It's very cold!

Pretty crazy eh! It's unlikely I'll ever experience such temperatures again in my life. However, it's not as bad as it sounds (providing one wraps up well). The real shock is when you take your gloves off to write a text message - withing 30 seconds your hands start burning with pain! As a result I've become pretty bad at replying to texts... I'm not complaining though, as it's an interesting experience. If I was to stay in Mongolia permanently it would be a different matter. The real problem is for the Mongolian farmers, as their livestock will suffer during this period of extreme cold. Some will really struggle to keep their animals alive.


The alcohol ban - not only do Mongolians have to put up with the extreme temperatures, but they're currently not allowed to have any alcohol to warm their hearts! This is because 14 people have recently died from drinking poisonous vodka (another 60 people are in hospital with alcohol poisoning). The government was quick to respond, banning the sale of all alcohol. See this BBC article for more info - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7167556.stm, it's not often that Mongolia gets coverage on the BBC. Whilst it seems a bit extreme to ban ALL alcohol (including imports, and non-vodka related drinks), the real positive is that it's forcing many of Mongolia's alcoholics to curb their drinking habits. This is especially good as during most winters drunk people fall asleep outside in the cold and unfortunately never wake up...

Ulaanbaatar's pollution - As temperatures dip, the need for heating increases. This means that the power stations are at full capacity, and the people living in the ger tent houses (which are not connected to the main heating system) are burning lots of coal to keep warm. The result, Ulaanbaatar is one of the most polluted city in the world! It's quite noticeable in the evenings, I'll often be coughing during my walk home from work. Funnily enough, the BBC has another helpful article, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6376203.stm

Why all of this talk about pollution, struggling farmers and people dying on the streets Rob? Well, life isn't that easy for Mongolians at the moment. They must be a pretty tough bunch of people to get through this cold patch year in, year out! Lots of love,

Robert