Altai Reunion and UB Development

Meeting up with my old co-workers was a very interesting activity. Usually social activities always start slow with small talk and pleasantries, before becoming increasingly animated throughout the evening. I was surprised that they intended to be well behaved and only drink beer, but apparently not everyone got the message, as others arrived later with the vodka. Looking back I am startled at the amount of vodka that I must have consumed over two years. Even scarier is how a large percentage of Mongolians function daily with a perpetual hangover.

News from my old site is that many people are having children this year. In the lunar calendar, this is the pig year and children born this year will be very intelligent and have a bright future. Also there is a lot of new construction in Altai, as potential candidates for next year's parliamentary election are fueling money into the local economy. Apparently, over ten people have expressed interest to run. Perhaps next summer I can come back to Asia for the Olympics and then observe and influence the very important Mongolian elections.

My co-workers stayed at a hotel, which overlooked most of downtown UB and I counted over 10 construction cranes, which are building numerous luxury apartments for Mongolia's new rich. I have always been amazed with the wealth of this city, especially relative to the more familar and understandable provincial economy. Perhaps the money comes from cashmere, mining or remittances from abroad. Speaking of cashmere, the experts have said that the sector is in a precarious state, because of increased micron level (thickness) and erosion of grasslands. But apparently the message has not gotten back to the herders who continue to increase the number of goats and this year received the highest cashmere prices ever, as a kilogram sold for higher than 40 US dollars.