Top ten places – June 30th->July 9th.
From June 30th to July 9th I’ve moved from Russia to Mongolia where I’ve visited country’s capital, Ulan Bator and some nice area nearby. From Ulan Bator I’ve flew to Beijing, to start my month in China. Few towns, in the end but a lot of wonderful feelings and memories. Here is the ranking of the top ten things I liked the most, as usually in reverse order.
Number #10 – A peaceful lake at night
Very close to my hotel I had the Beihai park and its lake. You should not miss it at night. Wonderful atmosphere and even a “Gelato Sicilia” (Sicilian icecream)…
Number #9 – Between tradition and modernity
One evening I went to eat to a quite famous grill restaurant in Ulan Bator. They have good food, actually, but even better music. The band was great with a very peculiar way of singing and sophisticated arrangements. See also my video.
Number #8 – Russian ladies in China?
In the Beihai park I was really amazed by the ladies of an amateur choir singing some operetta music and the surprise was when I saw that their music sheets were in Russian. You want to see them? Here is the video.
Number #7 – New forms of advertising
In Beijing Metro there is a really amazing way to show advertising. On the walls of the metro tunnels, using basically the same concept that it was at the origin of cinema. Really lovely. Take a look at the video…
Number #6 – Playing in the Heaven.
Yes, of course… Temple of Heaven is one of the greatest attractions in Beijing but here I want to mention all the wonderful people playing chess, Maijong, and other table games in the corridor. I loved them.
Number #5 – My first Yak
How many Yaks have you seen in your life? For me none, before this guy… so… when I saw him, I asked the driver to stop and I ran with my camera in front of him. Was him a good model?
Number #4 – Landing in Beijing
For a traveler like me, every new country is a reach and a reason to be excited and happy. But if this country is China? Well… multiply everything by 100…
Number #3 – Eating Mongolian Food in a Mongolian Tent with a Mongolian Lady
Eating really traditional food in Ulan Bator restaurants is very hard but if you are far from the town, with a Babushka, in a tent (Ger) what do you expect to eat? Exactly! Mongolian traditional food…
Number #2 – The huge, huge, huge Gengis Khan statue
There are no words. When you arrive on the site of the Gengis Khan statue you are speechless. Too big. And when you climb up and you are face to face with him, being scared is allowed.
Number #1 – Living in a Hutong
I had the great luck and pleasure of having my Beijing hotel in a Hutong, the area where the officials of the emperor were living and I felt in love with it. I really would like to move to Beijing and live in that area. Especially now that you don’t have rely only on public toilets… :-).
By the way… have you lost other issues of the top ten? Don’t worry. You can find them here:
