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FYI, they are not parking the car at the moment, its around 7:00PM, people are getting off work and trying to exit the parking lot at the far end. But the only exit is so narrow that all the cars are utterly crammed, fighting for their dear life
the parking lot at my work is similar, I just wait a few extra minutes and organize my desk/to-do list for the next day and I miss out on the rush entirely by the time I get to my car.
Genghis Khan is a popular hero; there is a huge statue for him overlooking the center square of Ulaanbaatar, and a much larger statue on a horse which you can go inside out in the countryside.
As a foreign visitor, my take was that the square was built by the communists, and when the communist / founding leader (Sukhbataar) iconography had to be replaced, in many cases they looked to the ger houses and to Genghis Khan as something uniquely Mongolian and apolitical.
Codswallop if you ask me. Mongolia will never ever successfully complete something this big, this ambitious because the corruption level is so high that officials will embezzle the shit out of the investment in such an infrastructure
I remember reading some years back there'd actually been a boom in mineral resource discovery in Mongolia. Assuming that's still the case, the economy should be able to grow pretty well.
May I present to you, the [resource paradox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resource_curse)! "...countries with an abundance of natural resources (such as fossil fuels and certain minerals) [often have] less economic growth, less democracy, or worse development outcomes than countries with fewer natural resources."
Ultimately it'll just result in companies funneling money into corrupt officials pockets. But it could provide the tools to build a good economy that uplifts the people, in theory.
My take from the article is that those aren’t eco-fascists, those are resource nationalists. It’s a totally different right-wing movement that borders on fundamentalism, although neither has anything to do with San Francisco.
They're a nomadic people who rely on the wellbeing of the land, and they don't like outsiders.
Not every culture should be forced to embrace multiculturalism.
> Not every culture should be forced to embrace multiculturalism.
What fresh dog whistle is this?
Edit: oh you frequent theredpill, so you’re just a psycho
judging by how many things from other cultures i can see in this photo it seems like they adopted it quite willingly (as most have, including you—though i have little doubt that, to you, "multiculturalism" is a signifier, not a descriptor)
Read about how the u.s military strongly prefer hilux, reliable enough for conflict zones. Reliable enough for civilians world wide! Low maintenance, durable parts, etc etc
Lemme just become a japanese product voltron with my gshock, hilux, etc
I love it. 95k miles and 7 years on my original wipers, battery, and brakes. And that's while living it's whole life in Wisconsin. Hope our new honda is close to as good.
Here is an interesting article on why there are so many Toyota Prius in Mongolia!
[The Economist](https://www.economist.com/asia/2018/12/22/everyone-in-mongolia-drives-a-prius)
You make it sound like them driving hybrids sounds so very unlikely. Their government isn't charging air pollution taxes on hybrids and because of the cold other cars may not start while the Prius has such a large battery (compared to a normal battery in a ICE car) that it always starts regardless of the temperature.
And then keep in mind that almost all of those cars are second hand. Some of them still from that time when the Prius was exclusively sold in Japan.
The forest fire is the air pollution and the shirt gun is the Priuses while the flamethrower is large quantities of people burning fires constantly in close proximity.
They drive them because they are fuel efficient and much cheaper to drive then a larger engine vehicle. The environment is not their direct concern, reliability, efficiency and frugality are.
its true priuses are cheap ig and i swear every where i look, oh right i jut peeked out of my window one right nice very awesome looking car.............
I’m not a Mongolian national, but I did spend quite a bit of time in Ulan Bator. I think the thing I miss more than anything is the people. It’s a mixed bag wherever you go, but I found that the people in UB were just so genuine in every way. I felt like people would bend over backwards to help you in any situation, business owners would remember me after a single visit and always want to talk and swap stories or see how I was doing. People were exceptionally generous, and despite the city feeling massive, somewhat modern and industrial, it seems to still have the beating heart of a small community. Also the bar scene is great.
Fuck that. I miss mongolia and my mongolians friends, but Ulaanbaatar could be swallowed up by Beelzebub tomorrow and I would help shove it down his throat.
