Shopping at the Zax

This is the place the locals call the "Black Market."  It probably really was one once, but now there are vendors of all varieties there and I would guess that most of them have a license and are legal.  It is really huge.  Yesterday we went there by ourselves since Puje had a cold and we got into a place we had never been before.  We were lost for a few minutes, but found our way back out to the main street.  We did find several shops that have beautiful Mongolian fabric and we think they might even be seamstresses who can taylor fit suits and traditional Mongolian clothing.  We may have to visit that place again!

This is the entry gate to the Zax.  We don't have to pay to go to this one.
The one in UB costs about a quarter to enter!

Those are bags of flour for sale in the background. 

The vegetable market moves outside in the summer when lots of produce comes in from the countryside.  Notice the beautiful purple deel worn by the woman.  One of our favorite discoveries at the Zax was fresh blueberries.  We put them  on our oatmeal most mornings.  They were also pretty cheap.  A quart of berries cost about $1.75.

This is the fresh produce part of the market.  They mostly have cabbage, potatoes, carrots, onions and an occasional beet, red and green pepper and once we even got zucchini there!  The produce is generally very good and is brought in from the surrounding countryside.

These two men are carrying a sheep carcass they just purchased at the meat part of the market.  They eat  mutton a lot here and have various way of preparing it.

There's even a toy section of the Zax!

Alan almost bought himself a hat.  But then he decided it probably wasn't very missionary-ey!

This is what we call "Home Depot Alley" because you can find just about anything here that you could find at Home Depot!  It is quite amazing.  However, we were NOT able to find a strainer for our sink!  No one seemed to have even an idea of what we were talking about   These businessmen and women conduct their business out of a shipping container! 

Another store on Home Depot Alley.  This is how they  sell paint, sinks, insulation and tools. 

Alan thought this was an interesting display of hardware for sale!

Selling nuts and bolts by the piece.

The lumber yard and plumbing supply store.

Alan was fascinated with this store.  In Utah, we had to order this material and then wait for a week or so for it to be delivered.  Here, they have the sheet metal, you pick out the color and the design and they put it through the roller and cut it to the exact length. And it can be taken home that same day!  They use this material for roofs and fences.  They really create quite a colorful neighborhood!

A car repair shop!

A delivery cart!

Another delivery cart for larger, heavier items!

This little hard-working pony was carrying a cart load of stove parts!

This is a meeker, or a minivan with as many people as possible packed into it!  It's really a cheap way to go and we can ride anywhere in town for about a quarter!  The most people we have ever ridden with was about 17.  We hear they can get up to 25 on one van!  It's a little tight, but sure beats walking!