Everything is written in Chinese, Mongolian, and Inner Mongolian. (The russian looking writing is Mongolian) They have such a false economy, there are tons of buildings and lots of construction, but with a population of 20,000, they are all vacant. It’s really quite creepy. Huge hotels and streets of modern buildings, all empty. It looks like a life-size version of a ‘model-city’ in the middle of a desert. There is nothing around Erlian except the Mongolian border, which isn’t anything to write home about. It’s trips like these that remind me of the phrase, “This is the first and the last time…" 

These Soviet-era jeeps are also the only cars that can transport people across the border, which of course comes with a fee. I was in Mongolia for close to 5 minutes. At which point I decided to buy Mongolian liquor with a dead snake in it. Mexican tequila with a worm has got nothing on this stuff.