Erdenet, Mongolia
An industrial treasure
I have been trying to learn Cyrillic for a while now because every time I get dropped somewhere that uses it I have to Google “learn Cyrillic fast,” then try to translate any words on a sign that could direct me somewhere. So far this method has not worked. I have not been able to use the language in a way that is helpful to me, and I also forget whatever I have learned immediately after the round is over.
This is all to say that I had no idea where I was, only somewhere that used the Cyrillic alphabet, somewhere cold and industrial and windswept, which does not narrow it down since that could describe many Cyrillic-using countries. After spending so much time on the language, I finally gave up and made a wild guess that paid off, landing me just 40 miles from the location for today. All based on pure vibes.
Where I Was:
Erdenet, Mongolia, the second-largest city in Mongolia.
What to Do:
A few weeks ago when I was on the metro, the guy sitting next to me was watching a video from some industrial metalworking factory. Hot golden ore was poured into a mold, which was slowly eased out onto a flat metal surface. Still glowing, the newly-formed shape was pounded by some giant hydraulic pounding machine, but it wasn’t clear what it became because the video cut back to more glowing molten ore, and the process repeated. It was rhythmic and soothing, it reminded me of the cake videos I like to watch but a more boy-friendly version; industrialization transformed from its humble 19th century origins into a soothing ASMR video that plays in the background while you wait for your brain to turn off.
A tour of the Erdenet copper mine, one of the very few attractions in the industrial town, offers the visitor the opportunity to view one of these videos in real life. The tour takes you around the pit, where you can watch the tiny excavators pawing at the sides, taking the earth away bit by bit, a massive earthwork that is a mile wide and three-quarters of a mile deep, and has been around so long that trees now grow on the rusty slopes near the top of the mine. It dwarfs the city; from the satellite view it seems like it blooms across the steppe, like something organic and growing.
The tour will take you into into at least one of the three processing plants, where the ore is crushed, ground, and filtered, among other processes, where conveyer belts carry piles of dust, steaming funnels fill giant plastic bags, and everywhere bubbling silver sludge pours and gurgles in an extremely watchable way.
What Else to Do:
While at first I thought the only game in town was the mine, I quickly learned that there is a thriving basketball scene in Mongolia. Catch a basketball game from the city’s championship-winning team, the Erdenet Miners (of course), at the local banquet hall and restaurant Ogog to watch on a projector screen behind a stage. The team, which includes a Greek coach and at least two Americans, shared a photo of a cake someone made for them with their logo in brilliant lime green and lemon yellow, with a caption that read:
“We wish our team success and send you a delicious cake. Thank you very much. Enjoy your meal. We will prepare well without losing your trust.”
What Else to Do:
Get a Subaru from Mongolia Subaru Forester and go do snow donuts on the Mongolian steppe.
Where to Eat:
Kalin Fisher, an American player on the Erdenet Miners, featured Yuna Korean Restaurant on his “Eats” highlight reel, sharing a short video of the whole team celebrating a win with a feast of Korean barbecue. And if it’s good enough for an Erdenet Miner, it’s good enough for me.
Where to Stay:
Erdenet Inn Hotel seems like the most pleasant place to stay in town, offering a breakfast that some people say is nice and others say is bad. It seems to be an acceptable hotel, maybe the best in the area. The only thing I found that seemed worthy of a comment was that there is a container of Pringles kept in the mini fridge. This is wrong - it will mess up the chemical composition of the Pringles and will likely make them soggy. That being said, they do offer a good-sized bottle of Mongolian vodka, so that might be okay.
Game Notes:
Hell yeah.