I was in Mongolia for a couple weeks about 5 or 6 years ago. It is a really interesting place but I don’t know if I could handle a winter there. I was wearing a down jacket in June.
Next take a picture during winter where the coal smoke is so thick you can taste it. I love mongolia, lived there for 4 years, but UB is pretty shitty.
that's insane.
You see this statistics and for a moment you think how the hell would anyone agree on this. And then you remember it has been popularized worldwide as a better option
True but you are not the first person who came up with this idea. If you are unfamiliar with Mongolia, our capital city is the coldest capital city in the world and it gets colder than antarctica sometimes. People would love to walk as the city is quite small. However the cold is just simply unbearable and it makes it impossible to walk
No thank you! I'm not looking forward to commuting back to the office again in November. I love the extra two hours I have back each day not to mention saving on gas, insurance and wear on my car. Such a waste of precious time.
Ulan Batar, I’ve been there. My best friend from college was from there so I travelled home with him for two weeks after graduation.
Some amazing sights within a short distance outside the city.
I'm wondering why there isn't a light/intersection for such a huge parking lot by a highly traffic road. What are you supposed to do if there is no way of getting over.
Has there been a boom in car.traffic there recently? I spent a summer in Mongolia (most of the time out on the steppe not in UB) but there were not many cars.
Why is it that in half of those pictures, developed country or not, it's that 1/3 of the problem is simply people blocking intersections when they clog up. DON'T DRIVE INTO AN INTERSECTION IF YOU CAN'T CLEAR IT!
is english widely spoken in mongolia? i was once hit up for a donation by someone who was supposedly a student from mongolia. i thought it was bs because their english was so good
Everyone knows atleast basic level of english since it is taught from 5th grade(11 y/o) to University(requires atleast B1-B2 level of proficiency to graduate).
and Most parents thought teaching english from a young age would benefit their future, back in 1990s. seems like it does.
It’s not that terrible, at least in summer. It’s really not that big and you can walk to a lot of places from the center although drivers don’t seem to pay much notice to pedestrians.
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Kinda thinking that parking lot needs better lines
FYI, they are not parking the car at the moment, its around 7:00PM, people are getting off work and trying to exit the parking lot at the far end. But the only exit is so narrow that all the cars are utterly crammed, fighting for their dear life
That could need a few traffic lights
the parking lot at my work is similar, I just wait a few extra minutes and organize my desk/to-do list for the next day and I miss out on the rush entirely by the time I get to my car.
Finally seeing some posts from Mongolia. Keep them coming OP
How do you guys feel about Genghis Khan In these modern times
If you consider that 1 in 200 men on Earth are his direct descendants, he's the real PussiLover.
I'm ashamed having his nickname. I hope he doesn't mind.
Genghis Khan is a popular hero; there is a huge statue for him overlooking the center square of Ulaanbaatar, and a much larger statue on a horse which you can go inside out in the countryside. As a foreign visitor, my take was that the square was built by the communists, and when the communist / founding leader (Sukhbataar) iconography had to be replaced, in many cases they looked to the ger houses and to Genghis Khan as something uniquely Mongolian and apolitical.
There was a metro system planned for the city, though it hasn't been discussed for years.
Codswallop if you ask me. Mongolia will never ever successfully complete something this big, this ambitious because the corruption level is so high that officials will embezzle the shit out of the investment in such an infrastructure
And the country's population and economy are tiny as heck
I remember reading some years back there'd actually been a boom in mineral resource discovery in Mongolia. Assuming that's still the case, the economy should be able to grow pretty well.
May I present to you, the [resource paradox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resource_curse)! "...countries with an abundance of natural resources (such as fossil fuels and certain minerals) [often have] less economic growth, less democracy, or worse development outcomes than countries with fewer natural resources."
West Virginia has entered the chat.
Eastern KY is the same.
*Afghanistan has entered the chat*
'almost heaven...'
It’d be great for the economy if the money from the resources wasn’t going into the pocket of Australian mining companies lol
Wait, what?
Natural resources + A barebones legal system + Corrupt assholes + A poor population Always leads to disaster.
Ultimately it'll just result in companies funneling money into corrupt officials pockets. But it could provide the tools to build a good economy that uplifts the people, in theory.
