THUMB DIRECTORY TAB 247 © Lonely Planet Publications Planet Lonely © Hotel staffHotel your passport may ask to keep Security be a consideration. Always should Payment for accommodation is usually is usually for accommodation Payment price with the a reasonable If you negotiate (so the person with your passport cannot with your passport cannot (so the person be found when you want to depart); once you open staff your passport, it leaves have for your to pay more to possibly being asked room while a taxi waits for you outside; or to pick it up and be you may simply forget An expired you realise. 300km away before student card or some other ID with passport, to leaving alternative your photo is a great passport. real your (where your windows and door locked keep possible). Staff your room while may enter any valuables with not around; take you’re inside your them locked you or at least keep cameras and money and don’t leave luggage a have lying around your room. Most hotels be kept. valuables can where safe Apartments only an option in is really Apartment rental details. for p82 ; see Camping country in the greatest is probably With 1.5 million sq km camping. the world for spectacular and unowned land, unfenced of it is and rivers, lakes scenery and freshwater problem is a lack The main perfect. just about sites, camping public transport to great of bars. Also seriously consider bringing your Also seriously your consider bringing bars. you and camping – it’s free, and own tent to offer. has what Mongolia experience really but some receptionists made upon checkout, Remember that will ask for money upfront. you in the countryside will charge most hotels double is sometimes price’ (which a ‘foreigner local rate). the and get try to pay immediately management, can sometimes a receipt for Asking a receipt. in some cases drop the price dramatically; price’ the ‘foreigner you the staff charge will put the you as a Mongolian (ie but register on paper and pocket ‘Mongolian price’ down the difference). as ‘security’.a good idea, for three This is not staff do not show up for work reasons: often Accommodation 247 Accommodation 253 Customs Toilets 261 Women Travellers 264 One unique option, particularly popular One unique option, particularly popular Activities250 Business Hours 252 Children ChartsClimate Dangers & Annoyances Discount Cards Embassies & Consulates & Events Festivals 255 Food Travellers Gay & Lesbian 252 256 Holidays 254 256 Insurance 252 Access Internet 255 Matters Legal Maps 257 255 Money 257 256 255 & Video Photography Post 259 Shopping 259 Solo Travellers 260 Telephone 261 Time 256 256 Tourist Information 258 with Disabilities Travellers 262 Visas Work 264 259 261 261 ACCOMMODATION ACCOMMODATION Like most things about Mongolia, the accom- most things about Mongolia, the Like modation situation in Ulaanbaatar is vastly you will find anywhere from what different the capitalIn Ulaanbaatar, city. outside of from accommodation, of is a wide range there dorm-style places for US$4 a night to suites cost al- in the Chinggis which Khaan Hotel, as Mongolia’s gross domestic most as much product. Outside the capital, options hotel in quality poor and generally limited are and services. is to stay in tourist gers, tours, with organised those used like by nomads – except are which and karaoke toilets, sheets for the hot water, CONTENTS Directory DIRECTORY so beprepared forthelocals toopenyour no ideaof the Western conceptof privacy, from othergers. Mongolians have littleor campatleast300m otherwise extra security; sion, campingnear ager isagoodideafor the owners (andtheirdog)give youpermis- spot yourtent, youcouldhave aproblem.If ting a hosedown. Turkey; inMongoliatheyare simplyforget- won’t belike whatyou’dexpecttofindin aware, thatthebathhouses though, book. Be listed under theInformationentriesinthis Many thelocaltown’sbathhouse. to use are g away fromthemaintownsoravoid thelocal and cookingequipmentifyouwanttocamp tobringyourowntenttowns. Youwillneed of and walking distance mostaimagcapitals to findsomewhere topitch yourtent within pretty valley. Ifyou’re hitching, itisnothard lookforsomewherewise nearwater orina have other- ideasaboutgoodplacestostay, encounter driver anyhostility.Yourjeep will camping spot,butyouare very unlikely to or horses) maycometoinvestigate your ofthe expense ger camps. sidering given thepoorchoice of hotels and and Terelj. isalsowellworthcon- Camping such asinGachuurt,Ulaanbaatar, Khandgait therethough are someaccessiblesites near 248 uanz Be mindfulof Ifdrunks yoursecurity. Be you’llprobablyTo washyourself, need Local people (and even afewLocal people(andeven curiouscows

PRACTICALITIES

As intheUSA,groundflooriscalled1stfloor,asopposedtoUKsystem, where Mongoliafollowsthe metric system. The are sockets poweris220V,50Hz. Electric designedtoaccommodate tworoundprongsin Local broadcastinguntiltheafternoon andswitchoffaround11pm. stationsdon’tstart TV at103.1FM. tryingincludeJag hasanonstopservice Localstationsworth BBCWorldService Majorprivate dailiesinMongolianinclude The weeklyEnglish-language newspapers are the IETR • Acmoain ••Accommodation DIRECTORY the next floorabovethe next groundlevel isthe1stfloor. the Russian/European style. MPRP andtheothersgowithwhoever isinpower. All thestationshave politicalallies:Channel25favourstheDemocrats,9prefers the grammes are occasionallybroadcaston106.6FM. (107FM), BlueSky(100.9FM) and Ulaanbaatar (102.5FM).Radio VoiceofAmericanewspro- News), and classifiedsections. .mn) andthe (canteen). Odriin Sonin UB Post (DailyNews)and (http://ubpost.mongolnews.mn). events Bothhave listings goodarticles, Önöödör Ardiin Erkh (Today). food, uncooked meatanddairyproducts

where wood is scarce. precioususe wood andmaynotbepossible open fires, which are potentially dangerous, petrolstovebring aportable ratherthanuse supplies of food,water andfuel.Itisbest to don’t rely onnomads,whomayhave limited or money,butalwaysleave somethingand from nearbygers inexchange forothergoods tion is needed. tent andlookinsideatanytime–noinvita-

Ensure for yourgear iswarmenough Mongol Messenger anticipation of strongwinds and rain. you leave homeandalwayspitch itin Make sure yourtent iswaterproof before better than low-lying areas). isalways (camping inhillsormountains camping awayfromstillwater ormarshes sure screen yourtent and hasaninsect rin (nontoxic repellent), insect making clothes andmosquitonetswithpermeth- ing perfumesoraftershave, impregnating wearing light-coloured clothing,avoid- Other anti-mosquitomeasures include pellent withasmuch DEETaspossible. burning cowshit) andbringstrongre- to decidewhich mozziesor isworse: (youmaythenhavealive bymosquitoes Burn drieddungifyouare beingeaten You canoften get boiledwater, cooked Cheap and flimsy Chinese-made tentsCheap and flimsyChinese-made sub-zero temperatures, oryou’llfreeze. A few extratips: (People’s Right),

(www.mongolmessenger Zunny Medee lonelyplanet.com (Century

lonelyplanet.com usual Mongolian fare of meat,riceand pota- ger. With onlyafew exceptions, expectthe able foracleanbed anda hot shower. bringing yourown food.Thisispretty reason- able tonegotiate adiscountof 50%to65%by charge tothefoodbill, soyoumaybe goes ing willcostextra. Asurprisingamountof the meals. Activitiessuch ashorse orcamel rid- (or more) perperson including pernight, in remote areas maycharge US$20 toUS$30 campsor Better under T5000pernight. Tsagaan Nuur,youcan findbasiccampsfor andTerkhiin Kharkhorin Khövsgöl, ie Lake location. Where there islotsof competition, theymaybe(clean)pit though toilets. arrangements. special player orasumowrestler, tomake you’llneed cots –ifyouare builtlike anNBA basketball for you.Thebedsare really justsmallish tomake it –askthestaff during thenight a woodstove forheating thatcanbeused beds, anornate fourtinychairs table, and Inside each ger, there are usuallytwotothree hot showers andager-shaped restaurant/bar. tional gers, buildingsfortoilets, withseparate tradi- (orsometimesdozens of) with several in a private ger. the discomfortsorawkwardnessof staying tional Mongoliannomadiclifestyle’ without way toexperienceaWestern-oriented, ‘tradi- inatouristgercountryside, anight isagreat ingly expensive butifyouare goingintothe touristyandare oftenThey mayseem surpris- Tourist ger campsare foundallover Mongolia. TOURIST GERCAMPS For informationof ger etiquette, see p33 . Gers p60. see Mongolia, For more adviceoncampingresponsibly in Store yourfoodcarefully toprotect it Don’t pitch yourtent undertrees (be- get yourhandsonforan enjoyable trip. youcan Bringthebeststuff mountains. cut it,especiallyforcampinginthe inUBwon’t bagsbought and sleeping Meals are taken restaurant inaseparate Prices fortouristcampsoften depend onthe Toilets are usuallythesit-downtypes, A touristger campisapatch of ground from creatures of the night. beds (flashfloodsare not uncommon). of oronnearriver-cause lightning) DIRECTORY ••Accommodation DIRECTORY paper and puzzles. Children willenjoycolouring books,pens, and hand-powered andradios. flashlights Mongolian-language booksandnewspapers, lighters, toothbrushes, toothpaste, ducttape, Constructive kits, presents includesewing creativity youcanoffer more items. useful candy are customarygifts,butwithsome look after theguests).Cigarettes, vodkaand whole family,includingthewomen (who better toprovide worthwhile giftsforthe payment isusuallyOKasagift, it’sfar gift isstronglyrecommended. Whilecash ato payforthisaccommodation.Leaving only invery rare willyoubeexpected cases experience the ‘real’ Mongolia. ist ger camp.Thisisawonderfulchance to steppes in agenuine ger, ratherthanatour- ortwooutonthe invited tospend anight If youare particularlyfortunate youmaybe TRADITIONAL GERS is a good bet). around (anyger upnexttoaroad thatisset so theydon’tadvertise, soyou’llhave toask are rarely registered withlocalauthorities families These is acommercialtransaction. notapply–this offering giftsaspaymentdoes theadviceoftake inpayingguests.Inthiscase private familiesoften have aguestger and Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur, NuurandKhövsgöl a and close little later. intheGobitheyopenamonthearlier though al- only openfromJunetomid-September, catering toexpatskiers, mostger campsare headed for the camp. somehow get outthatyouare themessage whichbe fortheoffice inUlaanbaatar, will have aphonesonumbers inthisbookmay toilet paper(theymay run out). and variably smallerthanahandkerchief), electricity), towels(theonesprovided are in- notallhave (though electriclights than stark the toilets,candlestocreate more ambience want tobringatorch fornocturnalvisitsto charm andmakes your special. stay camps; it’snormallythelocationthatadds There’s often littletodifferentiate ger between satellite TV andablasted karaoke machine). satellite TV Mostcampshavetoes. abar(andsometimes In afew touristyplaces,such asTerelj, If youare invited inafamilyger, tostay forahandfulofExcept ger campsinTerelj Book aheadifpossible. Notallger camps inagerIf youplantostay campyoumay

249 DIRECTORY DIRECTORY DIRECTORY polite foryou tooffer tosupplysomefood, style) bedsare alsoavailable. Invariably, much better idea. inbudget Ifyouplantostay Mongolian truck drivers are –guesthouses a the fringe areas of the city,mainlycater to get Russian TV. whileothers only first assomepickupBBC trythechannels extra iftheycomewithTV; per person Some roomsmaycost pernight. a budget. Simpleroomscostaround T6000 roomsifyou’re thestandard on ask tosee room (costingaminimumof T17,000)so willinitiallyshow youtheirdeluxehotel staff bathroom. Sometimes, engiin tle smallerbutoften much cheaper; andan deluxe) andprivate bathroom;a TV sittingroom,usuallywith includes aseparate types of rooms:a (and budget hotelshave inUlaanbaatar) three Most Hotels have accommodationaimed at backpackers. NuurinKhövsgöl the GobiandKhövsgöl 12 July). crowded before andduringNaadam(11 share costs,butcanget transportation pretty are agreat othertravellers placetomeet to They internet connectionandtravel services. around US$4,cheap meals,alaundryservice, in apartmentblocksandhave dormbedsfor firmly aimedatforeign backpackers. Mostare nowhasaround20 Ulaanbaatar guesthouses Guesthouses always carryatent as a backup.) future. rely (Never onfamiliestotake youin; less likely thatothers willbewelcomeinthe makingit Mongolianhospitality, and abuse yourwelcome your visit),youwilloutstay less youhave specificallyasked been toextend dress theirname, you’llneed purposes, their nameandamailthemcopy(forad- your hostfamily,remember totake down being photographed.Ifyoutake pictures of leftover items. Mongolianslove fromthese Packpasta. outanygarbage orpackaging such asbiscuits,bread, riceand fruit,salt, 250 ad aimag). and Your hostmayoffer tocookforyou;itis Budget hotels lyingon inUlaanbaatar, Outside Ulaanbaatar onlyDalanzadgadin Outside Ulaanbaatar If you stay longer ortwo(un- If youstay thananight IETR • Atvte ••Activities DIRECTORY zochid budal (simple) room,usuallywithashared , which is much onlyalit- the same lux htl) n h countryside the in ( hotels) (deluxe) room,which niitiin bair khagas lux (dorm- (half- sum

