A room with a Mongolian view

My apartment in Ulaanbaatar is in the east of the city, on the outer edge, but within a kilometre of the office. The view from the 6th floor is one of mountains in the distance and the bowl of construction in the foreground.

An apartment block is being constructed next door so the view of the mountains will be blocked in a year's time. The apartment blocks look similar, except most are notoriously old, crumbling, and grimy. To respond to the booming city population, many new apartments are being constructed on any spare block in the city - the new are distinguished from the old by a coat of paint. Those left concrete grey will age quickly and look 50 years old in two years.

There are no discernable shops nearby. A small, under-stocked supermarket, a hairdressing salon, and two phone shops are on my un-signed street. Further down the street is a sauna, a restaurant/pub, and more phone shops. I'm in the small industrial area and the restaurant area is a car-drive away.

After last night's wild winds and snow storm, the city is coated a fine white dust. This morning began with a power outage from 8:30-noon. The wind continues intermittently, but not as furiously. Snow is forecast.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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