In Mongolia Alsooffers Opportuni- Spectacular Mountaineering ( P57 )
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© Lonely Planet Publications 247 THUMB TAB DIRECTORY DIRECTORY Directory bars. Also seriously consider bringing your CONTENTS own tent and camping – it’s free, and you really experience what Mongolia has to offer. Accommodation 247 Payment for accommodation is usually Activities 250 made upon checkout, but some receptionists Business Hours 252 will ask for money upfront. Remember that Children 252 most hotels in the countryside will charge you Climate Charts 252 a ‘foreigner price’ (which is sometimes double Customs 253 the local rate). Dangers & Annoyances 254 If you negotiate a reasonable price with the Discount Cards 255 management, try to pay immediately and get Embassies & Consulates 255 a receipt. Asking for a receipt can sometimes Festivals & Events 255 drop the price dramatically; in some cases Food 255 the staff will charge you the ‘foreigner price’ Gay & Lesbian Travellers 256 but register you as a Mongolian (ie put the Holidays 256 ‘Mongolian price’ down on paper and pocket Insurance 256 the difference). Internet Access 256 Hotel staff may ask to keep your passport Legal Matters 256 as ‘security’. This is not a good idea, for three Maps 257 reasons: staff often do not show up for work Money 257 (so the person with your passport cannot Photography & Video 258 be found when you want to depart); once Post 259 staff have your passport, it leaves you open Shopping 259 to possibly being asked to pay more for your Solo Travellers 259 room while a taxi waits for you outside; or Telephone 260 you may simply forget to pick it up and be Time 261 300km away before you realise. An expired Toilets 261 passport, student card or some other ID with Tourist Information 261 your photo is a great alternative to leaving Travellers with Disabilities 261 your real passport. Visas 262 Security should be a consideration. Always Women Travellers 264 keep your windows and door locked (where Work 264 possible). Staff may enter your room while you’re not around; take any valuables with ACCOMMODATION you or at least keep them locked inside your Like most things about Mongolia, the accom- luggage and don’t leave cameras and money modation situation in Ulaanbaatar is vastly lying around your room. Most hotels have a different from what you will find anywhere safe where valuables can be kept. outside of the capital city. In Ulaanbaatar, there is a wide range of accommodation, from Apartments dorm-style places for US$4 a night to suites Apartment rental is really only an option in in the Chinggis Khaan Hotel, which cost al- Ulaanbaatar; see p82 for details. most as much as Mongolia’s gross domestic product. Outside the capital, hotel options Camping are limited and generally poor in quality Mongolia is probably the greatest country in and services. the world for camping. With 1.5 million sq km One unique option, particularly popular of unfenced and unowned land, spectacular with organised tours, is to stay in tourist gers, scenery and freshwater lakes and rivers, it is which are like those used by nomads – except just about perfect. The main problem is a lack for the hot water, toilets, sheets and karaoke of public transport to great camping sites, 248 DIRECTORY •• Accommodation lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com DIRECTORY •• Accommodation 249 DIRECTORY DIRECTORY and sleeping bags bought in UB won’t toes. Most camps have a bar (and sometimes PRACTICALITIES cut it, especially for camping in the satellite TV and a blasted karaoke machine). mountains. Bring the best stuff you can There’s often little to differentiate between ger The weekly English-language newspapers are the Mongol Messenger (www.mongolmessenger get your hands on for an enjoyable trip. camps; it’s normally the location that adds the DIRECTORY DIRECTORY .mn) and the UB Post (http://ubpost.mongolnews.mn). Both have good articles, events listings Store your food carefully to protect it charm and makes your stay special. and classified sections. from creatures of the night. If you plan to stay in a ger camp you may Major private dailies in Mongolian include Ardiin Erkh (People’s Right), Zunny Medee (Century Don’t pitch your tent under trees (be- want to bring a torch for nocturnal visits to News), Odriin Sonin (Daily News) and Önöödör (Today). cause of lightning) or on or near river- the toilets, candles to create more ambience BBC World Service has a nonstop service at 103.1FM. Local stations worth trying include Jag beds (flash floods are not uncommon). than stark electric lights (though not all have (107FM), Blue Sky (100.9FM) and Radio Ulaanbaatar (102.5FM). Voice of America news pro- electricity), towels (the ones provided are