gain littlebygetting angry–justbebusi- for top-endplacesinUlaanbaatar. You’ll camping. go tryside isreason totake atent enough and outages. Thequalityof hotels inthecoun- dodgy plumbing,broken locksandelectrical place. Even atthe bestplacesyoucanexpect willhaveaimag capital onedecentnew ties continuetoimprove andalmostevery facili- ally emptyandfallingapart,though itisnow grög because the law. rate fluctuates), butyoushouldpayintö- quoted theexchange in US dollars (because a better idea. maybeavailable theguesthouses, through speak English.Aprivate roomorapartment, inmidrange andtop-endplaces will staff and air-conditioning The needed. isnever most buildingsandhotels inUlaanbaatar, TV. Hotwater for andheatingisstandard able andcleanprobablyhave satellite roomswillbecomfort- for adouble. These rather overpriced, charging US$40toUS$60 generally dirty or musty. are dirty.Blankets are alwaysavailable, butare bags)isalsohandyifthesheets inside sleeping bag.Aninnersheet (thesortused sleeping hotels inthe countrysideyoushould bringa Additional activitiesare listed following. our MongoliaOutdoors chapter ( p55 of course, horse riding–canbefound in ). such ascycling,hiking,rafting, fishing and, p80 . Someof themostpopularactivities– p270 inMongolia see ; forcompaniesbased activities,see companiesthatorganise seas tions foryoutopursue. of Fordetails over- countryside; there are ahostof active op- Mongolia isallabout getting outintothe ACTIVITIES bathhouse. public haveknowing thatmostaimagcapitals a outside UB)ornowater atall,it’sworth some foodready afew hours later. afire acooktolight togetand thenrouse blankets, abed,washstand andwater, even havethey might forsomesheets, tosearch long time(very possibleinthecountryside), haven’t guests fora seen want. Ifthestaff nesslike you’llget andeventually whatyou If thehotel hasnohotwater (mostlikely itisgenerally poor,except As forservice, In thecountryside,mosthotels are gener- The ‘foreigner price’inthisbookmaybe Midrange placesare generally goodbut lonelyplanet.com cormorant and pelican. White-napped craneandother White-napped waterfowl. Ganga Nuur Ganga and telephoto lensare the following areas: .com. Thebestplacestoget outyourbinoculars http://birdsmongolia.blogspotsive looksee Mongolia isrich in birdlife; foracomprehen- Birding lonelyplanet.com Mongolians are keen ice skaters –atleast ers downtothe bottom.Many freeze right the ing through ice, as manylakes andriv- In winter youwon’thave toworryabout fall- Ice Skating adventure at www.golfmongolia.com. balls enroute. Youcanread more abouthis in 12,170strokes, butlostmore than500golf ies andtownsas‘holes’.Andre shot theround toKhovdChoibalsan city,designating18cit- American golfer named Andre golfed from ter of fact,itis.In2003and2004aneccentric to golf south in Övörkhangai, of Khujirt. the Chandman-Öndörarea and inKhövsgöl, easternfairways innorthernKhentii, Zavkhan, grass looksbest.There are some perfect natural a few dozen golfballs,andwherever the pack afive orthree alongwith ironinyourjeep, try playingnaturalgolfacrossthesteppes. Just cheaper option.Themore adventurous could theUBGolfClub( a round,although p78 ) isa Club inTerelj ( p111 ) isthebestplacetoget in Country Khaan ing ispossible. TheChinggis when planninganadventure inMongolia,golf- notthefirstAlthough sportthatcomestomind Golf US$150 (pricesare per vehicle). per daywhileatripinTövaimagis GPS unit.Gobi tripscostUS$190toUS$200 equippedwithCBradioand buggies two-seat www.vastgobi.com) Tripsarebuggy. runby elling acrosstheGobi inasouped-updune For atrueoutdooradventure, considertrav- Buggying Dune Uvs Nuur swan. and DalaiNuur Sangiin Area Mongol DaguurSpecialProtected NuurandAirag Khyargas Nuur UsNuurandKhar Khar grouse and relict gull,andmigratory grouse andrelict pelican. You maynowbewonderingifit’spossible all ( p239 ) Spoonbill,craneandgull. thewayacrossMongolia. As amat- ( p182 swan. ) Migratory , which has several homemade , which hasseveral DIRECTORY ••Activities DIRECTORY ( p197 ) Mongolianlark,eagle,goose Vast Gobi ( p235 ) Goose,wood ( p242 ) Migratory (

x ( p174 ) 9908 2785; that climbing is strictly that climbingisstrictly prohibited. means aimag. Itssanctity mountain, locatedinZavkhan ice axe and ropes. aimags. Youwillneedcrampons,an Bayan-Ölgii andKhovd tively easytoclimbwithcramponsandan ice axe. of permanent and crevassed of permanent andcrevassed glaciers. of Mongolia,Chinaand Russia. Thismountainclusterisfull Tavan Bogd Uul Mönkh Tsambagarav Uul Tsast Uul Sutai Uul Uul Kharkhiraa Uul Türgen Tenger Uul Otgon Institute, opposite the Indian embassy. fice isinroom405of the Physical Training trips.Theof- designed mountain-climbing Ulaanbaatar) Bayanzürkh, Club want toconsultthe isinanationalpark,youmay the mountain Ministry of Nature &Environmentunless time toclimbisJuly and August. fully equippedandhire localguides.Thebest You musthave experience,be thenecessary to 40permanentlysnow-cappedmountains. aimags, there are dozensof glaciers, and30 ties for climbing.Inthewestern mountain Mongolia alsooffers opportuni- spectacular Mountaineering ( p57 ). Formore cyclingtips see p55 Park ( . p229 aimag ) andallaroundKhövsgöl Tavanfind goodtrailsinAltai BogdNational great bikingtrailsinTerelj, see p113 . You’llalso bikestain andmasochistic riders. There are Mongolian roadsare madeforstrong moun- Mountain Biking Nomadic contact Journeys ( p81 ). tripwithsupportcostsaroundUS$1300, week Aone- Khövsgöl. skating ispossibleonLake bring yourownequipment.Long-distance is terrible soifyou’re about thissport, serious up. Youcanrent skates here butthequality sotheicegetsnot maintained pretty chewed ( p78 ) becomesanicerinkinwinter butitis inNairamdalParkrinks. Thesoccerstadium wholivethose nearwater, orinbigcitieswith aimags. It’saccessibleandthecampinghere Khovd is great. climbed with spectacular views; climbed withspectacular in Uvs. Khovd Khovd aimags. While you don’t need permitsfromtheWhile youdon’tneed The highest peaks(inascending The highest order):

( x (4193m; p228 ) OntheborderofBayan-Ölgii and (4090m; p218 ) OntheborderofGov-Altaiand 011-455 246;[email protected];POBox49-23, (3965m; p241 ) Oneofthemosteasily (4374m; p231 ) InBayan-Ölgii,ontheborder (4037m; p241 ) InUvs;agreat hiking area. (4202m; p228 itisrela- ) InKhovd; (3905m; p245 ) Mongolia’sholiest . Theclubrunsspecially Mongol Altai Mountaineering Mongol AltaiMountaineering (4362m; p236 ) Ontheborderof

251 DIRECTORY DIRECTORY DIRECTORY Khövsgöl. Lake boarding tobehadonbothTerkhiin Tsagaan Nuurand allyourowngear,butthere isgreat so youneedtobring eightdays(all-inclusive take trips cross-lake US$2600). toApril); Nuur(March to US$80perdayandKhövsgöl are heldinTereljTrips (DecembertoFebruary) forUS$60 See www.ghengiskhanpolo.com www.ghengiskhanpolo.com See for details. heads)isoccasionallyplayedbylocalclubs.(sans severed seemstohavediedoutlongago. Modernpolo practice play polousingtheirenemies’headsastheball, butthis Most private open businesses andstate-run there are offering several 24-hourbanking. open until7pmandinUlaanbaatarstay 9am to5pmMonday toFriday.Many banks Government offices are usuallyopen from HOURS BUSINESS Polo boarding Kite Dog sledding Blokarting Offbeat Activities -25°C. chilly monthsing these hovers aroundavery be warned:theaverage temperature dur- skiing are January andFebruary, although ( in Khandgait p115 ). Thebestmonths for thesnowisusuallybetterskiing. However, round make forcross-country agoodbase camps inTerelj ( p112 openyear-) thatstay thecold.Ger less, aslongyoucanstand country skiing,ontheotherhand,islimit- for downhill skiing inMongolia. Cross- terrain, there are virtuallynoopportunities Despite thecoldtemperatures andrugged Skiing tobringtheir will need own equipment. Gazryn Chuluu( p198 ) inDundgov; climbers routes have atIkh established alsobeen With yourowngear it’sUS$35.Climbing climb atacostof US$40toUS$50perday. at theger camp,where youcanturnupand Plans have laidtokeep climbinggear been rockneartheBuveithigh ger camp( p112 ). where routes have ona35m- established been For nowthebestplacetoclimbisinTerelj, still initsinfancywithfew routes. established thesportis climbing inMongolia,although There are excellentopportunitiesfor rock Rock Climbing 252 .com for details. www.gobiblokartraid See yourownblokart). (bring sailing), butasthere isnothingsetupyouneedtoBYOB Legend has it that Chinggis Khaan’s troops usedto Legend hasitthatChinggisKhaan’s IETR • Bsns or ••BusinessHours DIRECTORY Mongolia is perfect for blokarting (aka land (aka forblokarting Mongoliaisperfect OrganisedbyWindofMongolia( p82 ). There isnothingorganisedonthisfront p78 ) inUlaanbaatar. CheckoutLP’s ridesatNairamdalParktame (Children’s Park; gers. Forachild-friendly experience,trythevery playmates whenvisiting opportunities tomeet to sitonyaks,horses andcamels,plentyof two atleast.There are alsolotsof opportunities often like thethrillof or camping,foranight ach nomatter whatyourage. children Thatsaid, boredom. tostom- Mongolianfoodisdifficult scape mayleave yourchildren with comatose motion sicknessandtheendlesssteppe land- rides over nonexistent roadsare asure route to ahealthyadult.Long jeep foreven is difficult travellinglocal people;however, inMongolia good avenue forculturalexchange withthe Children canbeagreat icebreaker andare a CHILDREN to eat,see p44 . days a week. and are anextracoupleof normallyclosed indoor markets openfrom10am to 8pm. inwinter), while 9am to7pmdaily(orsunset noon sometime between and 2pm. foranhouratlunch, other facilitiesmayclose 5pm and8pm.Many open on Sundays. sometimebetween at about10amandclose lk -5°C. like a10-knotwindcanmake 0°C feel factor: inmindthewind-chill wind andsun.Bear ates snowstormsintermixed withboutsof true inspringwhen changeable weathercre- especially inasingleday. Thisseems seasons It is thatMongoliacanexperiencefour said CLIMATE CHARTS ideal for children. with anextraconnectingroom,which can be tryside, deluxe hotel rooms normallycome small children. Whentravelling inthecoun- You’ll have tobringyourownifyouhave very you canpretty much ruleoutfindingacarseat. havein Mongoliaeven beltsso workingseat tofindinthecountryside. Fewdifficult cars (Map p64 butcanbemore) inUlaanbaatar, Store (Map pp70–1 ) andSkyShopping Centre pies (diapers) are Department soldattheState Items such asformula,babyfoodandnap- Practicalities Children Museums haveMuseums reduced hours inwinter Outdoor markets are usuallyopenfrom For details ontheopeninghoursFor details of places and In thecountryside,banks,museums formore general tips. lonelyplanet.com Travel with lonelyplanet.com trees) along thenorthernborder, especially coniferous forests of Siberianlarch andpine areasrainfalls occurin thetaiga (subarctic two longer thanthe Gobiareas. Thehighest weather inthefar northcanlastamonthor andOctober.during September Thecold mid-May until late August, andautumnis from March tomid-May, summerfrom ter lastsfromNovember to February, spring ULAANBAATAR ÖLGII -30 -20 -10 -30 -20 -10 -30 -20 -10 -30 -20 -10 C°F °C °F °C °F °C °F °C 30 30 30 30 20 20 20 20 10 10 10 10 The four seasons areThe fourseasons very distinct–win- 0 0 0 0 JFMAMJJASOND JFMAMJJASOND JFMAMJJASOND JFMAMJJASOND Temp Temp Temp Temp 1710m (5607ft) DIRECTORY ••Customs DIRECTORY 0.8 1.6 2.4 3.2 4.0 0.8 1.6 2.4 3.2 4.0 0.8 1.6 2.4 3.2 4.0 0.8 1.6 2.4 3.2 4.0 756m (2449ft) in in in in 0 0 0 0 1286m (4215ft) 1465m (4803ft) 86 86 86 86 14 14 14 14 -22 -4 -22 -4 -22 -4 -22 -4 50 68 50 68 50 68 50 68 32 32 32 32 JFMAMJJASOND JFMAMJJASOND JFMAMJJASOND JFMAMJJASOND Rainfall Rainfall Rainfall Rainfall Max/Min Max/Min Max/Min Max/Min Average Average Average Average 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100 mm mm mm mm is agoodideatoget adocument toindicate from US$100 toUS$150,or five years in jail. and thefineforillegally exporting fossils is items areThese precious toMongolia’shistory offers. donottake upthese Please and eggs. bones dinosaur fossilised andeven Zuu Khiid, as snuffboxes, bitsandpiecesfromErdene fered furs of rare animals,antiqueitems such images andstatues as well. forBuddha that itisnotanantique. Thatgoes itself. antique and twophotosoftique waspurchased the with yourpassportnumber,where thean- in Ulaanbaatar. tofillinaform You’llneed ( to get onefromthe this. Ifyoudon’tget oneof you’llneed these reliable canprovide shopsinUlaanbaatar cate them.Most fromtheplaceyoubought you musthave areceipt andcustomscertifi- cigarettes intoMongolia duty-free. 3L of three beer, bottlesof perfumeand 200 trip. your to handintheform–sokeep itsafe during When youleave Mongolia,youwillbeasked andthenreturnedcustoms official toyou. will notissuereceipts) is legal. moneychangersmoney withlicensed (who you change changing moneyatbanks,though should, nevertheless, keep allreceipts when form israrely checked onyourwayout.You sion. There tobetooaccurate: this isnoneed also asked tolistallmoniesinyourposses- cious stonesandall‘dutiable goods’.Youare form todeclare anyprohibited items, allpre- out anEnglish-language customsdeclaration sengers are asleep. by traintoChinaorRussia, whenmostpas- rigorous, butare lesssoatbordercrossings ers exitingMongoliabyairare sometimes of searches Baggage foreign-mineral samples. fossils,worksofold paintings,statues, artand be soldtoMongolians;theywantkeep in phy, drugsandexpensive importsthatmight Customs officials wanttokeep outpornogra- CUSTOMS about thebesttimes to visit. See andKhövsgöl. Khentii p13 foradvice x You canbring1Lof spirits, 2Lof wine, During yourtripyouwillprobably beof- If youhave anythingthateven If youare legallyexportinganyantiques, The customsdeclarationischecked bythe When youenter Mongolia,youmustfill 011-312 735,323747) intheCulturalPalace Centre of Cultural Heritage ofCultural Centre looks old,it 253

