Life above and below the street

Last night for the first time in Ulaanbaatar, I watched as a man climbed through a manhole and slowly disappeared beneath the street to his home.  I couldn't help but stop to watch as the cement swallowed him whole.  It was almost 9 pm, and the sun was setting.  He appeared to be returning home to prepare for bed, though I can't believe anyone would able to sleep with the city's traffic rumbling above.  

Ulaanbaatar, a city of about a million people, has a significant homeless population, with children a heartbreaking majority of "tunnel dwellers" like the man.  They live in the spaces around steam and water pipes, one of the few areas to keep warm at night.  Many are migrants who've moved from the rural, nomadic regions to take part in the economic growth of Mongolia's capital city.  Upon arrival they discover that though the economy is developing, unemployment is still high.  Like many other world nations, the city and nation are both experiencing a widening gap between the richest and poorest members of society.  It's painfully visible in Ulaanbaatar.

I was also returning home for the night.  My heart broke when I thought of our different living spaces.  My apartment is warm, spacious, with a washing machine, microwave, and tv with Russian MTV, BBC World News and ESPN.  It's everything I could need or want.