GUIDES
21 Observations about Mongolia - tips for the Mongolia traveller
In 2010 I did a trip to Mongolia. After travelling there by the Trans-Siberian train, I cycled 1000km across the open steppe. Having been back in England for 1.5 months now I shared some of my reflections about Mongolia.
People
There aren’t many people in the rural areas but you’re never far from a settlement of some kind.
The people are thoroughly nonchalant on the one hand and thoroughly curious on the other regarding foreigners - they would make good poker players.
There doesn’t appear to be many police about in small settlements, rather they appear policed by ‘civil authority’.
Ger dwellers live very simple lifestyles, and live off the the products of their life-stock.
The Ger dwellers look very healthy from being in close proximity to the elements and hard work. Their eyes are bright and skin healthy.
Horses are regularly used for herding life-stock and general transportation in addition to cheap Chinese motorbikes. People learn to ride horses before they can walk, I think.
Geography
Steppe is beautiful but it soon gets tedious to look at. Water sources; rivers, lakes are very clean and the locals drink directly from them particularly in the rural areas that we visited. There are proper mountains in the north > 3000m bordering Russia and near lake Huvsgul. Lake Huvsgul is a phenomenal place, mesmerising and addictive, it was difficult to leave.
There are some fantastic rivers in Mongolia which would be excellent for river journeys.
Food
You can eat a range of foods in the capital, Ulaan Baatar. Near the State Department Store is a good Indian Restaurant, Korean and Chinese places.
The food outside of the city is simple, some might say bland; dumplings, soup, pancakes but good cycling food. We ate fresh butter, yoghurt, and drank fresh milk and ate lots of mutton with thick noodles made from flour.
Navigation
Don’t expect your GPS to be accurate with regards to the jeep tracks. Although the tracks are well marked on the ground they aren’t well marked on the maps.
Environment
The weather is weird; snow, rain hailstorms, dust storms, lightning, strong winds and it changes in a moment.
Mongolia’s environment is generally very unspoilt other than the mines and the growing cities. I hope that the wilderness areas can be preserved.
There are I Heart NYC bags floating around everywhere and used in multiple supermarkets. At one point there must have been an air-drop of them by the Americans or something.
There are a lot of smashed vodka bottles around the road-pass shrines- mind your tyres.
Travel
Ulaan Baatar has excellent train connections to Russia and China.
It’s a good country for ignoring the Lonely Planet guide book because there is so much freedom to do what you like via wandering and exploring. It seems silly to use the guide book.
Beware of mosquitoes in the summer especially near bodies of water.