb and wheat flour to thicken the soup.  kinda like arroz caldo but more savory… very hot and filling.  eaten with new-found friends, it’s a nourishing comfort food to warm chilled bones and lonely soul in a new environment.  
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