So we went fancy clothes shopping to Naran Tuul.
Actually, we first went to a nearby ATM to get some cash and
for some reason my card just wouldn’t work so we had to use my husband’s which
is not ideal but hey, we make do. And then we got a taxi (took me less than 10
seconds, I was actually pretty impressed) and went to Naran Tull, aka the ‘Black
Market’ that is in fact not illegal (at least they say it isn’t, not that you get a
receipt or anything upon making a purchase) but still bears this name.
The place is huge, like a giant labyrinth, and it has
basically everything. Furniture, sports equipment, clothes, food (both proper
and just sweets), horse saddles, you name it and they probably have it.
Although I haven’t seen a single grand piano or statue of Jesus on the cross or
something – so obviously, you can’t get everything – or maybe I just
didn’t look close enough. To be honest, I have a hunch they don’t have vegan
stuff (vegan mayo, everyone? Vegan yogurts? I’ve been hunting them and no luck
so far) either. But they do have stuff in most, if not all, imaginable
categories.
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| I'll only post this pic here bc all the good ones are on my Instagram |
First, we got a nice suit for my husband (with a tie), then
a suit for me (yes, a woman’s one, if you can believe it – I almost couldn’t, I
always wear clothing for men, I think I own less than 10 pieces of women’s
clothes, apart from my lingerie ofc), a shirt for me (this one had to be a men’s
shirt, naturally), and a pair of black boots for my husband to go with the new
suit. And let me mention something quickly: these things were relatively cheap
(okay, really cheap), but they are also pretty lousy quality. Like, if you walk
into a proper shop, these items would be laughable – the ends of the pants not
properly sewn off? Come off it. But this is kinda like the Chinese markets in
Budapest. You go there looking for cheap stuff, not quality stuff.
Once we had the stuff we were there for (namely, the fancy
clothes), we also bought a pair of jeans for me (that are super warm, will be
great for the winter) before moving on to exploring the building that takes up
a very small portion of the market. We had a small lunch in there, up on the
top floor (3rd floor, I think, or what Mongolians would call the 4th
one) – well, mostly my husband, as they had meat, and meat, and some more meat.
He had a chicken plate but there was also some side salad, rice, and fries
there, so I munched on those as well. Even tried a bite of his chicken bc he
said I had to – he was right, it tasted exceptionally good.
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| The building by the side of the open-air market |
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| Lunch at Naran Tuul (for a solid 12k MNT, plus drinks) |
So then we went downstairs to check out the stalls selling
fruits and candy, bought a small assortment of random sweets, then took a taxi
back home (again, hailing a taxi took less than maybe 5 seconds – I lifted my
arm and a car flashed right away and pulled over, how cool is that).
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| the sweets we got |
Back at home, we unpacked, modelled our new fancy clothes for
each other, tried some candy, (I also had an instant ramen,) then did some ‘work’ on
our computers before going for another, much smaller adventure.
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| Look at this very original label on my new jeans |
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My husband pointed out to me that this tree is kind of in the way
- how did I not notice this before when I walk here every day? |
There is a fancy mall nearby that we’d never been to before –
they sell lots of Gobi cashmere and also souvenirs and such (definitely a
place for tourists), and they have a Pizza Hut and a KFC downstairs. First we
went and touched so many cashmere clothes (they are incredibly soft and some of
them actually look good) and tried not to think about how expensive they were,
then looked at the souvenirs a bit (this is the first souvenir shop we’ve been
to here, and it was also very fancy and very expensive), and finally went to
KFC for dinner (our first fast food here as well). Again, it was mostly my husband eating as I don’t eat chicken
and it’s Kentucky Fried CHICKEN. But I tried some of their cheesy fries (even though I
don’t eat cheese either, 99% of the time) and they were amazing. Guess today
was a day that almost makes me flexitarian (or puts the ‘mostly’ in mostly
plant-based, as I like to refer to my diet).
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| Mongolian cashmere sweaters |
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| I can't decide whether this one's pretty or not |
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| The biggest bird looks like Flint from Pocahontas! |
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| The souvenir shop had spectacular chess boards - Ron Weasley's mind would be blown. |
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One of my favourite items from today
(the country where my heart is och landet där min kropp finns) |
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| Dinner was very unhealthy and very satisfying |
Takeaway from today, or what I’ve learned: Naran Tull is a
great place (quite literally too) both for just ‘window-shopping’ and buying stuff,
but you need to be aware that it’s probably gonna be poor quality (at least the
things I’ve seen, maybe their furniture or traditional clothing is great, who
knows) in exchange for its fair price. Also, vendors drive a hard bargain but
so can you – never settle for the price they are telling you first (although
that is kind of a golden rule for any market I’ve been to apart from farmer’s
markets). There were a few instances where we tried chipping off the price but
didn’t get very far, but then there were other cases where we did bargain much;
once we paid literally half of the original asking price. And that’s with us
knowing no Mongolian whatsoever and looking very much like tourists. I bet
locals (or people who can actually bargain in Mongolian) can get stuff a lot
cheaper here. I might actually learn some basic Mongolian (numbers, a few
questions, vocab I just couldn’t learn for today on such a short notice) just
to be able to do that next time.
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