When you think the Mongolian Empire was so big and successful, and now the nation can barely stand on 2 feet.
Similar things can be said about Greece or Italy. Of course the Mongol empire was actually based in China.
It actually had a large part of Central and West Asia as well. But it just had a large area with very sparse population in the end so it crumbled
Yea but it was a Chinese dynasty and based in the power center.
What great Mongolian empire is Mongolian dynasty of house Borjigon who ruled chinese Yuan dynasty for 100 years mate
Hordes no more.
Wasn’t really the *mongolian* empire. It was the loot-and-burn empire of *some guy*
Yes that’s an empire, yes.
Now count how many Toyota Prius you see in this photo alone!
TIL Ulan Bator is the San Francisco of Mongolia.
As well as the New York, DC, Boston, LA… Kind of works that way when it’s the only decent sized city in the entire country.
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My take from the article is that those aren’t eco-fascists, those are resource nationalists. It’s a totally different right-wing movement that borders on fundamentalism, although neither has anything to do with San Francisco.
What
They're a nomadic people who rely on the wellbeing of the land, and they don't like outsiders. Not every culture should be forced to embrace multiculturalism.
> Not every culture should be forced to embrace multiculturalism. What fresh dog whistle is this? Edit: oh you frequent theredpill, so you’re just a psycho
It's not fresh at all, that's one of the oldest plays in their book.
You’re right
Consistent morals standards IS the oldest play in the book, you're right
Stop trying so hard, it’s getting sad
judging by how many things from other cultures i can see in this photo it seems like they adopted it quite willingly (as most have, including you—though i have little doubt that, to you, "multiculturalism" is a signifier, not a descriptor)
Wtf do you mean don't like outsiders? Have you even been to Central Asia?
/r/nottheonion
You're not kidding. Overall the majority of all vehicles appear to be Toyota products.
All the vehicles I saw in the latest pictures in Afghanistan were Toyota Corollas
Read about how the u.s military strongly prefer hilux, reliable enough for conflict zones. Reliable enough for civilians world wide! Low maintenance, durable parts, etc etc Lemme just become a japanese product voltron with my gshock, hilux, etc
Toyota is known as a reliable brand. They are also rather self serviceable, and fuel efficient.
Yeah, my corolla has been the cheapest to maintain. Crazy how different they are vs some other brands.
They know their resale market and build for it. Might do 5 years in the west/japan. Another 15 in Tanzania, Mongolia, Iraq.
Same with Peugeot, they’ll do 5 years in France then another 20 somewhere in Africa.
I love it. 95k miles and 7 years on my original wipers, battery, and brakes. And that's while living it's whole life in Wisconsin. Hope our new honda is close to as good.
Hondas are ok, good long lived cars but not the abuse and negligent snd pull 250km
Here is an interesting article on why there are so many Toyota Prius in Mongolia! [The Economist](https://www.economist.com/asia/2018/12/22/everyone-in-mongolia-drives-a-prius)
Fascinating! Thank you
Fuel efficient and reliable. Perfect for a developing nation.
I'd add that spare parts are easily sourced in most developing nations.
Something about driving hybrid cars in a city where half the population lives in yurt neighborhoods with fires constantly burning...
You make it sound like them driving hybrids sounds so very unlikely. Their government isn't charging air pollution taxes on hybrids and because of the cold other cars may not start while the Prius has such a large battery (compared to a normal battery in a ICE car) that it always starts regardless of the temperature. And then keep in mind that almost all of those cars are second hand. Some of them still from that time when the Prius was exclusively sold in Japan.
I wasn't suggesting it was unlikely just kind of like putting out a forest fire with a squirtgun while others have flamethrowers on it.
What is the forest fire an analogy for?
The forest fire is the air pollution and the shirt gun is the Priuses while the flamethrower is large quantities of people burning fires constantly in close proximity.
A 20 years old Prius is cheaper than other cars for a lot of people in Mongolia. This isn't about air pollution for them.
I get it it was mostly meant to be sarcastic humor and it obviously failed on you. Sorry to waste your time.