DIRECTORY DIRECTORY DIRECTORY We’ve hadletters fromreaders who booked panies that don’tdeliver ontheir promises. main thingtobeaware of isdodgytourcom- Professional scamming isnotcommon;the Scams attack. dog torch infrontof youitwillstopanypossible let, localshave suggested that ifyouswinga triptothetoi- tryside, perhaps foramidnight friendly. appear ifthey awayfromdogs,even easier tojuststay rabies shotsisnofun;it’s the dog!’.Getting Icomein?’butliterally means ‘Hold‘Can ‘ friendly orundercontrolandshout thephrase in thecountryside,make sure thedogsare approachingily. Before anyger, especially itfor2kmor3kmwhiledroolingheav-chase ers willalmosthead-butt yourvehicle and a whimperif100lamecatshobbledpast;oth- dogs are so damnlazythatyouwouldn’tget and possiblyrabid. Inthecountryside,some around gers inthecountrysidecanbevicious Stray dogsinthecitiesanddomestic Dogs will invariably visit youduring the night. they upcamp;otherwise, youset drunks see your tent somewhere andthatno secluded, to another cabin. in door). Iftheoffending drunkhappenstobe your cabin class (youcanclose or‘soft seat’ which isanotherreason totravel incoupé hitchhikers mayencounter drunk drivers. ciplined toholdtheiralcohol ontrips,but who workfortourcompanieshave dis- been when theyare drivingyourvehicle. Drivers are more annoying than dangerous, except in thecitiesthancountryside. Drunks Alcoholism isareal problembutisfarworse handle just about anything. tience andplanning,youshould beableto into hiccupsalongtheway.Withabitof pa- problems,development youare boundtorun of thecountry,stateof theeconomyandother which totravel, butgiven theinfrastructure Mongolia isareasonably safe countryin DANGERS &ANNOYANCES 254 Alcoholism Nokhoi khor yourcabin,asktheattendant tomove you If camping,alwaysmake sure thatyoupitch If you need towalkinthe darkinthecoun- If youneed Drinking ispretty commononthetrains, IETR • Dnes&Anyne ••Dangers&Annoyances DIRECTORY ’, which roughly translates’, which as roughly countryside, keep aneyeon yourgear and touristswanderingabout.Inthestarry-eyed time whenmuggers dobrisktradeonallthe pick pockets, especiallyaroundNaadam vigilantof tostay bagslashersyou need and Petty theftisafactof life and inUlaanbaatar Theft onward trips to Russia. in andtheonesthatspecialise by guesthouses riskiest tourcompaniesare theonesoperated ifthingsdon’tworkoutasplanned.The sation exactly whatisoffered, andaskabout compen- begoodtoget Itmight inwriting pectations. fell standards shortof ex- food andservice tours where accommodation, thepromised time and mayprevent you fromtravelling to nant anthrax andtheplague popupallthe malig- Mongolia. Foot-and-mouth disease, cially inruralbackwaters and border areas. thinking stilloccurs amongthe police,espe- of democracy,someof the oldKGB-inspired have relaxed considerably sincethearrival policies official atall.Although ity services Some villages goformonths withoutanyutil- ity blackoutsare commoninaimagcapitals. Heating andhot-water shortages andelectric- Other Annoyances p68. see tion onthedangers of theft inUlaanbaatar, Forinforma- easily stolenwhileyousleep. yourhorses,your valuablesoreven which are tobefollowingyou;theymayafterseem horse trekking, bewaryof Mongolianswho When do agoodjob of watching yourstuff). orhotel possible(driversyour jeep whenever site ifyou wanderoff. Lockyourkitinside don’t leave valuableslyingaroundyourcamp Quarantine sometimes affects travelQuarantine sometimes affects in ( US State Department Department US State Affairs ofForeign Department Canadian Office Foreign British Affairs ofForeign Department Australian rent hotspots. travel advisoriesandinformationoncur- The followinggovernment websites offer GOVERNMENT TRAVEL ADVICE www.travel.state.gov) ( www.fco.gov.uk/countryadvice) x x 800-267 6788;www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca) 1300 139281;www.smarttraveller.gov.au) ( ( x x 888-407 4747; 0845-850-2829; lonelyplanet.com

.mn; Peace Ave 7) -mn.org inFrench; Peace Ave 3) few tögrög. thousand of tyres (orthewholecar)andcancosta and leave cities.Thisrequires thespraying decontaminate theircars whentheyenter hit byfoot-and-mouthrequire drivers to areas.certain Someregions thathave been lonelyplanet.com Russia Japan Germany France Denmark Canada Austria Kazakhstan andRussia,see p263 . countries. Commonwealth handles normalconsulardutiesformost citizens.TheBritishembassy and Portuguese after theinterests Greek of Dutch, Belgian, youlose tryside, orincase your passport. it ifyou’re travelling intotheremote coun- it’sagoodideatoregisterUlaanbaatar, with Moscow. Ifyourcountryhasanembassyin ties thenearest or embassiesare inBeijing formostnationali- though Ulaanbaatar, A few countriesoperate embassiesin Embassies &ConsulatesinMongolia ate.com.au/mongolia/embassies.shtml. sies and consulates atwww.mongolianconsul You’ll findafulllistingof Mongolia’s embas- Mongolian Embassies&Consulates EMBASSIES &CONSULATES (www.isiccard.com) for updates. some touroperators. ChecktheISICwebsite count ontraintickets plusdiscountswith An ISIC student cardwillget a 25% dis- DISCOUNT CARDS taryn Gudamj) [email protected]; BodicomTower,7thfl,Sükhbaa- Bg Toiruu. Baga on isactually udyn ÖrgönChölöö5)Theconsularsection www.mongolia.mid.ru; Peace Ave A6) Corps .mn; Apt11,Diplomatic Services Bldg 95) .emb-japan.go.jp; Olympiin Gudamj 6) 7) Gudamj [email protected]; Negdsen Undestnii [email protected]; MCSPlaza, St) Seoul For details ongetting forChina,For details visas embassyalsolooks Note thattheGerman Mp pp70-1; (Map (Map (Map pp70-1 ; (Map (Map pp70-1 ; Mp pp70-1 ; (Map (Map (Map pp70-1 ; (Map (Map pp70-1 ; (Map (Map pp70-1 ; Mp pp70-1; (Map Mp pp70-1; (Map DIRECTORY ••DiscountCards DIRECTORY x x x x x x x x 320 955;fax311943;Zaluuchu- 320 777,313332;www.mn 327 191,312851;fax 018; 324 519;www.ambafrance 324 804;hk_at_ub@magicnet 328 285;fax289; x 312 625;fax175; 323 325;fax312118; 312 240;kzemby@mbox ucmn events. upcoming .gov; Ikh Toiruu .gov; Ikh 59/1) mongol.net; Peace Ave 30) Sambugiin Örgön Chölöö 11) ChamberofCommerceBldg,Suite602, [email protected]; www.swissconsulate.mn; Diplomatic Services Bldg www.swissconsulate.mn; DiplomaticServices 95, 4-36) cost T800 toT1500inbudget joints,T2000 costs. For thisbook,expect maindishes to on whatisoffer, thetypeof eateries and the See Food &Drinkchapter ( p42 ) fordetails FOOD the thewebsite of you’ve Naadam.See missed June) are worthchecking out,especiallyif Nuur;late 100kmrun(Khövsgöl Sunset after Tsagaanweek to Sar)andtheSunrise FestivalOctober), theCamel (Ömnögov; one FestivalAugust), theEagle early (Bayan-Ölgii; foreigners. TheYak Festival early (Arkhangai; Others are catching onwithbothlocalsand (www.gobimarathon.com).in September and theInternational GobiMarathon, held Dundgov aimag,which isheldinlate August, are fairlyobscure, such astheAiragFestival in ofseries festivals incountrysideareas. Some havepanies andtouristofficials launched a inmost services other monasteries. andbyspecial inUlaanbaatar Gandan Khiid on 18May andmarked by interest in Buddhism. worth askingabout, especiallyifyouhave an it’s astery. smallandunpublicised, Although future Buddha(Maitreya) aroundthemon- dancing andtheparadingof of astatue the monastery each year. Itinvolves 1990, thefestival heldinadifferent hasbeen munist government. Sincebeingreinstated in before itwasbannedinthe1920sbycom- ofto drawthousands monksandspectators ally August),isareligious festival thatused a date according tothelunarcalendar(usu- festivals. TheMaidar Ergekh festival, heldat on 11and12July,Mongoliahasfew genuine With theexceptionof Naadam( p96 ), held FESTIVALS &EVENTS US UK Switzerland Spain South Korea www.mofat.go.kr; Olympiin Gudamj 10) Ikh Duichin, orBuddha’sBirthday,isheld Ikh In an effort toboosttourism,travelIn aneffort com- Mp p64; (Map Mp p64; (Map Tourism Board Tourism Mp pp70-1; (Map (Map (Map pp70-1 ; x Mp pp70-1; (Map x 329 095;http://ulaanbaatar.usembassy 458 133;fax036;britemb@ x

(www.mongoliatourism.gov.mn) 329 856;fax324620;oyunit x x 331 422;fax420; 321 548;fax311157; tsam dancingin tsam-

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255 for DIRECTORY DIRECTORY DIRECTORY Day celebrations in downtown Ulaanbaatar; mostarein downtown Ulaanbaatar; identified There are internet street cafésonnearlyevery ACCESS INTERNET print. Formore oninsurance, see p287 . take photos.Allpoliciesvarysocheck the fine toprovemay alsoneed damage orinjuryso your insurancecompanyapolicereport. You If items are toshow lostorstolenyou’llneed travel forMongolia. arrangements, isessential fordelaysinyour pluscompensation penses, A policycovering loss,theftandmedicalex- INSURANCE normal working day) Day Mongolian Republic Naadam Festival Mothers’ &Children Women more information see p44 ) holidaycelebratingtheMongolianNewYearthree-day (for (LunarNewYear) Constitution Day Shin Jil(NewYear following holidays are observed: down. The but shops willclose andoffices tourist facilitiesremain open during holidays, off each, plusadayoff forNewYear’s. Most Festival andTsagaan Sarwarrantthree days Mongolians donotget many holidays. Naadam HOLIDAYS info at www.geocities.com/gaytomongolia/. .globalgayz.com/g-mongolia.html andtravel canbefoundatwww theweb.Insight through get fromaMongolian,trymakingcontacts As knowwhatsortof younever reaction you’ll intothesceneandask. toquietlytap you’ll need community is not well-organised. smallgayandlesbian hear thatUlaanbaatar’s to munity, thusitshould comeasnosurprise reportedhas been bythe gay and lesbian com- make itappearillegal.Harassment bypolice prohibited, somelawscouldbeinterpreted to isnotspecifically uality. Whilehomosexuality place totest localattitudestowardshomosex- Mongolia isnotagay-friendly placeandnota GAY &LESBIANTRAVELLERS T12,000 inmost top-end restaurants. to T5000inmidrange placesandT6000to 256 visit parks constitution (generally a normal working constitution (generallyanormalworking day) Meeting placescomeandgoquickly,so IETR • Gy&LsinTaelr &Lesbian Travellers ••Gay DIRECTORY ’ s Day 8 March (generally a normal working day) (generallyanormalworking 8March 11&12July;alsoknownasNational 13 January;theadoptionof1992 ’ s Day) ’ s Day 1January 26November(generallya 1June;agreat timeto January/February; a Gudamj 18) pp70-1; (Map fee). tion (withaUS$40installation is US$20permonthfora128kbps connec- for anADSLconnection.Theminimumfee largest. Ifyoulive inUB,youcansignup .mn; NationalInformationTechnology Park, 2ndfl) Magicnet (Magicnet, BodicomorMicom),of which Store. Department atexchangebe bought kiosksintheState around T15perminute. Thecardscan company whileyouare logged on,usually be charged aper-minute fee bythephone T6000, butremember thatyouwillalso card costsT4000anda30-hour a dial-upconnection.A10-hourinternet you canbuyapre-paid cardthatgives you haveor otherwise accesstoaphoneline, text, p65 . Ifyouare inanapartment staying theboxed see some spotsinUlaanbaatar; triple thatforhotel business centres. to T800perhouratinternet cafes, doubleor T400 topaybetween internet access.Expect handful of ger citiesalsohave private internet cafés.A central Telecom office, andsomeof thebig- haveaimag capitals aninternet caféinthe with English-language signboards.Nearlyall gotten apieceof what’sinside yourwallet. unless they’vetor whowon’tbe satisfied the occasionalbad coporcustomsinspec- youmaybumpinto in Mongolia,although Foreigners’ are rights generally respected MATTERS LEGAL (www.sierrasolar.com). or asolar-powered charger; SierraSolar see you candowithback-upcomputer batteries which topower yourdevice, you’ll alsoneed p260 Ofcourse, ) provides BGANservice. month plusUS$6permegabyte. (see Monsat isUS$40a around US$2800andtheservice Thesystem costs .com/Services/Land/BGAN. www.inmarsat (BGAN) technology. See tion usingBroadbandGlobal Area Network upaconnec- around), it’spossibletoset nection (andhave alotof spare cashlying in remote areas aninternet andneed con- activation fee, US$80 per month). pensive (US$270fortheunitalone,US$110 fornowit’sprohibitivelyogy, although ex- If youare goingonaresearch project There providers are three internet service Wi-fi (wireless) accessisavailable at

offers internet viaWiMax technol- Mp pp70-1; (Map x sum 321 434;www.ulusnet.mn;Sambugiin (district)centres alsohave x 011-312 061;info@magicnet lonelyplanet.com isthe Ulusnet

