How to Fall in Love with Ulaanbaatar

Mongolia beyond the steppes.

Photo by author

Ulaanbaatar isn’t pretty, but it is beautiful. Pastel coloured Soviet-era architecture is set against a backdrop of rolling green hills, creating a softly symmetric, slightly absurd Wes-Anderson look. UB, as its friends call it, is a city where you instantly feel at home — people are friendly and laid-back, the buzz of city life is a gentle hum, not an…