I decided to go to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia for their Naadam festival....I had no idea what it might involve!
I got a room with a view at the Best Western Tuushin hotel which overlooked Sukhbaatar square...where lots of festivities prior to the start of Naadam were happening. Think loud music! And there was a quasi military exhibition on the day prior to the festival start. Very colorful!
After the military display I decided to check out a few temples......
I decided to explore a little and found the Choijin Lama temple....quite hidden by modern high buildings all round it!
....a little freaky inside......
.... old and new together.....
I had a great view from my hotel room of the prior evening preparations for Naadam!
... and then next morning I saw them taking these banners out..... to go to the Naadam festival grounds.
... we followed!
..and we got to listen to the President's welcoming speech... without understanding!
The speech was followed by amazing performances......
We checked out the archers...
... and the horse racing........
... it was all over in seconds! These riders were mostly 8-13 year olds, many having ridden without a saddle for 25 kms!
I got an amazing view of the celebration fireworks from my great hotel bedroom window that evening.....
No comments:
Post a Comment