fine andafew unluckysoulshave im- been without apermit.Violators enduppayinga foreigners toaborder isstrayingtooclose Mongolia’s grim penitentiary system. willgive into druguse youapeek If caught, lonelyplanet.com Kakoi (1:500,000). Kharkhorin the stretch of and Ulaanbaatar road between (1:200,000),TereljSaikhan (1:100,000) and Nuur(1:200,000), GobiGurvan ing Khövsgöl each) tothemostpopulartourist areas, includ- ( p65 handyregional). Italsosells maps(T3500 CoMapCartography Shop inUlaanbaatar of all21aimag maps (T25,000). get expensive. Acheaper alternative isaseries horse orfootusingaGPSunit,but theycan maps are iftravelling particularlyuseful by count onallbeingavailable. Thetopographic T5500andT7000,butdon’t varies between covers Mongoliain37maps.Thecostof each of1:500,000 series topographicmaps,which are updated almost yearly. maps mapontheback.Allthese Ulaanbaatar’ Ulaanbaatar Similarly,the and Khatgal. of theareas Kharkhorin aroundUlaanbaatar, as ger maps camps.Onthebackithasdetailed ical, archaeological aswell andnaturalsights, (T6000), which marksahostof obscure histor- metres between all towns. marksthekilo- and townnamesusefully (T6000). Ithasthemostaccurate roadlayout map isthe1:2,000,000 produced byMPMAgency. Anotherhandy the 1:1,500,000 you arrive in Ulaanbaatar. justwaituntil .shopmongolia.com; otherwise, avoided. Maps canbeordered fromwww country are routinelyinaccurate andbest Maps of Mongoliaproducedoutsidethe MAPS unreliable whenyoureally one. need policearedemoralising. Overall, harmless,but about howcareless you’ve which canbe been, accident. You’re more likely tobescolded if you’ve avictimof been acrimeorroad blame thevictim;don’texpectanysympathy trouble, asktocontact your embassy. prisoned forafew days.Ifyourunintoserious All these mapsareAll these available fromthe Explorers willwanttocheck outthe Independent travellers shouldlookoutfor Making isthatpoliceoften life difficult Also useful isthe Also useful The mostcommonoffence committed by (T6000) has a detailed ‘around (T6000)hasadetailed DIRECTORY ••Maps DIRECTORY Road Network Atlas TouristMap of Mongolia Road Map of Mongolia Tourist Map of (T15,000)

are soremote it’sstillagood ideatoleave the debit andcredit sincethey cards.However, change dollars andgive cashadvancesagainst inprovincialBanks centres are alsofine;they will change moneywithrelative efficiency. value note isworth around US$17. There are alsoT50andT100coins.Thehighest- T20,000. (T1notes are basicallysouvenirs.) T50, T100,T500,T1000,T5000,T10,000and (T), which comesinnotes of T5,T10,T20, The Mongolian unitof currency isthetögrög MONEY F-8. Orderfrom www.omnimap.com. and TPC(1:500,000)mapsE-7,E-8,F-7 and Mongolia iscovered byONC(1:1,000,000) not reliable forplacenamesorroadlayout. butdated andaretopographically detailed Aerospace intheUSA.Themapsare Center published bytheDefense Mapping Agency ofONC andTPCseries topographicalmaps aimag,withgood Khentii historical detail. oftourist mapisamore reasonable survey The presumedevery movement inobsessive detail. foraboutT8000,whichUlaanbaatar mapshis out the Nuruu. Khustain Gorkhi-Terelj Saikhan, Gobi Gurvan and Tavanincludes Altai Nuur, Bogd,Khövsgöl and touristfacilities.Thenationalparkseries informationonculture,with useful wildlife maps (US$8)usingsatellite images combined Banks andexchangeBanks officesinUlaanbaatar In manyWestern countries,youcanbuythe junkieswillwanttocheck Khaan Chinggis Ink Conservation worth justUS$1. worth to US$52!Currently, about 1170tögrögare up cents; by1928,one tögrögwasworth US$0.88 that time,onetögrög wasworth from China,thetögrögwasintroduced. At notes andgoodssuchastea, silkandfurs. traders preferred touseRussiangold,British Chinese currency wasusedbutMongolian as currency. DuringtheManchurian rule made fromgoldandsilver, were used Chinggis timecoinscalled Khaan’s a constantchangeofcurrencies. During Mongolia’s variousrulershave ensured MONGOLIA’S CURRENCIES Welcome tothe Landof Haan Chinggis In 1925,fouryearsafter independence Chinggis KhaanChinggis Atlas,

(www.conservationink) available around produces sükh, 257

DIRECTORY DIRECTORY DIRECTORY extra batteries and memorycards for your internet caféorelectrical outlet you’llneed ashop, daysinarowwithout seeing go several pictures.planning whentaking As you may remotenessit’s thissame that requires extra make forsomeincredible photography, but Mongolia’s remote andbeautifullandscapes PHOTOGRAPHY &VIDEO as much as4% with MasterCard. cards, often fornocharge ifyouhave but Visa, cangivecard. Banks credit cash advancesoff charge acredit anadditional3%ifyouuse and antiqueshops. Mostof however, these, cepted inupmarket hotels, travel agencies credit cards are becomingmore widelyac- You can’trely but onplasticforeverything, Cards Credit company. card count. Itshould beassociated with acredit to get a‘debit’cardlinked toyourbankac- your bankathomeprobably won’twork;try the teller). OrdinaryATM cardsissued from they don’thave ATMs (just give yourcardto branches areGolomt Bank open 24hours, mostof the up toT400,000perday.Because most of thetime,allowingyoutowithdraw ATMs andMasterCard acceptVisa andwork andErdenet.These in Ulaanbaatar, plonked downATMs atafew key locations has Bank The TradeandDevelopment ATMs of items.everyday at thetimeof publicationand p14 forthecosts country asit’s worthless elsewhere. to change allyourtögrögwhenleaving the safe, buttherisksare obvious. Remember the bestrates forUSdollars andare usually markets mayornotbelegal.Theyoffer way of the dinosaur). debit cards(travellers cheques are goingthe youcanalsouse purposes but forsecurity you won’tbepayinganycommission charge, offersbest. Cash thebestexchange rates and theeuroisprobablycepted, second although Other formsof currency aren’t usuallyac- eitherUSdollarsits finetouse ortögrögs. hotels, tour operators andsometimesairlines) for aweek or so. cash tokeep withenough yougoing capital 258 See theinsidefrontcoverSee forexchange rates Moneychangers whohangaroundthe When payingoutlarge sumsof money(to IETR • Poorpy&Vdo ••Photography&Video DIRECTORY on thestreet andchances are theywillcover spected. Point acameraatanurbanMongol be photographed,theirwishes shouldbere- tographic models,soiftheydonotwantto in mindthatmonksandnomadsare notpho- Always askbefore aphotograph.Keep taking Photographing People by Richard I’Anson. photos, check outLP’s ina sealed plastic bag. expect plentyof dust,sokeep thecamerawell triponanunsurfacedroad,youcan a jeep Ifyoudo norm, apolarisingfilter isessential. geous As light. glaringsunshineisthe bright, 6pm and8pm,whenMongoliabasksingor- to take photosisbefore 10amandbetween when you get home. andgetso bringwhatyouneed itdeveloped get home. Slide filmisrare andexpensive, great; itisgenerally besttowaituntilyou film cheaply, butthequalitymay notbe Sqthatwillprocessprint around Sükhbaatar to a storage drive. and burnyourpictures toaCDorsave them youcangotoaninternetaimag capital café centres canbehardtofind.Onceyoureach an aselectronicgoodsinaimag or inUlaanbaatar are camera. athome These digital bestbought order to get amore naturalshot later. I ‘Can totake thisSoviet-stylemay need portraitin are inmourningatBrezhnev’s funeral.You putonafacethatlookslikeinstantly they case you forget. a note aboutwhotheywere toyourself in dress ontheoutside. Ontheinside,make envelopes andaskthem to write their ad- foreigners. Tosimplifymatters, bringblank they hadnotreceived by photosaspromised theyweretold ushowdevastated because nomadsalso Polaroids.Several (instant) thatallcamerasaresome nomadsbelieve monthsmay take several toreach them– them acopy, if youaskfirst. Ifyouhave tosend promised side are often forphotographs happytopose foreigners are not welcome. Markets are often aplacewhere snap-happy ferent angleasthismayleadtoanargument. their face. Don’ttrysneakingaroundforadif- When Mongolians pose foraportraitthey When Mongolians pose On theotherhand,peopleincountry- filmthereIf youuse are places several For professional tipsonhowtotake better In summer,daysare long,sothebesttime please doit,butexplainthatit Travel Photography, lonelyplanet.com

Photography isprohibited insidemonasteries Restrictions tany avch zurgiig bolokh uu?’ take yourphotograph?’inMongolianis lonelyplanet.com list; Gobi, GoyoandBuyan brandsare all wool productsare usually at thetopof the are worthbringinghome. Cashmere and Mongolia hasa number of uniqueitems that SHOPPING found on p67 . includingDHLandFedEx, are rier services, country. the using poste restante anywhere in else of thinkabout identification.Don’teven well; bringalongyourpassportasproof toworkquite seems inUlaanbaatar Office T14,000, orT18,000to the USA. tries. A1kgairmailparceltotheUKwillcost cost T700andpostcardsT440toallcoun- Normal-sizedletterslater (probablybysea). an ‘airmail’rate –yettheyoften arrive months especially forparcels,which there isonly and in Ulaanbaatar aimag capitals. (andtop-endhotels) inpostoffices stamps letters fromthepostoffice. Youcanbuy youwillhaveIn mostcases, topostyour departing. are tootherforeignersto buystamps) who find itmuch faster togive letters (andcash Mongolia. Foreign residents of Ulaanbaatar for letters andpostcardstoarrive homefrom very The is reliable butcanoften be service postal POST establishments. areas, especially bordercrossingsandmilitary tögrög. extra before youdecidewhethertoforkoutthe camera. It is besttohave alookaroundfirst yourstillorvideo extrafee touse high) topayan(oftentry youneed outrageously to take photographs foran extra fee. specialpermission You cansometimesobtain building exteriors andmonastery grounds. and temples,youmayphotograph although Contact details for themore details Contact reliable cou- The poste Post restante attheCentral Don’t photographpotentially sensitive Postal rates arePostal often relatively expensive, You won’tfindletter boxes onthestreets. thecoun- throughout In mostmuseums slow.Allow DIRECTORY ••Post DIRECTORY at least acoupleof weeks ‘Bi bring hasslesfromdrunkoraggressive Travelling tothecountryside alonecan without anyproblems.Ulaanbaatar Handmade felt carpetsandwallhangings ( ver jewelleryisMöngönZaviya p94 ). for solo women travellers. or partner. See p264 for more information but itcanbejust easiertogowithagroup not bedone(many womendotravel alone), itcan- Mongolian men. Thisisnottosay your route andexpected time of return. do gooff alonemake sure totell someoneof into thewildernessare safer intwos.Ifyou option. Cycling,campingandhikingtrips Countryside hotels usuallyhave aperbed traveller toshare thecostof adoubleroom. orfindanothersingle bed inaguesthouse, budget willprobably have togoforadorm from theguesthouses in Ulaanbaatar. when vanloadsof backpackers departdaily isn’t toomuch of aproblem insummer, others forcountrysidetrips.Thisusually budget travellers tohookupwith willneed costsof hireThe high jeep meanthat solo SOLO TRAVELLERS ‘no’. say not souvenirs (legalonesanyway).Please are bonesandeggs them, dinosaur definitely ( one home. TryaskingDakaat a ger. Theproblem,of ishowtoship course, The market for alsohasallthepiecesneeded Department Store andNaranTuulMarket. areto take home;these available attheState coats), in Khovd and Bayan-Ölgii. you canbuythemdirectly fromcooperatives are aspeciality fromwestern Mongolia,and authenticity for customs purposes. and remember topickupacertificate of to helpyoushop forthebestqualitystuff If youare buyer,askalocalfriend aserious pay fromafew thousand. dollars toseveral silver jewellery.Foranyof youcould these thangkas around US$40 to US$60. good quality.Acashmere sweater willcost x Solo female travellers get around singletravellersIn Ulaanbaatar, on a No matter howmanytimesyou’re offered Mongolian clothessuch as The bestplaceinthecountryforsil- Antique shops are goodforBuddhas, 9909 7698; www.yurt-ger-yourte.com). hurrum (scroll paintings) and marvellous (scrollpaintings)andmarvellous (jackets) andbootsare nice dels Happy Pioneer (traditional 259

