Ger : Mongolian for 'home'

Suburban life. UB style.

One of the first terms one hears in discussions in Ulan Bator is "Ger District" - a "ger" (or "yurt") being "a portable, round tent covered with skins or felt and used as a dwelling by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia".  About half of UB's residents live in gers and most are recent migrants with dreams of new fortunes and running water and flush toilets.  The reality for most is poverty and pollution.  Meanwhile, at the other end of town, tourists packaged into minivans stream out of UB for the experience of sleeping in gers.