- In Russia there are more trees. This was quite striking when just over the border,
- The European faces you see in Buryatia are residents, not tourists.
- Orthodox churches are seen in greater numbers than Buddhist temples
- House are built from wood in Russia, and from brick or breezeblocks in Mongolia
- Everyone still loves their mutton
- Russian drivers do not seem to hate pedestrians as much as Mongolian drivers
- The Russian road are very slightly less bumpy
It was remarkably difficult to find information on how to book these bus tickets from Ulaanbaatar to Ulan-Ude. Internet searches just return information on how to buy tickets TO Ulaanbaatar from Ulan-Ude. It can be done, but there is an extra cost to post the tickets to your Mongolian address. But with the assistance of our airbnb host in Ulaanbataar, tickets were booked easily online at http://eticket.transdep.mn. The website is in Mongolian, but with judicious use of Google translate, the transaction is easily done. An image of the ticket will be sent to your email address, which can be printed for presentation at the bus station. In 2017, tickets cost 67000 MNT.