DIRECTORY DIRECTORY DIRECTORY o it). on make connection(butdon’tcount theright the number. aware, thatthere though, Be are clude the ‘0’forallother areas) and then butin- code (minusthe‘0’ forUlaanbaatar, Then, foralandline numberdialthelocal and theMongolian countrycode( cess codeinyourcountry(normally with onecatch. Dialtheinternational ac- card orreverse-charge (collect) call. You canthenmake acredit-card, charge- operators intheUSA,Japan and Singapore. a buttongets tointernational youthrough Country Direct dialling,where thepushof software. (www.skype.com) are often andSkype upwithheadsets set equivalent of three minutes). Computers pay adepositinadvance(aminimum Australia. Tomake to thecall,youneed to theUSAandUK,T820perminute to sive, butnotoutrageous: T560perminute inanycitywillbemoreoffices expen- fromthecentralTelecomto Europe. Calls per minute totheUSAorT100perminute charge reasonable rates tocallabroad: T50 butnotinothercities.These in Ulaanbaatar Ulsiin Yariin a private international phoneoffice ( ( calls bydiallingtheinternational operator phones youcanmake direct long-distance international countrycode. Onnon-IDD an IDDphone,justdial aimag headings. capital we have listed theminthisbookunderthe have five. Every aimaghasitsownarea code; six digits,whilemostcountrysidenumbers leapfrog this old technology. phone technology isallowingmanytownsto there?!) intothereceiver. Fortunately, mobile wires andshouting andunplugging boards,busilyplugging metal and operators languishing behind massive technology, complete withwind-up phones sum arecapitals upgradingtheirsystems butinthe ies, makingphonecallsisachallenge. Aimag calls inUlaanbaatar. Outsidethemaincit- It’s easytomake international ordomestic TELEPHONE 260 x If youare callingoutof Mongoliaandusing landlinephonenumbersUlaanbaatar have A coupleof thetop-endhotels have Home The otheroptionsare makingacallfrom Making a call 106), who may know enough English to 106), whomayknowenough centres you’llrunheadonintoWWII-era IETR • Tlpoe ••TelephoneDIRECTORY ), which are becomingcommon to Mongoliaisaloteasier, ‘bain uu?!’ x 00 andthenyour (isanybody x x 976). Olon 00) touch with home. cheap, makingthisagoodwaytokeep in andcallsare fairly a mobile-phoneservice, andTariat) Khujirt including Kharkhorin, has using other area codes. from area number code ifdiallinganUlaanbaatar area code. Note thatyoudrop the‘0’off just dialthecountrycode( calling amobile-phone numberinMongolia, are almostnegligible. Ifyouare abroad,and free toreceive callsandtext charges messaging (T6600), 50(T10,250)and100(T19,000).Itis comein unitsof Cards 10(T2500),30 needed. (around T15,000), andbuyunitsas service DepartmentStore),the State signupforbasic Mobicom office islocated onthe3rdfloorof ple –justgotoamobile-phone office(a inMongolia. Theprocessissim- installed a GSM phoneyoucanget anewSIMcard for Mobile communication).Ifyoubring GSMwork isthestandard (GlobalSystem Skytel andUnitel. Themobile-phonenet- The three maincompaniesare Mobicom, Phones Satellite & Mobile number is or phoningamobile phone; see below . different requirements forarea codesifusing is tobuy an international phonecard, soldin to make international calls,theeasiestoption If youhave access toaprivate phone andneed Phone Cards USA or Europe. are anadditionalUS$1.65perminute tothe US$10 perdaydependingonthemodel. Calls St, Ulaanbaatar) 323 705,91206050;www.monsat.mcs.mn; MCSPlaza,Seoul A localcompany, anywhere.isn’t toobulkyandcanbeused bringing orrenting asatellite phone,which ing orhorse-trekking expedition,considering the internet withanormal SIM card. youcanaccess Packet(General Service) Radio on arise your trip. cate withyourtouroperatorshould problems the countrysideasitallowsyoutocommuni- a goodideatohave aphonewhiletravelling in where inUBandalsosomeruralcities.It’s If youare mountaineer- planningaserious Note that if youhave aGPRSphone mobile phoneshopsNew andused are every- Every (andafew aimagcapital thedomesticoperator’sIn Ulaanbaatar, amobilephonebutyouretain the‘0’if x , rents phonesforUS$5to ‘sat’ 1109. Monsat x

Mp pp70-1; (Map 976) withoutthe lonelyplanet.com sum x centres 011- Number (PIN) for these cardsisthelastfour Number (PIN)forthese instructions. ThePersonal Identification forEnglishbut youcanaskatthepostoffice Instructions forthecardare inMongolian, Department Store ormobile-phone shops. State various outletsincludingthepostoffice, lonelyplanet.com pit toiletsandhold your breath. more remote ger camps,youwillhave touse European variety.Inotherhotels andsome and inmostger camps, toilets are thesit-down In mosthotels aimagcapitals inUlaanbaatar, and train schedules. forplane pp310–11. The24-hourclockisused theworldtime-zonemapon London. See the previous dayinNewYork;and4am 8pm theprevious dayinLosAngeles; 11pm Kong, Singapore andPerth; 2pminSydney; Hong itisalsonooninBeijing, Ulaanbaatar, GMT hours. pluseight Whenitisnoonin summer. in atverythat thesuncanrise earlyhours time,which daylight-saving means observe the rest of not thecountry.Mongoliadoes Khovd are and onehourbehind Ulaanbaatar three western aimagsof Uvs Bayan-Ölgii, and Mongolia isdividedintotwo time zones:the TIME US$0.10 per minute. sound qualityandecho, butcostlessthan cheaper ones(such asBodicom)have terrible and youusuallyget whatyoupayfor;the office). post before youdo(which hashappenedatthe over yourshoulder, it steal thecodeanduse you scratch off thecode,poachers canpeek carefuldigits of where thecodeoncard.Be TOILETS The standard time in Ulaanbaatar isUTC/ timeinUlaanbaatar The standard There are avarietyof phonecardsavailable, ‘mañana’ the difference. The Mongolian version of most adjustyourwatch tocompensate for museum youwant tovisit.Youcouldal- jeep drivers, yourguideorthestaffata toyou,suchas tobeimportant one likely for beinglate, andthisincludes nearlyevery- ments youmake. Mongoliansare notorious add twohours’waitingtimetoanyappoint- There isanotherformof ‘Mongoliantime’: MARGASH &YOU (tomorrow) is DIRECTORY ••Time DIRECTORY margash . of the Ulaanbaatar agencies (see p80).Ifyou of agencies theUlaanbaatar (see one your owntransportandguidethrough tion service fordisabled and tion service older people. holidayandtravel informa- British Andover SP11 6JS,UK) Suite,EnhamPlace, .holidaycare.org.uk; TheHawkins Holiday Care Service Holiday Care specific information on Mongolia. travel butprovide adviceforthedisabled no able to accommodate you. agencies maybe these explain yourdisability, .com) ( best betistheUScompany interested inarrangingtripstoMongolia, the problems. too manyinsurmountable shouldn’t cause places such asKharkhorin travel tripsto andjeep toUlaanbaatar ofpoor standards accommodation.Still, tion there are roadsandgenerally rough accessible,andinaddi- not wheelchair travellers are asmostbuildingsandbuses placefor Mongolia isadifficult wheelchair TRAVELLERS WITHDISABILITIES same. the Ölgii, theStrictlyProtected Areas office does acts asaninformationdesk,andinBayan- Mörön. InMandalgov, office toGer theGer Outside UB,theonlysimilartouristdeskisin brochures andhave English-speakingstaff. and airport.Theyallstockbooks,maps trainstation Mongolia InformationCentre, Discovery PostOffice, Central at Ulaanbaatar’s Handy tourist informationdesksare available TOURIST INFORMATION the larger cities. up onsofter brandtoiletpaper,available in distributed bibles.Toavoid papercuts,stock torn fromSoviet-era historybooksorrecently industrial-strength cardboard,ormaybepages go. Mostof thetoiletpaperinhotels resembles the toilet,thisiswhere thewaste papershould the works.Ifthere isarubbish basket nextto older hotels, andtoiletpapercaneasilyjamup sources fornomads)and marmot holes. cred cairnsof stones),rivers andlakes (water gers. Also,trytoavoid such placesas just doitwhere youwantto,butawayfrom modesty isnotsomethingtoworryabout – be abush ortree forhundreds of kilometres, x If any specialised travelIf anyspecialised agency be might The plumbingisdecrepit inmanyof the In thecountryside,where there maynot The followingorganisations offer general 800-846-4537; fax610-5216959;www.disabilitytravel inPennsylvania. Atthevery least,hire ( x 0845-124 9974;www Accessible Journeys ovoos 261 (sa-

DIRECTORY DIRECTORY DIRECTORY arthritis, visual and hearing impairments, visualandhearing arthritis, and wheelchairs. US websitecontainstipsonhowtotravelwithdiabetes, Handicapped; vides accessinformationformature anddisabled travellers. will have tospendsome of your precious soyou cannot issue normalentry/exit visas, are visas forentry only; they these However, but onlyfor14days fromthedate of entry. andnonextendable touristvisas transit visas and leave the country. having when youenter yourpassportstamped to bedone,otherthan 30 daysnothingneeds lessthan Ifyoustay 90 dayswithoutavisa. up to 14 days. Singaporean visa-free citizenscanstay for free forupto30daysandHongKong photos. passport Sükhbaatar. US$53andtwo You’llneed andor atthelandborders of Zamyn-Üüd on arrivalattheairportinUlaanbaatar late, youcanpickupa30-daytouristvisa can guesthouses do this). inviting agency afee of aroundUS$30(most topaythe most nationalities;youjustneed is therefore possibletoget for a90-dayvisa company, orbepartof anorganised tour. It citizen, foreign resident (expat)orMongolian must beinvited orsponsored byaMongolian consulate-general orhonorary consuls. atanyMongolianembassyconsulate, tained Currently, a30-daytourist iseasilyob- visa VISAS New MobilityMagazine Source Access-able Travel trythefollowing able databases websites: For general advice,bulletinboardsandsearch- SATH Nican USA Mobility International 262 excellent onlineresource fordisabilityculture and lifestyle. tourism, sports and the arts for andthearts sports tourism, disabled people. organisation whichprovidesinformationonrecreation, 2911,Australia)Australian ACT St,Mitchell, 48 Brookes USA) Organisesinternational exchanges. .miusa.org; 132E.Broadway, Suite343,Eugene,OR97401, your arrival (see your arrival(see p264 ). days mustberegistered daysof withinseven Mongolian honoraryconsulscan issue Israeli andMalaysian visa- citizenscanstay All inMongoliaforupto US citizenscanstay If youcannotget toaMongolianconsu- To get forlonger avisa than30days,you (SocietyfortheAdvancementofTravel ( IETR • Vss ••Visas DIRECTORY visitors whoplantostay x 02-6241 1220;www.nican.com.au;Unit5, x 212-447-0027; www.sath.org)This (www.newmobility.com)An (www.access-able.com) Pro- ( x 541-343-1284; www more than30 labaa se below). (see Ulaanbaatar canbeextended in than 30days,touristvisas longerthe normalcost.Ifyouwanttostay have topayan‘express fee’, which isdouble quicker, possiblywithin24hours, you will toissue. to twoweeks, Ifyouwantyourvisa andY270 in Ottawa in . pay: A$65inSydney,UK£40London,C$80 youcanexpectto For singleentry/exitvisas itsownprice. embassyorconsulate sets Each fee’. thereentry/exit, though maybea‘service usuallycostUS$25forasingle Tourist visas Mongolia withinthree months of issue. from thedate of entryandyoumustenter generally touristvisas last30days Standard Tourist Visas opposite . see Kazakhstan orRussiafromMongolia, DC atwww.mongolianembassy.us. site of theMongolianembassyinWashington in the afternoon. Plaza. Note thatonWednesdayit’sonlyopen west sideof Peace Bridge, opposite Naran x Citizens Naturalization &Foreign (see opposite ) fromthe arranginganexitvisa time inUlaanbaatar (e opposite). (see days you have tobe registered atthisoffice only catch longer isthatifyoustay than30 ( sions, gotothe INFCoffice left ). The extend itbyanother30 days. Forexten- If youhave youcan a30-daytourist visa Visa Extensions country (Russia or China). train orplaneticket forthenext andavisa toshow the varies byembassy.)Youwillneed be extended. (As thefee withthe tourist visas, butcannot US$15 (US$30forexpress service), or China. costs A single-entry/exittransitvisa time before catching anothertraintoRussia off theTrans-Mongoliantrainforavery short entry. Thisperiodwillonlyallowyoutoget last72hours visas fromthedate ofThese Transit Visas foreign residents whodoalot of travel. the date of issue)are usuallyonlyissued to cost US$65andare validforsixmonths after Multiple-entry/exit tourist visas (whichMultiple-entry/exit touristvisas up days,oreven normallytake several Visas For informationongetting toChina, visas To check current regulations, trytheweb- 011-315 323; h 9am-1pm &2-5pmMon-Fri) Office ofImmigration, Office lonelyplanet.com

(INFC; Map (INFC; Map pp70-1 ; , onthe lonelyplanet.com for asmall fee. Ifyou don’thave aletter of take care of extensions visa (andregistration) extra US$20youcan get one-day service. before thefirst expires. 30dayvisa Foran passport here, butmustpickitupfourdays to process.Ifyoucan’twaitcan leave the processing fee. Itshould take twoorthree days passport-sized photoandmustpay aT5000 charge a aflatT3000perday).Youwillneed to anadditional23days(theymay otherwise daysandafurtherUS$2perdayforup seven expires.your visa ItcostsUS$15forthefirst beforeapply foranextension aboutaweek back. the quire aworkpermit).Theentranceisaround situationiscomplicatedyour visa (ieyoure- Mon-Fri) pp70-1 ; cnrPeace Ave &OlympiinGudamj; office of the Several guesthouses in Ulaanbaatar will inUlaanbaatar guesthouses Several isabranchThe INFCoffice of themainvisa If youhave already registered, youshould must payinUSdollars. Visas forUScitizens are US$100,regardless oftype. you’llhave US$50orUS$60.You toforkoutanextra service, issue. orsame-day Forthree-day aweekto touristvisascostUS$30/60andtake of beingissuedthevisa. Single-/double-entry visas are validfor30daysfromthedate ofeachentryandyoumustenter Chinawithin90days tourist double entry)lastuptoseven anddouble-entry daysfromeachdate ofentry.Single- China. Itisopenfrom9.30amtonoonMonday,WednesdayandFriday.Transitvisas(singleor The oftheChineseembassyinUlaanbaatarisagoodplacetogetvisafor consularsection China VISAS FORONWARDTRAVEL support, contact: http://waytorussia.net. contact: support, consular willgive youdirections toatravel agent(usuallyLegend Tours;see p67 ). Foradditional theprocessearly.Ifyouneedvouchers need around10daystogetthevouchers,sostart if ‘urgent’, itcanbeissuedonthespotfordoublenormalcost.However, yourtouragentwill agents canorganise acoupleofdaystoissueor, foraboutUS$1perday.Avisanormallytakes get avisafor21daysbutnotmore thanthat.Youwillalsoneed‘healthinsurance’,whichlocal You willneedthree photos,aninvitationorsponsor,andpossiblyvouchersforhotels. Youcan for theirvisa;costsvarybetweenUS$25andUS$200dependingonyouritinerarynationality. tion isopenforvisasfrom2pmto3pmdaily.Almosteveryone endsuppayingadifferent price Getting avisaisbynomeansstraightforwardprocess,butnotimpossible. The consularsec- Russia year costsUS$205. visavalidforone visacostsUS$100. Amultiple-entry three-month day).Adouble-entry, next five visascostUS$65andtake days to process(orpaydoublegetitthe entry, one-month embassyisopenfrom10am tonoonand3pm5pmMondayFriday.Single- The Kazakhstan Kazakhstan .com’s Thorn Tree travel forum. in Erlian.Onlytimewilltell soaskaroundorchecklonelyplanet ifthisbecomesstandardpractice In thesummerof2007,travellers reported beingabletogetavisaonthespotatborder . You may be sent totheMinistryif . Youmaybesent Ministry of External Relations ofExternal Ministry DIRECTORY ••Visas DIRECTORY h 9.30am-noon

