Talking a walk in UB

Today Paige and I went out for a walk as I wanted to start to get my bearings around Ulaanbaatar or as most people call it her UB for short. At the moment there is so much that I have to think about when considering going for a walk outside for long periods of time.

Lets see. Ensure both Paige and I are rugged up, only take what money I will need while out, try to get away without carrying a hand bag if I can also take note of my surroundings and what is happening around us. A number of people have given us advice on our personal safety and both Ben and I always take the advice seriously. Being so cold here many people say crime is higher in the winter then in the few summer months, at the moment its winter.
It seems the stories I hear are mainly about what some of the men have had happen to them. For example;
After a night on the town as one of the expat men did every Friday night, he walked home and was assaulted and robbed. People believe someone must of known about his routine. Other expats have had their pockets picked due to being bumped into from the front and someone from behind picked his pockets. One of the ladies had her bag snatched which happened a long time ago.
In hearing all these stories the first thing that comes to mind is these types of things can happen anywhere in the world when you are travelling. The important thing is to always take the advice and not become to blasé with your safety.

As the hotel lobby door opened the rush of chilled air hit my face. "Warm hotel room or a walk in the sunny cold day (-10)?" I seem to ask myself.

"Lets do it" I thought grabbing Paige's hand. It was nearly lunch time so if all else fails we can crab a bit to eat. I wanted to try and find one of the shops I had been to once before with one of the ladies thinking it was up around the corner a little way. After walking a while I realised that the shop wasn't where I thought it was so Paige and I headed to the Irish Pub. This pub is one of the local lunch spots where we had eaten before so I knew the food was good, plus Paige wanted to see the ice sculpture tiger she had noticed while walking past.

Picture: The Irish Pub where Paige and I had lunch

After a good feed and a chat with one of the expat ladies we had bumped into, we made our way back to the hotel.

Everywhere you walk, you have to be careful with your footing as the footpaths can become quite slick with ice. I have already learnt to always hold onto Paige's hand as she has lost her footing a couple of times. The uneven surfaces are a hazard as well.

Sometimes the simple things you see have some meaning behind it. I noticed that a manhole at the side of the footpath was missing its cover. As we walked by I glanced down to see the bottom of the short hole littered with rags and a blanket. I thought this must be where someone sleeps at night. "How sad" I thought and made a point to remember if I see this again I think I will drop some money into the hole. People say not to give any money to beggars as they can have someone pick your pockets while your stopped.

I cant save the world but I think it will be my way of making a difference to someone as they are curl up in the evening trying to keep warm. Ben said one of the expats told him that some people take the man hole covers and sell them as scrap metal for money.

Picture: Paige standing in front of an ice sculpture tiger

I was glad Paige and I had gone out on our little walking adventure. Turns out the shop I was looking for was located on the next street over. Maybe we will go for a walk tomorrow and explore.

Bernadette