His parents and three siblings shared a tiny apartment, just 645 square feet, in Ulaanbaatar.

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Oyu Tolgoi is the poster project for a national mining boom that sees Ulaanbaatar crawling with foreign miners and their investment bankers.

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So we arrive in Ulaanbaatar on the morning of August 22nd.

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Ivanhoe's early days in Mongolia saw setbacks, including a local protest in which an effigy of Mr. Friedland in a top hat was burnt in the capital Ulaanbaatar.

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We had decided to embark in Irkutsk, where the also-famous Trans-Siberian Railroad stops en route from Moscow to Vladivostok, connecting to the Trans-Mongolian that runs south toward Ulaanbaatar.

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For a slice of Italy, head one block west of the circus to Marco Polo Pizza, or try Pizza de la Casa: its outlets are on Peace Avenue (west of the State Department Store) and across from the Ulaanbaatar Hotel.

CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia | Travel Watch