(Map (Map for UScitizens itisUS$100 (plus anadditional costsaroundUS$20 and alities the exitvisa INFC office (see opposite ). For mostnation- are visas availablecountry. These from the isrequired another visa this case, to (valid forentryonly).In a single-entryvisa at anhonoraryconsul,youare usuallyissued yourvisa ing inMongolia,orifyouobtained Ifyouareor multiple-entry/exitvisa). work- entry andoneexit(unlessyouhave adouble areTransit andtouristvisas good forone Exit Visas the INFCoffice in Ölgii. an extreme bepossibleat situationthismight yourpassportbacktoUlaanbaatar.to send In astheywouldneed isdifficult, Ulaanbaatar reason for travel. your arrival,thedate of extension andthe ten isOK); theletter should state the date of support youcanwrite yourown(handwrit- Getting a visa extension outsideof avisa Getting leave

263

the DIRECTORY DIRECTORY DIRECTORY x 264 hind the Hotel.Ulaanbaatar Uhaan Bolovsroliin Yam’), in a buildingbe- (in Mongolian‘ShinjilehEnlightenment usually registered theMinistry of through Independent researchers andstudents are building onSambuugiinÖrgön Chölöö. the youto maysend the INFCoffice. Thestaff doneatemployer, youcanget yourstuff alone. withaletter Inmostcases, fromyour togoitworking independentlyyouneed should handlethisforyou,butifyouare pany ororganisation youare workingfor is toget aworkorstudypermit.Thecom- long-term basis(iemore thanthree months) The onlywaytoremain inMongoliaona Long-Term Stays you leave the country. (theoretically fromUS$100toUS$300)when get you registered. Mongolia, theINFCoffice inÖlgii( p224 ) can anytime before that date. date asfaroutpossibleandyoucanleave theexit specific date justset isnotneeded, register soyouwon’thave tocomeback.A dealing withwillusuallydothiswhenyou out of ahotel; youare theofficial however, be ‘signedout’,almostasifyouwere checking you require one. toMongoliaforyouif rustle upaninvitation passport-sized photo. can Mostguesthouses for theone-page one application.You’llneed The processisfree, butyouhave topayT1200 days.) seven port holders mustregister withinthefirst 30 daysof beinginthecountry.(USpass- beforein Ulaanbaatar theendof yourfirst than 30daysyoumustregister withthepolice If youintendinMongoliaformore tostay Registration moreif theystay than 90 days. more one than30daysandAmericansneed iftheystay anexitvisa Israelisneed visas). passport holders (whousuallyenter without situation inparticularappliestoIsraeliandUS hasexpired. your normalvisa Theexitvisa which 10daysafter meansthatyoucanstay US$3 processingfee). Itisvalidfor10days, As aformality,theregistration to alsoneeds Registration takes placeattheINFCoffice. If youdon’tregister, youare liable forafine If you’ve arrived fromRussia towestern 011-260 376,260363) Labour Registration Department Labour Registration IETR • WmnTaelr ••WomenTravellers DIRECTORY intheSupreme Court

Mp pp70-1; (Map female travellers reporting beingharassed Cnrl Asia. Central cover upasyouwouldinotherareas of to aimag,youdon’tneed Bayan-Ölgii inthemostlyMuslimmore conservative ofsemblance privacyonthe open steppes. so thattheycanrelieve themselves insome to wearlongskirtswhileinthecountryside, countryside. Many womenalsofindituseful very yougointothe hardtofindthedeeper willbe these andErdenet, though Darkhan andothermaincitiessuchUlaanbaatar as possible. yet,take afemale guide Better whenever (have amobile phonewithalocalSIMcard). tingency planswiththemifthingsgoawry agency perhapsmakingcon- inUlaanbaatar, it isbesttokeep intouch withyourtour by theirmaleguide. Ifyourguideismale, ‘Sasha for‘Goaway!’ismacho idiot.Thephrase across anannoyingdrunkortheoccasional ulterior motives. youmaycome However, a friendlyandrespectful manner,without The majority of Mongolianmenbehave in for foreign women travelling independently. present toomany problemsMongolia doesn’t idea of whatyoumay be in for. former volunteers orworkers to get abetter the organisation toputyou in touch with alsoLong-TermSee Stays on left . your employerwilltake care of thisforyou. if youhave hired been locally.In mostcases, newspapers in Ulaanbaatar. the internet orcheck theEnglish-language listed opposite,ganisations networkthrough qualified inteaching theor- orhealth,contact not from within Mongolia. intheirhomecountry, non-Mongolian staff agenciesagency, usuallyrecruit butthese their unless youcanscore ajob withadevelopment asthelocals), will bepoor(possiblythesame ing English. Also,ifyoudoget workthepay forteach- even ment –thedemandisnothigh just turnupandexpecttoget paidemploy- Mongolia is notsomewherecertainly youcan WORK WMN TRAVELLERS WOMEN If youare keen toworkinMongoliaandare attitudestowardswomenareAlthough Tampons andpadsare available in There are occasionalincidentsof solo For anyproject youget involved with,ask Permission toworkisfairlyeasyobtain

be ! ’. lonelyplanet.com are, onthelookoutforqualified however, for teachers. Colleges agencies andvolunteer English, sothere isademand(albeitlow) Europeanlanguage, particularly learn auseful Some Mongolianswanttoforget Russianand Language Teaching lonelyplanet.com possibly a little more). Besides thefollowing, possibly alittlemore). Besides youwillbepaidinlocalwagesstances, (or short-term projects are available. Inmostin- twoyearswilling tostay ormore, although more interested incommitted peoplewhoare Agenciestion, healthandITdevelopment. are from qualifiedpeople,particularlyineduca- Some organisations are anxioustoreceive help Work Volunteer ( .edu.mn) School International 354) Knowledge University much trythe money.InUlaanbaatar toring forawhile,butdon’texpecttomake up, oryoumaybeable todofreelance tu- many private universities thathave sprung smallerorganisations, suchthrough asthe below. listed agencies inyourhomecountryortheones ortwo.week thevoluntary-service Contact terms (ifnotafew years), butnotjustfora teachers whoare forafew willingtostay x Informal, short-term workmay be possible , the 011-353 519; www.orchlon.mn). , the Ikh Zasag University Ikh Turkish School Turkish DIRECTORY ••Work DIRECTORY (

x

( x 011-452 839;www.isumongolia (

x 011-327 165;fax011-358

( x 9978 0173) 011-457 855) or Mongolian Orchlon , the

ous opportunities from IT support to veterinary toveterinary fromITsupport ous opportunities assistance. ganisation thatassiststheTsaatan Vari- peopleinKhövsgöl. Putney Rd,London Bridge SW15 2PN). head office( theorganisationthroughitsUK It prefers youtocontact organisationissetupmainlyforBrits. tar) ThisBritish-run 514; [email protected];POBox678,Ulaanbaa- 3065) AVA hasahandfulofAustralian volunteers in Mongolia. fax 03-94194280;[email protected]; POBox350,Fitzroy Vic or work on the project farm or workontheproject in Gachuurt. volunteer asEnglishteachersatthisBuddhistsocialcentre mongolia.org; POBox467,Ulaanbaatar-23)Travellerscan you canhelp with research. programmewhere eco-volunteer park runsathree-week www.peacecorps.gov). USA ( yourlocalPeaceAlternatively, contact Corpsofficeinthe organisation iswellrepresented throughoutthecountry. Voluntary Service Overseas Voluntary Service Program UN Development Peace Corps NationalPark Khustain Foundation Itgel Abroad Volunteers Australian Asral of Mongolia referencea goodstarting is rcut abroad. recruits volunteersbutnormally for committedandhard-working Undestnii Gudamj12)TheUNDPisalwaysonthelookout fax 011-326221;POBox46/1009,Ulaanbaatar,Negdsen x ( x 1-800-424 858,202-6063970;fax6063110; 011-304 838;fax898;www.asral x (Enkh Tavnii (Enkh Korpus;

(www.ggfom.org) 020-8780 2266;fax1326;317 ( x 9972 2667;www.itgel.org)Or- (www.ecovolunteer.org) The (UNDP; . (VSO; (VSO; © LonelyPlanetPublications (AVA; x Golden Gate Friends Friends Golden Gate x x 011-311 520)The x /fax 011-313 011-327 585; 03-9279 1788; 03-9279 1788;

265 DIRECTORY DIRECTORY TRANSPORT booked onlineatwww.lonelyplanet.com/ travel_services. in Ölgiiifyouarrive in western Mongolia. andit’salsopossible is fairlystraightforward, see p264 Registering fordetails. inUlaanbaatar plan tobeinMongoliaformore than30days; information).You’llhavevisa toregister ifyou isinorder(see anything ifyourvisa p262 for and customsforms.Youshouldn’t have topay immigration should filloutstraightforward When entering Mongolia,bylandorair,you ENTERING THECOUNTRY CONTENTS Transport 266 © LonelyPlanetPublications GETTING THERE&AWAY Flights, toursFlights, andrailtickets canbe iia ep 280 278 278 Train 285 &Jeep Minivan 276 Horse 279 278 Hitching Car &Motorcycle Camel &Yak 266 Bus 278 Boat 278 Bicycle 278 Air 277 Getting Around Air 266 Entering theCountry etn hr wy 266 Getting There &Away oa rnpr 279 Taxi 285 Local Transport Land 269 careful, up-to-date research. ers andare notasubstitute for yourown this chapter shouldberegarded aspoint- travel. Shopcarefully. The detailsgiven in security requirements forinternational you maybuy)worksandbeaware ofthe sure youunderstand howafare (andticket with theairlineoratravel agent tomake larly vulnerabletochange. Checkdirectly The informationinthischapter isparticu- THINGS CHANGE... 011-983 005) eanair.com) china.cn) flights tonearWestern(domestic flights standards itssafety practicesforinternationalbrought (Kazakhstan). isÖlgii,whichflights isconnected toAlmaty formally. established nothinghasbeen port inTövaimag,though rumoursconstant of anewinternational air- one-shot dealsformodernjets.There are runway wasbuiltonaslope,landingsare the tional airport;thecodeisULN.Because Ulaanbaatar’s Airlines & Airports AIR Citizens (INFC; p262 ). Immigration, Naturalization&Foreign of fromtheOffice anexitvisa you’ll need leavingday. Before Mongolia,check whether canreplacein Ulaanbaatar it,usuallyinone yourpassport,embassy rival. Ifyoulose least sixmore months fromthedate of ar- Make sure thatyour passport isvalidforat MIAT Air Korean ..com) Aeroflot Mongolia Aero book wellin advance. region of Chinese Inner Mongolia. of thecapital theautonomous Khot), (Khökh inRussia, andHohhot Baikal , onLake to ules alsoallowyoutoflyfromUlaanbaatar Current airlinesched- andSeoul. from Osaka Moscow; there are additional nonstopflights travellers. economy baggage forbusinesstravellers and20kgfor international MIAT flights, allows30kgof booking isavailable itswebsite. through On areflights adifferent storyaltogether). Online .aeromongolia.mn) Passport In July and August, most flights areIn JulyandAugust,mostflights full,so Mongolia’s nationalairline,MIAT, has The onlyotherairportwithinternational Airlines flyingtoandfromMongolia: or Berlin Most peopleflyinfromBeijing, (airlinecode OM; (airlinecodeSU; (airlinecodeCA; (airlinecodeKE; isMongolia’smajor interna- (airlinecodeMNG; Chinggis Khaan airport Khaan Chinggis x x x 011-322 118; http://miat.com) x 011-320 720; www 011-328 838; www.air 011-326 643; www.kor x 9191 2903; www

