Mongolia's statue of Genghis Khan

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Mongolia has built a huge statue of Genghis Khan. It stands about 30 miles outside of the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator. It is inteneded to be the center piece of a planned tourist park which will feature historical and cultural areas, camping in yurts, a swimming pool, theater and a golf course. When this is all done they plan on plating the statue with gold.

Regular readers will know I've frequently made fun of Turkmenistan's ridiculous building schemes. Granted, a giant gold-plated statue of Genghis Khan appears like something similar, however the Mongolians seem to have a much more rational grip on their tourism planning. They're basing it around their history, culture and landscape, which is a saner approach. They're also making efforts at upgrading their hotel situation which currently sounds pretty dodgy.

Mongolia is a parliamentary republic which sits landlocked between Russia and China. In spite of that, or perhaps because of it, Mongolia has very good relations with the United States. They've provided small contingents of troops to both Iraq and Afghanistan in support of American policy. Travellers from the U.S., EU and Japan can apparently get visas at the airport upon entering the country.

If you're interested in seeing a giant statue of Genghis Khan, or touring a remarkable and isolated country, you can start by visiting their tourist site or reading reviews of other people's travels there. Sadly, no mention of Mongolian Death Worms at either place.