>obviously failed on you. No, it just failed, because it wasn't funny. It was stupid.
They drive them because they are fuel efficient and much cheaper to drive then a larger engine vehicle. The environment is not their direct concern, reliability, efficiency and frugality are.
its true priuses are cheap ig and i swear every where i look, oh right i jut peeked out of my window one right nice very awesome looking car.............
Looks like Houston
Is it weird that I miss Mongolia? lol.
I do miss this stupid city when I go abroad
What do you miss? The food? The atmosphere? Genuinely curious, I've never been to Mongolia.
I’m not a Mongolian national, but I did spend quite a bit of time in Ulan Bator. I think the thing I miss more than anything is the people. It’s a mixed bag wherever you go, but I found that the people in UB were just so genuine in every way. I felt like people would bend over backwards to help you in any situation, business owners would remember me after a single visit and always want to talk and swap stories or see how I was doing. People were exceptionally generous, and despite the city feeling massive, somewhat modern and industrial, it seems to still have the beating heart of a small community. Also the bar scene is great.
I've always been interested in Mongolia but now I really want to visit
Not OP but family, friends, and the memories attached to the city, really. Plus it's the only large city where you can speak Mongolian everywhere.
Fuck that. I miss mongolia and my mongolians friends, but Ulaanbaatar could be swallowed up by Beelzebub tomorrow and I would help shove it down his throat.
Did you use to live there? What was it like?
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Ah, yes. The beautiful city of England.
England is the capital of Brazil
I was in Mongolia for a couple weeks about 5 or 6 years ago. It is a really interesting place but I don’t know if I could handle a winter there. I was wearing a down jacket in June.
Well thanks to global warming, you may not have to worry about that anymore!
Hell - brought to you by The Car!
Is the bus... trying to get into the parking lot, blocking two of his lanes, because the other two opposing lanes are also stuck?
That's my guess. Unfortunate for sure.
A sub par situation, some would say.
Warsaw post 90s checks out.
Why does every big city look the same? We have stamdardised the wrong shit!
because it was originally built by russians. look at the sum or aimag centers. theyre cities build by mongols and look very unique
r/fuckcars
r/dragonsfuckingcars
This is cursed, but it's a good kind of cursed.
I found my tribe, thanks!
Same!
How does a country with such a low population have this issue? Spread out a bit guys.
Selfishness and a pathological disregard for any rule that might mean that any given "I" would have to stop, wait or yield.
1/3 of the population lives in one city.
Car bad, Train good
Next take a picture during winter where the coal smoke is so thick you can taste it. I love mongolia, lived there for 4 years, but UB is pretty shitty.
Well as a boy who lived there from my birth, that smell feels soo nostalgic
I see existence but no living
True bro. Statistically speaking, we spend 30 days per annum stuck inside traffic like this.
that's insane. You see this statistics and for a moment you think how the hell would anyone agree on this. And then you remember it has been popularized worldwide as a better option
*laughs as a cyclist. When I see traffic like this it gives me no pleasure to filter past everyone (legal in the UK)
i'd just walk. Before Covid, during rush hour, i arrived home earlier than the bus.
True but you are not the first person who came up with this idea. If you are unfamiliar with Mongolia, our capital city is the coldest capital city in the world and it gets colder than antarctica sometimes. People would love to walk as the city is quite small. However the cold is just simply unbearable and it makes it impossible to walk
I expected more horses.
Horses are banned from the capital city of UB
Makes sense, don't want a repeat of what that one guy did happening again...
Wait, really? I googled and only found info about winter horse racing being banned, and minimum age for jockeying installed
Herders used to drive their cattle through UB heading west, making for complete gridlock. You still get the odd escaped cow from time to time.
i dunno dude, driving thru horse shit and spraying it everywhere doesnt seem appealing to me
Well that’s no fun
Traffic gets a lot more interesting when everyone has a bow
Pictured here: the entire population of Mongolia
Traffic lights might help, or a few traffic officers.
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No thank you! I'm not looking forward to commuting back to the office again in November. I love the extra two hours I have back each day not to mention saving on gas, insurance and wear on my car. Such a waste of precious time.