( x 198, Zealand 0800474400; www.statravel.com) lonelyplanet.com or three ahead) weeks is US$192. the fullfare, butanadvance ticket (booked two price. isUS$349at AirChina’sone-way flight forthe same (three inwinter) from Beijing perweek and Friday.AirChina hassixflights are times flights limited toMonday,Wednesday Friday forUS$191/341oneway/return. Atother MIATSeptember dailyexcept fliestoBeijing Air ChinaorMIAT. 15Apriland Between there areFrom Beijing oneither dailyflights China STA Travel 0800 243544; www.flightcentre.com) Flight Centre Vietnam Airlines.Useful travel agencies: A$1080. Thelowestfares are offered by from theeastcoastof ataround Australiastart return A$1990. Low-season fares toBeijing onKoreanUlaanbaatar, Air,goforabout The cheapest return fromSydneyto flights orBeijing. toMongoliagoviaSeoul Flights Australia &NewZealand from MIAT’s website. from abroad.Thesolutionistobuye-tickets ticket orBeijing–Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar bookaMoscow– you willfindithardtoeven through-ticket withAeroflot orAirChina to Ulaanbaatar. Infact,unlessyoubuya andMoscowbutnottickets toBeijing (ISIC)whenbuying Card your ticket. birth oravalidInternational StudentIdentity have toshow adocumentproving yourdate of cess tobetter dealsthanothertravellers. You years (under30insomecountries)have ac- Full-time studentsandpeopleaged under26 Tickets Most travel agencies willoffer discounted at the airport ifyouneedtospendthenightintown. at theairport without avisa(despite whatanyChineseembassymighttell you).Luggage storageis available flight. onwardbaggageandsendittoyournext will collect need tohaulitbackupstairswhenyoucheckinwithMIAT/Air China. Anattendant downstairs a longlayover enroute.) appliesifyoucheckyourbaggageallthewaythrough,butwon’tworkhave allows. (This MIAT’s youcanbringasmuchyouroriginal or30kg; baggageallowanceisonly20kg flight not anymiddlesegmentorfinalsegment.Soifyouare flyingfromtheUSitdoesn’tmatter that Tip one:yourluggageweightisdetermined bytheairlinewithwhichyoubegin yourjourney, HANDY TIPSFORAIRTRAVEL Tip three: ifyouhave forMongolia,youcanstayinBeijing24hours anonwardticket Tip two:whenchanging planesinBeijing,yourluggagewillarrive onthecarouselbutyoudon’t ( x ( x in Australia1300733035,New GETTING THERE&AWAY ••Air GETTING in Australia133133,NewZealand are fromLondon(see similartothose in ChinaonMondayandThursday for and throughout France. .nouvelles-frontieres.fr branchesinParis inFrench) Many 6512 0507; www.cits.net) STA Travel Frontiéres Nouvelles NBBS Reizen Viaggi CTS p268). UK, MIAT andUS$886/971 on Aeroflot. isUS$601/929oneway/return onBerlin on eitherMIAT orAeroflot. Thefare to/from Russia, from Moscow(see p268 ) orBerlin Most Europeansgenerally flytoMongolia Continental Europe Service Travel China International Co Ticketing BTG free bustransfer to Beijing. sonable US$150/241;theticket comeswitha Monday, WednesdayandThursday forarea- US$180/280. Italsofliesto/fromTianjin on off Jianguomenwai Dajie. International Club,just opposite the Beijing Room 705onthe7thfloorof SunjoyMansion, MIAT have refused toBeijing. been boardingflights Ulaanbaatar. Travellers visa withoutaChinese return toChina, oryou’llhave tobuyonein .com) pany thatspecialisesinstudentandyouth travel. of Europe. 069-430 1910;www.statravel.com) Branches across much Dutch) BranchesinmostDutch cities. Fares fromWestern Europe toBeijing fliesto/fromHohhot to adouble-entryvisa Note thatyou’ll need Some travel agencies tocheck out: Travel agencies includethefollowing:

( x in Beijing8610-65079297) ( ( x x ( x in Paris 01 43 59 23 69, in Frankfurt in Paris 01435923 69,inFrankfurt 06-462 0431; www.cts.it) Italiancom- 06-462 0431;www.cts.it) ( 0900 1020300;www.nbbs.nl in x ( 8610-6515 8010; www.btgtravel x 0825 000747;www has an office in hasanoffice (CITS; x 010-

267 TRANSPORT TRANSPORT TRANSPORT Wednesday andFriday for US$117/200. MIAT alsofliesto/fromIrkutsk onMonday, andreturning day. thesame tinuing toBerlin (US$361/587) onTuesdayandSunday,con- one way/return). MIAT fliestoMoscow andMoscow(US$450/580Ulaanbaatar Aeroflot between aweek hasfourflights Russia days. ThepoliceinÖlgiican do this. inMongoliaformoreplan onstaying than30 passport registered daysifyou withinseven after toget arrivinginÖlgii,you’llneed your the otherdirection, see p227 . Rememberthat about US$300.Forinformationonflyingin cost on Wednesdaymorning.One-wayflights from AlmatytoÖlgiiviaÜstKamenogorsk scure route intoMongolia. Trans Ölgiiflies Border junkiesmaybeinterested inthisob- Kazakhstan STA Travel No 1Travel agencies trythefollowing: forUS$379/493.Fortraveldaily toSeoul in summerforUS$381/498.Korean Airflies daily on Friday(US$406/794),andtoSeoul (US$471/706 oneway/return), to/fromOsaka on Monday,WednesdayandSaturday In summer,MIAT fliesto/fromTokyo 268 Japan &Korea consumption over a wholeyear. the USwillcontribute asmuchtoclimate change asanaverage household’sgasandelectricity mosphere. The statisticsare areturn frightening: flightbetweenEurope twopeopletaking and distances theyallowustotravel, butbecausetheyrelease greenhouse gaseshighintotheat- climate change)butplanesare farand awaytheworstoffenders, notjustbecauseofthesheer author travel. Formore informationcheck outourwebsite: www.lonelyplanet.com. thecarbonoffset schemerun by climatecare.org.support LonelyPlanet offsets allofitsstaff and and Uganda. travel schemesthatreduce inIndia,Honduras,Kazakhstan globalwarming–including projects level ofgreenhouse gasesthey are responsible forwithfinancialcontributionstosustainable Climatecare.org and otherwebsites use‘carboncalculators’thatallowtravellers tooffset the Carbon offset schemes Pretty muchevery formofmotorisedtravel generates CO Flying &climate change efit, butbelieves weallhave aresponsibility onglobalwarming. tolimitourpersonalimpact fastest-growing contributortotheproblem. LonelyPlanetregards travel, overall, asaglobalben- Climate change isaseriousthreat totheecosystems thathumansrely upon,andairtravel isthe CLIMATE CHANGE &TRAVEL ETN HR WY • i THERE&AWAY ••Air GETTING Lonely Planet, together with Rough Guides and other concerned partners inthetravel industry,Lonely Planet,together withRoughGuidesandotherconcerned partners ( ( x x 03-5391 2922;www.statravel.co.jp) 03-3205 6073;www.no1-travel.com) on themonthanddayof travel (sometimes from theUScanfluctuate wildlydepending opposite inmindthatticket prices ). Bear thecheaperunless youuse AirBridge (see coast, return fares atUS$1750/2000, start and United Airlines.FromtheUSwest/east on ,AirChina,NorthwestAirlines San Francisco,LosAngeles andNewYork The cheapest fares are toUlaanbaatar from USA &Canada Trailfinders STA Travel Travel North-South Flight Centre at your own expense. inMoscow as convenient anight asitentails fer required. TheSaturdayconnectionisnot planes butnoovernight orairporttrans- stay on Fridayfor£563oneway,withachange of direct). Aeroflot toLondon fliesUlaanbaatar at£720withAirChina(flying London start return low-season fares fromTo Beijing, UK &Ireland and Friday (US$150/250). profits to projects in the developing inthedeveloping profits toprojects world. ofits Traveldonatespart southtravel.co.uk) North-South .co.uk) Aero Mongoliaflies to IrkutskonTuesday Agencies totryinclude: 2 (themaincauseofhuman-induced ( x ( x ( x 0870 1630026;www.statravel.co.uk) 0845 0585858;www.trailfinders.com) 0870 4990040; www.flightcentre ( x 01245 608291;www.north lonelyplanet.com San Franciscoandother major cities. NewYork,Philadelphia, inBoston,Chicago,Miami, Offices payment by PayPal. (west coast)toUS$1730(eastcoast).Thecompanyaccepts toMongolia(return fares fromUS$1580 cheapest tickets The USofficeforUlaanbaatar-basedAirTransoffers the Air Bridge C$2200. around fares are TorontoandUlaanbaatar between by hundreds of dollars). Returnhigh-season lonelyplanet.com If you’re going changers andbanksinaround thestation. traders thatcome here. There are money- Cyrillic Mongolian forthebenefitof themany stocked shops.Many of theshopsigns are in for thetrainatmarket oroneof thewell- hours tokillinEreen. Youcan buysnacks China andMongoliayouwillhave uptothree one day for US$55. in for Y3.Theconsulate canprocessavisa inEreen; willtake youtherebus station ataxi 10-minute walk pastthemainlong-distance Weijian BinguanErLou,Bldg206; there isa are avisa, heading forMongoliaandneed to have already avisa inyourpassport.Ifyou but untilthisbecomesaregular thingit’sbest attheborder, visa possible toget aChinese (not theroad)crossing will operate. daily butnote thatonholidaysonlythetrain andEreen. It’sopen Zamyn-Üüd between The only border opentoforeigners istheone BORDER CROSSINGS China Mongolia; see p274 . Russia and other bordercrossingsbetween mon andconvenient option.There are also thelatteror train,though isthemore com- der. It’spossibletocrossborders byminivan ontheRussian–Mongolianbor-Sükhbaatar, border,andNaushki and Chinese–Mongolian onthe andZamyn-Üüd, Érliàn inChinese) ings opentoforeigners: Ereen ( or There are twomainland bordercross- in all major cities. Canada’s nationalstudenttravelagency,whichhasoffices CUTS Travel STA Travel Orbitz LAND In 2007travellers were reporting thatitwas If youare thedirect taking trainbetween Agencies includethefollowing: ( x ( ( Mongolian consulate 888-656-4546; www.orbitz.com) x x ( x 1-303-757-1929; www.airbridgeusa.com) 1-303-757-1929; www.airbridgeusa.com) 800-777-0112; www.statravel.com) 1-866-246-9762; www.travelcuts.com) to GETTING THERE&AWAY ••Land GETTING Chinaand stillhave tögrög, h (

8.30am-noon Mon-Fri) x /fax 479-7539200; a need yourpassporttobuy a ticket.need Youcan thedownstairs booking desk.You’ll can use here speaksomeEnglish. Onweekends you trains out of uptoonemonth Ulaanbaatar travelling on the train. T1000 charge. There isnodeparture if tax fee. If you cancelaticket there isaminuscule book theticket byphoneforaT4500booking 848; Room212; to a China), butasaforeigner you’llbedirected Moscow, andEreen andHohhot (bothin Irkutsk(Russia), ticketsrooms sell toBeijing, of Insidetheoffice,specific thetrainstation. (MapOffice p64 ) isabout 200mnorthwest to so youneed plan ahead. duringthesummertouristseason, difficult aticket canbeveryGetting inUlaanbaatar Mongolia has trainstobothRussiaandChina. TRAIN details see p203 . der, andEreen, bordertown.For theChinese onMongolia’ssouthernbor-of Zamyn-Üüd, Minivans thetrainstations shuttle between MINIVAN permit. driving where drivers require aguideandChinese Mongolia isaloteasiercompared withChina, border inyourowncar. Drivingaround no troublecrossingtheChinese–Mongolian As long asyourpapers are inorderthere is on connections from Datong. Read LonelyPlanet’s toPingyao,Xi’anandbeyond. trains orbuses to therailjunctionatDatongandthencatch first. FromEreen youcantravelto Beijing on central Chinathere isabsolutelytogo noneed two hours todo their stuff. takecustoms andimmigrationofficials about Mongolian andnotatZamyn-Üüd. night), the countryside(usuallyinmiddleof the anything ifthetrainstopsinmiddleof an interesting place,soyouaren’t missing station. train some cheap andreliable hotels opposite the venir. there tospendthenight Ifyouneed are change ithere oryou’llbekeeping itasasou- CAR &MOTORCYCLE You canbooka ticket forinternational TicketingThe yellowInternational Railway ontheMongolianside,isnot Zamyn-Üüd, Remember thatifyouare carryingonto foreigners’ booking office booking foreigners’ h 8am-7pm) China . It’s upstairs and staff . It’supstairs andstaff (

x guide for details guidefordetails 24133, inquiries 243 24133, inquiries

269 TRANSPORT TRANSPORT TRANSPORT 270 litun Nan,ChaoYang 100027,Beijing) District, with localscientists. theGobiandelsewhere, incooperation toKhövsgöl, trips conservation Runsenvironmentallyfriendly GL7 1QD,UK) UK &ContinentalEurope Steppes East Turtle Tours Nomadic Expeditions Mir Corporation Hidden Trails Geographic Expeditions Boojum Expeditions Off theMap Tours Mongolei Reisen GmbH KE Adventure In theSaddle Exodus Equitour Discovery Initiatives Peregrine Adventures Intrepid Travel STA Travel Rd, Yau Tei, Ma Kowloon,HongKong) Moonsky StarLtd Monkey BusinessShrine Asia ForUlaanbaatar-basedindividual itinerariesorgrouppackages. travel companies,see p80 . adventure-tour operatorsandhomestay agencies. The followingcan hookyouupwithtickets, in Mongolia,includingvisas,excursionsorthewholeshebang. These includetravel agencies, welistreliableIn thissection agenciesoutsideMongoliathatcanhelpwiththelogistics oftravel TRAVEL AGENCIES&ORGANISEDTOURS palaeontology trips to eagle hunting and camel trekking. ItalsohasanofficeinUlaanbaatar. toeaglehunting andcameltrekking. palaeontology trips from everything Rd,Jamesburg, NJ08831)OneofthebestMongoliaspecialists, offering Cranbury-South River western Siberia. combiningwesternMongoliaandTuva andjeeptrips toKhentii in trips Ave, SanFrancisco,CA94129)Horse-riding New Jersey. state companythathasgoneprivate. JuulchinhasofficesinBeijing,Berlin,Tokyo,Seouland riding tourstoTereljriding withEquitour. Depression, inconjunction andDarkhad LodgeCompany. office iscalledKhövsgöl InUlaanbaatar,Boojum’s local trips. fishingandtrekking mountain-biking, horse-riding, man, MT59715)Offers USA &Canada trips. andhiking horse-riding mountain-biking, Mongolia specialistwithmotorbiking, ises mountain-biking tours and guidedascentsofTavanises mountain-biking BogdUul. 98104) tours. Runshorse-riding shire DY148ES,UK) horse-riding tours. horse-riding Australia .com.hk); Neuendorf, Berlin,Germany) Neuendorf, ETN HR WY • ad THERE&AWAY ••Land GETTING The largest travel companyspecialisinginMongoliais ( Japan x ( x Bangkok 020-8675 5550;www.exodus.co.uk; 9WeirRd,LondonSW120LT, UK) ( ( ( x 061-303 3105;www.equitour.com; Herrenweg, 60CH-4123Allschwil,Switzerland)Specialisesin x ( ( ( x x x x ( x ( 03-5391 2922;www.statravel.co.jp); 888-299-1439; www.turtletours.com; POBox1147,Carefree, AZ 85377) 888-299-1439; www.turtletours.com; ( x 01285-880 980;www.steppeseast.co.uk; 51CastleSt,Cirencester, GL71QD,UK) ( 01299-272 997; www.inthesaddle.co.uk; Reaside, Neen Savage, Cleobury Mortimer, Shrop- 01299-272 997;www.inthesaddle.co.uk; NeenSavage,CleoburyMortimer, Reaside, 604-323-1141; www.hiddentrails.com; 659AMoberlyRd,Vancouver, BCV5Z4B3)Horse- 017687-73966; www.keadventure.com; 32 Lake Rd, Keswick, Cumbria CA12 5DQ, UK) Organ- CA125DQ,UK) Cumbria Rd,Keswick, 32Lake 017687-73966; www.keadventure.com; ( x x x 03-9473 2626; www.intrepidtravel.com.au; 11 Spring St, Fitzroy, Victoria 3065) St,Fitzroy,03-9473 2626;www.intrepidtravel.com.au; 11Spring Victoria ( ( 1-800-424-7289; www.mircorp.com; Suite 210, 85 South Washington St, Seattle, WA 1-800-424-7289; www.mircorp.com;Suite210, 85SouthWashingtonSt,Seattle, ( x x 02-236 0262;www.statravel.co.th); ( 852-2723 1376; www.monkeyshrine.com; Flat D, 11th fl, Liberty Mansion, 26EJordan Mansion, FlatD,11thfl,Liberty 852-2723 1376;www.monkeyshrine.com; x 0116-2402625; www.mongolia.co.uk; Fleckney,Leicester, LE88UN)A 20TheMeer, x ( ( x 1-800-287-0125, 406-587-0125; www.boojum.com; 14543 Kelly CanyonRd,Boze- 1-800-287-0125, 406-587-0125;www.boojum.com;14543Kelly 01285-643333; www.discoveryinitiatives.com; TravelHouse,51CastleSt,Cirencester, ( x x 1-800-998-6634, 609-860-9008;www.nomadicexpeditions.com; Suite20A,1095 03-9663 8611; www.peregrine.net.au; 258 Lonsdale St, Melbourne, Victoria 3000) Victoria 258LonsdaleSt,Melbourne, 03-9663 8611;www.peregrine.net.au; 3303-214 552;www.mongoliajourneys.com; AmSpargelfeld 3,16540Hohen 1-800-777-8183, 415-922-0448; www.geoex.com; 2nd fl, 1008 General Kennedy Kennedy 1-800-777-8183, 415-922-0448;www.geoex.com;2ndfl,1008General 8610-6591 6519; www.monkeyshrine.com; Room201,PoachersInn,43Beisan- 8610-6591 6519;www.monkeyshrine.com; Singapore Hong Kong ( x Juulchin 65-6737 7188;www.statravel.com.sg) ( x 852-2736 1618;www.statravel

