The big news here is the recent celebration of the 840th anniversary of the birthday of Chingis (a.k.a. Genghis) Khan at Khodoo Aral which was attended by about 5000 people, 99% of them Mongolians. For photos see Khodoo Aral. In the morning I watched the shaman ceremony in honor of Chingis but left before the unexpected arrival by helicopter of notorious action movie hero Steven Seagal, who is apparently going to make a movie based on the life of Chingis. A few days later I went to Amarbayasgalant Monastery, where the body of Zanabazar, the first Bogd Gegen of Mongolia, was kept before it was destroyed by the communists in 1937. The monastery is currently being restored. For photos see Amarbayasgalant.