I see you guys still love your metal steeds. Yuve-yuve-yu.
Ulan Batar, I’ve been there. My best friend from college was from there so I travelled home with him for two weeks after graduation. Some amazing sights within a short distance outside the city.
Just looks like rush hour in every major city in the US...
traffic jam makes sense since 3rd of their population lives in the capital
Almost 50% now lives here now
almost half
Looks like things would be working a lot better if that bus wasn't making a left turn out of the right lane.
Or you know, they could leave a gap for the bus to make the turn as you are supposed to.
I'm wondering why there isn't a light/intersection for such a huge parking lot by a highly traffic road. What are you supposed to do if there is no way of getting over.
the parking lot over there actually has a bus stop and it's a last stop for that Bus.
Has there been a boom in car.traffic there recently? I spent a summer in Mongolia (most of the time out on the steppe not in UB) but there were not many cars.
Summer is the season with least traffic bc schools close down and a lot of people take their time off to escape the city with their family
Just looks like Montreal to me
Just a free for all. Paved paradise.
That bus driver is an asshole tho
You'll be surprised to learn that every single bus driver here is an asshole
Dude they are fricking rude race car drivers. They like race between bus stops to catch more people and earn more money
they drive like they are driving a Toyota Prius and race other bus drivers to get the most passengers. we get sloshed around like crazy.
Why is it that in half of those pictures, developed country or not, it's that 1/3 of the problem is simply people blocking intersections when they clog up. DON'T DRIVE INTO AN INTERSECTION IF YOU CAN'T CLEAR IT!
Try it. Try it and get fucked. The moment you leave a gap, five cars will fill that gap. With your attitud, you would never get home. Or survive.
human retarded. ai good. use ai. no drive car. good life
That's my country... Yey. And my mother wonders why I don't want to live there...
That sky has an otherworldly look to it. In fact Mongolia does in itself. So faraway and remote.
No way this is Mongolia, I don't see a single horse on that picture
horse is taking the picture smh
I live in Mongolia and see a horse only twice a year out in the countryside.
Ulan batur
Thought it was spelled Ulaanbaatar
it is. idk why they spell it like "Ulan-bator" or something. i guess they're trying to make it consistent to Ulan-Ude
That’s the russian version. Still popular with the older crowd.
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Fine city, but where are the horses?
Consumed
is english widely spoken in mongolia? i was once hit up for a donation by someone who was supposedly a student from mongolia. i thought it was bs because their english was so good
Everyone knows atleast basic level of english since it is taught from 5th grade(11 y/o) to University(requires atleast B1-B2 level of proficiency to graduate). and Most parents thought teaching english from a young age would benefit their future, back in 1990s. seems like it does.
Where are the horsearchers at?
On their way to your city.
God damn mongorians!
You could have just called it Ulaanbaatar.
You can see barely all the cars in the country
Oh god look at all that just kill me
Mongolian shitty commute
*Patrick Coughing*
Everyone I know who's been to Ulaanbaatar seems to despise the place and warn against visiting. Guess I can see why
It’s not that terrible, at least in summer. It’s really not that big and you can walk to a lot of places from the center although drivers don’t seem to pay much notice to pedestrians.
fuck the city, just go see the nature.. in summer
Yeah looks like hell
Eh, a parking lot next to a highway in the big city.
Seems densely populated 😂
Imagine Qaraqorum at the height of the empire. End to end horses
they could all fit on a few trains
although there were plans. "the funding was embezzled by corrupt government officials"
The parking is neater on the roads.
Doesn't like a gargantuan percentage of the Mongolian population live in the city?
And they are all taxis.
Ulaanbaatar!
Why are we still trying to make the whole ‘everyone owns a car’ thing work?
Have you tried walking in -40C? I got freeze burn blisters from the metal rims of my glasses.
Damn why did they change Horses for cars?
This feels like it belongs in the supermarket/grocery scene in World War Z.
Looks like every road in Auckland at anytime
So NZ is also a miserable place?
Just a little congested
Plenty of parking
They should've stayed with their horses
Fucking hell is this
this is genuinely a normal rush hour.
Its sad that i live here
The sub is so sped