Nadam Holiday and a little bit of the city (bout time for tourism I guess)

Tail end of the most recent regroup in the city.  Headin back to the field at the end of the week.
All in all it was a great recharge period, we were able to see a performance by the Mongolian Circus, the opening ceremonies of the national holiday (Nadam) and lastly I celebrated my 30th birthday (sorry no evidence...).

The next level in Jumpin Rope...

The Cavalry

Leading the flags out of the government building.

Law enforcement officers running through some martial arts
demonstrations.

Mongolian wrestlers; you might notice there are no weight classes
Click on the picture to enlarge and then look at the pair in the
center of the frame...he must be outweighed by 150lbs+!!!

Gnarly archers, these guys were nailing targets the size of tin cans
on the ground at over 50yrds.

A recently added, yet historical game.  I forget the
Mongolian name, but to some effect means "bones".
The object is to fling a wedge shaped bone out of a wooden slide
and hit two more bones sitting on a wooden box
(just below the picture).

The SWAT team was there too....
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Now some shots of the UB life

Looking north over the city on a murky day-hike in the hills
just outside of town.

Mongolian National Emblem on the gates surrounding the gov't
building.

The front of the government building from Suukbaatar Square.
Thant'd be Chinggis himself sitting under the arch.

B-Dog getting ready to cross Suukbaatar Square.
Unfortunately, rumor has it that the sweet high-
rise in the distance is out of spec at the foundation
and has to be torn down
(it was never fully finished)

Statue of Suukbaatar in the middle of the square.

A monument in the gardens behind Parliament.


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The Pad

I know, the wall paper is radical...
And yes that is the flag of Madagascar hangin
from the door (courtesy my buddy Jake)

Out the back off the balcony (3rd floor)

Out the front window (Parliament and the back gardens; the hills
we did the dayhike on are in the distance)

another cool building on the way to the Irish Pub

The half squat, ready to go for a walk, stance and
smirk.