I have recently arrived in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, to start work on a World Bank-funded project, providing advice to the Ministry of Mining, in connection with the policies and institutional framework here. It is an interesting city, clearly experiencing a welcome but brief spring interlude between a cold winter and a short summer, before autumn and a hard winter sets in again. I do hope that I will still be able to experience some of that brief summer in my next trips during June and July, and maybe a tolerable bit of autumn, in September.
I've met a new colleague, David Butcher, who is carrying out this assignment with me, and also a number of very pleasant and very professional Mongolian counterparts and assistants. David and I have rented a small apartment in Ulaanbaatar, much preferable to extended hotel stays. Here are some views from the of the apartment windows:
We are planning to visit a nearby nature reserve today, with some old friends of David's. Watch this space for news about that, and some pictures.
