Editor Pick
Helpful Resources and Quick Tips
- June 30, 2009
- Rated 5 of 5 by
sararevell from London, United Kingdom
On our journey across Siberia and Asia, Mongolia was the only country where we relied fully on the services of a tour guide. Had we had more time we may have done things differently but given the vastness of Mongolia and our inability to speak the language signing up for an organized tour was definitely the best option for us. Although the tour felt improvised Nassan was able to customize the trip, taking into consideration the places we wanted to see in the limited time we had.
Nassan was a competent guide although at times we suspected that her desire to catch up with family or to sit and listen was more attractive than translating our hosts stories into English. That said, had we gone with the driver-only option we would have learnt a lot less. If someone is serious about learning more about the country I would advise researching multiple companies to make sure that they not only speak decent English but that they travel regularly outside of Ulan Baatar. Nassan was a self-confessed city girl and seemed unfamiliar and at times uncomfortable out in the wilderness.
We used the Lonely Planet and Bryn Thomas’s Trans-Siberian guides for suggestions on tours and accommodation in Mongolia. They’re a good place to start but I’d recommend doing further internet research as there are many tourist companies popping up in Ulan Baatar, some of them charging extortionate prices for even short tours.
I don’t think a map would have done us much good in Mongolia and I’m still in awe at how Batmunkh managed to negotiate his way around 1070 km of dirt tracks. His way of getting directions was to drive from ger to ger and ask the next family if we were going the right way – and it worked.
Quick tips or suggestions
Having pre-booked with Nassan, a driver picked us up from Ulan Baatar train station and delivered us directly to the youth hostel. If you want to get out of the crazy crowds at the station and get your bearings faster then this is the best way to arrive. We had a couple of hours to kill before we left on our road trip which was just as well as Nassan presented us with a list of gifts that we should buy for our prospective hosts. Doing this made perfect sense and we were obviously more than happy to do so, we just wished that she had emailed it to us before we left home, as we may have been able to be a little more inventive. Arriving into Ulan Baatar at 6am on a Sunday morning doesn’t give you much scope for a shopping expedition.
The suggestions were mostly basic home items such as toothpaste, candles, washing up sponges although it was recommended we bring vodka for the male members of any host family. Be warned that when you do hand over the vodka gift, they immediately open the bottle and pass cupfuls around the room until it’s all gone. It’s apparently taken as an offense if you don’t take a drink (tough for me as I can’t stand vodka!)
For your own comfort and sanity, I’d recommend taking some basic camping gear such as a sleeping bag, toilet paper, a small torch, hand sanitizer and cleansing wipes, some food (bowls of noodles, biscuits, crisps and other snacks) and plenty of bottled water. When we got back from the trip we found a tick so before you jump into the shower, do a once over on yourself to make sure you didn’t bring back any unwanted critters from the desert.
From journal A Dusty, Snowy Off-Road Trip Through Mongolia
Best Dining and Entertainment
- June 30, 2009
- Rated 5 of 5 by
sararevell from London, United Kingdom
I can’t say that any dining experience we had on our trip was good. Most of our meals consisted of dried beef mixed with noodles. We also tried some "Beef Tea" which was basically a mixture of hot water, tea, milk, salt and dried beef and a few cow bones. It was about as appetizing as it sounds.
However one highlight was our lunch stop in Karakorum in the ger of Nassan’s friend. We started with tea and cookies. The cookies were more like hardened doughnut fingers, which were impenetrable when dry but sweet and soft when dipped in the tea.
Next came dried beef again but with Fusilli pasta. As bizarre as it sounds, it made a welcome change from noodles. After the meal we were served a full mug of port. We were somewhat taken aback by the generous pouring and quietly sipped it whilst Nassan and our host put theirs away in about ten minutes flat.
The food however was upstaged by the entertainment we were treated to that day. A gentleman by the name of Shuteen Ayalguu entered the ger in traditional Mongolian garb and proceeded to entertain us with throat singing and playing various stringed instruments in a private 40-minute concert. We sat in awe throughout as he sang traditional Mongolian songs and switched effortlessly between three different instruments (four if you include the spoon he played on his mouth, cheek, nose and forehead!) We eagerly purchased his CD for 15,000 Tugrik ($12.88), not bad considering the concert was a mere $2.50 per person for front row seats. Shuteen then sat with us for a while answering questions. Apparently the best way to get started as a throat singer is to learn how to hold your breath for an extremely long time.