in- grammes are occasionally broadcast on 106.6FM. For more advice on camping responsibly in variably smaller than a handkerchief), and Mongolia, see p60 . toilet paper (they may run out). Local TV stations don’t start broadcasting until the afternoon and switch off around 11pm. Book ahead if possible. Not all ger camps All the stations have political allies: Channel 25 favours the Democrats, Channel 9 prefers the have a phone so numbers in this book may MPRP and the others go with whoever is in power. Gers For information of ger etiquette, see p33 . be for the office in Ulaanbaatar, which will Electric power is 220V, 50Hz. The sockets are designed to accommodate two round prongs in somehow get the message out that you are the Russian/European style. TOURIST GER CAMPS headed for the camp. Mongolia follows the metric system. Tourist ger camps are found all over Mongolia. Except for a handful of ger camps in Terelj catering to expat skiers, most ger camps are As in the USA, the ground floor is called the 1st floor, as opposed to the UK system, where They may seem touristy and are often surpris- only open from June to mid-September, al- the next floor above ground level is the 1st floor. ingly expensive but if you are going into the countryside, a night in a tourist ger is a great though in the Gobi they open a month earlier way to experience a Western-oriented, ‘tradi- and close a little later. though there are some accessible sites near tent and look inside at any time – no invita- tional Mongolian nomadic lifestyle’ without In a few touristy places, such as Terelj, Ulaanbaatar, such as in Gachuurt, Khandgait tion is needed. the discomforts or awkwardness of staying Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur and Khövsgöl Nuur, and Terelj. Camping is also well worth con- You can often get boiled water, cooked in a private ger. private families often have a guest ger and sidering given the poor choice of hotels and food, uncooked meat and dairy products A tourist ger camp is a patch of ground take in paying guests. In this case the advice of the expense of ger camps. from nearby gers in exchange for other goods with several (or sometimes dozens of) tradi- offering gifts as payment does not apply – this Local people (and even a few curious cows or money, but always leave something and tional gers, with separate buildings for toilets, is a commercial transaction. These families or horses) may come to investigate your don’t rely on nomads, who may have limited hot showers and a ger-shaped restaurant/bar. are rarely registered with local authorities camping spot, but you are very unlikely to supplies of food, water and fuel. It is best to Inside each ger, there are usually two to three so they don’t advertise, so you’ll have to ask encounter any hostility. Your jeep driver will bring a portable petrol stove rather than use beds, an ornate table, four tiny chairs and around (any ger that is set up next to a road have ideas about good places to stay, other- open fires, which are potentially dangerous, a wood stove that can be used for heating is a good bet). wise look for somewhere near water or in a use precious wood and may not be possible during the night – ask the staff to make it pretty valley. If you’re hitching, it is not hard where wood is scarce. for you. The beds are really just smallish TRADITIONAL GERS to find somewhere to pitch your tent within A few extra tips: cots – if you are built like an NBA basketball If you are particularly fortunate you may be walking distance of most aimag capitals and Burn dried dung if you are being eaten player or a sumo wrestler, you’ll need to make invited to spend a night or two out on the towns. You will need to bring your own tent alive by mosquitoes (you may then have special arrangements. steppes in a genuine ger, rather than a tour- and cooking equipment if you want to camp to decide which is worse: mozzies or Toilets are usually the sit-down types, ist ger camp. This is a wonderful chance to away from the main towns or avoid the local burning cow shit) and bring strong re- though they may be (clean) pit toilets. experience the ‘real’ Mongolia. g uanz (canteen). pellent with as much DEET as possible. Prices for tourist camps often depend on the If you are invited to stay in a family ger, To wash yourself, you’ll probably need Other anti-mosquito measures include location. Where there is lots of competition, only in very rare cases will you be expected to use the local town’s bathhouse. Many are wearing light-coloured clothing, avoid- ie Lake Khövsgöl, Kharkhorin and Terkhiin to pay for this accommodation. Leaving a listed under the Information entries in this ing perfumes or aftershave, impregnating Tsagaan Nuur, you can find basic camps for gift is strongly recommended.