(www.juulchin.com) lonelyplanet.com , theformer months inadvancefortrains originatingin and Gloria Plaza hotels. 28 JianguomenwaiDajie) the right-hand side of the station. The excess sideof Theexcess the right-hand thestation. whichto theLuggage Shipment ison Office, the daybefore departure you’llhave totake it reception desk for assistance. manager orhotelberth, askyourguesthouse in advance).Ifyouhave troublebookinga ture youcouldtryaskingtwodays (although scramble foraticket onthedaybefore depar- trainsyouwillhave to or Beijing–Moscow in advance,butfortheMoscow–Beijing lonelyplanet.com Wdedy train. Wednesday and Y595/999in hard/soft on the sleeper in hard/soft ontheSaturday train sleeper lowed. Tickets cost Y657/1006 toUlaanbaatar –nostopoversMoscow orUlaanbaatar are al- fee. cancellation to onedaybefore departure. There isaY150 you cancollectyourticket fromoneweek a depositof ifyousend Y100,and Beijing &Tours Travel TicketsDajie, Beijing. are alsoavailable at in theInternational Hotel, Jianguomenwai 6512 0507;www.cits.net; the maximum excessof 40kg allowed. is charged ataboutUS$11per10kg,witha 3262/42) there. from (US$80)ontoBeijing catch atrain orflight completely or ing youtoeitherbypassBeijing andHohhot allow- Ulaanbaatar twiceaweek, other (23and24)iseasiertoget tickets for. andMoscow.The Beijing which runsbetween (3and4)istheTrans-Mongoliantrain, these andUlaanbaatar. Beijing way between Oneof and Beijing Ulaanbaatar. Most travellers catch thedirect trainbetween national train services. p67). Discovery (see MongoliaInformationCentre costsabout station T900. Direct Trains Trains Direct With CITS itispossibletobookupsix With CITS CITS only sells tickets from Beijing to tickets onlysells fromBeijing CITS Trains leave from It isalsopossibletotravel directly between There are twodirect each trainsaweek Sqandthetrain Sükhbaatar between A taxi The bestplacetobuytickets inChina is at Refer totheboxed text on p275 forinter- It’s alsopossibletobuytraintickets atthe China International Travel Service Travel China International . Ifyourluggage weighs over 35kg,on

( x GETTING THERE&AWAY ••Land GETTING 010-6800 5588; Beijing Tourism Bldg, 010-6800 5588;BeijingTourism , between the New Otani theNewOtani , between Beijing TrainStation h 8.30am-noon &1.30-5pm) (CITS;

( x

x 6563 6563 010- BTG

ficial residents of China. Youare more likely applicationsfromof- is onlyacceptingvisa China from Ulaanbaatar areChina fromUlaanbaatar foundinthe by either train or bus. From Ereen into China you canplydeeper then crosstheborder byminivanorjeep. inMongolia(see to Zamyn-Üüd p203 ) and for thistrain change regularly. nings andarrives thenextday. Theschedules 21 leaves Ereen onTuesday andFridayeve- tion andcustomsformalities.Inreverse, train the nextmorning,after completingimmigra- Sunday andarrives inEreen at about10.25am at10.10pm onThursdayUlaanbaatar and inside China. ThisMongoliantrainleaves andEreen Ulaanbaatar justruns between local trainmaybeyour only option. ormonths weeks inadvance. The your seats most impossibletoget, unlessyouhave booked August, international trainbookingsare al- frommid-Junetomid- the summerseason, andrequiresuncertainty more time. During save somemoneybutinvolves more hassleand Thiswill UBandBeijing. local trainsbetween If you’re budget onatight it’spossibletotake Local Trains 47,71064,140 77,000 are forChinesetrains.* Prices Mongoliantrainsare about 37,10050,900 55,15076,45088,250 Ereen 63,310 Datong Beijing 66,350 Deluxe* 101,800 sleeper) 1stclass 2ndclass (hard Destination following table. 113,700 Kong. Hong to get fromtheRussianconsulate in avisa sleeper) (soft ( underthename Kong, itgoes trains forindependenttravellers. InHong a lotof experienceinbookinginternational programs.Thecompanyhas and homestay (coupé) com) ( InBeijing, and visas. you mayalsobeable toarrange astopover they willbemore but expensive thanatCITS, x x 15% to20%cheaperfordeluxe (coupé) class. The second option istotake localtrains The second The first optionistrain22or21,which The costsintögrögfordestinations Note thattheRuss You canalsobuytraintickets privately; canputtogether allkindsof stopovers 852-2723 1376;fax 2723 6653). 8610-6591 6519;fax65916517;www.monkeyshrine. ian embassy in Beijing ian embassyinBeijing Monkey BusinessShrine Monkey Moonsky StarLtd 271

TRANSPORT TRANSPORT TRANSPORT 272 blending inwiththe locals. paper, plentyofreading longpants. material Tracksuitsare andloose,comfortable amust for tea andcoffee,for making mealsofnoodles orsoup. aswellinstantpacket juice. Asmallsamovar at theendofeachcarriageprovides constantboilingwater, agodsend you leave Mongolia. buy someRussianroublesorChineseyuan atthelicensedmoneychangersinUlaanbaatarbefore change forthelocalcurrency, so youcanbuythingsatthetrainstations. It’sagoodideato US dollarsinsmalldenominationsare usefultobuymeals anddrinksonthetrain,toex- What toBring Trans-Siberian Railway. for about30minutes. enough timetofindtheplatformandstruggleonboard,astrainonlystops inUlaanbaatar is nottaken. attendant knowthatyouwillbeboardingthetrainatalater stop.This istoensure thatyourseat ally getting or (fromChina),youwillstillhave topaythefullUlaanbaatarfare. Ifyouare notactu- if youstufftheholewithpaper. of thedoor.left-hand part The clipcanbeflipped openfromtheoutsidewithaknife, butnot safety, useofthesecuritycliponupper lockyourcabinsfromtheinsideandalsomake anything acrosstheborderforanyoneelse. Beijing. Alotofsmugglingisdoneonthistrain,soneverperhaps whendeparting agree tocarry use itasascooptopourwater over yourselffromthewashbasin. It’s agoodideatobringlarge enamelmug(availableinmostChineserailwaystations)and a washroomandtoiletattheendofeachcarriage–whichalwaysgetprogressively more filthy. fore andafter. Showersare onlyavailableinthedeluxe carriages. In2ndand1stclass,there is reach Novosibirsk. the foodatstopsinSiberia,soyoumayfindsupplieshave dwindledbythetimeyou for aroundUS$2toUS$4.StaffontheRussiantrainMoscowhave atendency toselloffall soft drinksforsale. the more entrepreneurial China,someoneontheplatformwillhave somedeliciousfruitand At thestationsinMongoliaandRussia,there maybesomeoneontheplatformsellingfood;in General TrainInformation alsocompletely bypassingMongolia.Zabaikalsk–, either ChinaorMongolia. The crossestheRussia–Chinaborderat Trans-ManchurianRailway –thisroute doesnotgothrough ofNakhodka between Moscowandtheeastern Siberianport it meetstheTrans-SiberianlineandcontinuesontoMoscow.The runs Trans-SiberianRailway calledZaudinsky,nearUlanUdeinRussia,whereBeijing throughUlaanbaatarandontoajunction this travelling route. arguably themostepictrainjourneyyoucanmake. The followinggives generalinformationon Travelling fromRussiaorChinatoMongoliadirectly lineis ontheTrans-Mongolian Railway RAILWAY TRANS-MONGOLIAN ETN HR WY • rn-ogla ala THERE&AWAY ••Trans-MongolianRailway GETTING Other essentialitems includethongs (flipflops)orslippers,anenamelmug, aflannel,toiletOther Stock uponmunchiessuchasbiscuits, chocolate andfruit,bringsomebottledwater or For detailedinformationontheTrans-MongolianandTrans-Siberiantrains,try LonelyPlanet’s Tickets times. listthedeparture Gettothestation atleast20minutes before (travelling fromRussia) Darkhan If youwanttogetofforontheTrans-MongolianatSükhbaatar, The trainsare reasonably safe butit’sstillagoodideatowatchyourbagsclosely.Foradded Generally youare ofluggage,butforforeigners allowed35kg thisisrarely except checked, Note thattoiletsare whenever normallylocked youare inastationandforfive minutes be- The restaurant carsontheRussianandChinesetrainshave decentfoodanddrinksonoffer, The namesoftheraillinescanbeabitconfusing. The goesfrom Trans-MongolianRailway on thetraininUlaanbaatar,youshouldarrangeforsomeonecapitaltolet the arrival lonelyplanet.com toallow lonelyplanet.com deluxe) hastwobunksbutisnotmuchdifferent insize from2ndclassandhasnoshowers. The deluxethe adjacentcompartment. classonRussiantrains(slightlycheaperthantheChinese withasofa,andshowercubicleshared with compartments roomy, wood-panelledtwo-berth siderably higherfare whichcanbeagodsend. charged. OnChinesetrainsitisnonsmoking, thecon- andisnotworth beds buthardlyanymore spacethanaRussian2nd-classcompartment fold-down table. withfourbunk-style four-person bedsanda compartments comfortable, small, butperfectly the toiletsontrainare procedure. duringtheinspection locked and timetablesas‘1/4’known‘hardsleeper’,‘coupé’or of theclassesdependonwhetheritisaMongolian,RussianorChinesetrain. With afew exceptions,allinternational trainshave twoorthree classes. The namesandstandards Classes White NightsInternational Tourism Trek Escapes Sundowners The RussiaExperience Ltd Regent Holidays Lernidee Reisen Intourist GW Travel Ltd Gateway Travel often fromBeijingtoUlaanbaatar. booktrainandplanetickets Alsotrythefollowing places: ifyoualsobuyanorganised tourfromthem. often theeffort onlymake fromthepointofdeparture.prices willbeconsiderablyhigherthanifyouboughttickets They Mongolian scramblefortickets. from UlaanbaatartoBeijing. officeearlyandgetintothe Youwillneedtogettheticket ieonWednesdayfortrainsfromUlaanbaatartoMoscow, andonSaturdayfortrainsparture, people are already thedaybefore on thetrain.Forthesetrains,youcanonlybuyaticket de- for theBeijing–MoscoworMoscow–Beijingtrains,becausestaffinUBwon’t knowhowmany which Beijing–Moscow orMoscow–Beijingtrains;usetheothertrainsmentioned on p271 and p276 , book thistripexceptduringwinter. andbookasearlypossible. Trytoplanahead The international are trains,especiallytheTrans-MongolianRailway, popular,soit’s often hardto Tickets is notagoodidea train mayapproachyouandaskifyou’llcarrysomeoftheirluggageacrosstheborder– sail throughcustomswithouthavingtheirbagsopened,whichisonereason peopleonthe errorssuchascancellingyourreturnsometimes theymake visaforChina. Foreigners generally interruptingannoying becausetheykeep yoursleep. and Russianofficialsmaintaintheupperhand.The wholeprocessisnotdifficultorahassle,just Mongolianborders. trainscrosstheborder duringthemiddleofnight,whenalert Often There are majordelaysofthree tosixhoursatboththeChina–MongoliaandRussia–Mongolia Customs &Immigration The real luxury(andexpense)comeswithChinesedeluxe class(printed as‘1/2’):itinvolves First class(printed as‘2/4’)issometimescalleda‘softsleeper’or During thesestops,youcanalightandwanderaroundthestation,whichisjustaswellbecause On theRussian(andMongolian)trains,mosttravellers travel in2ndclass–printed ontickets Overseas branches of China International Travel Service (CITS) or China Travel Service (CTS) can (CITS) branchesofChinaInternationalOverseas (CTS) Travel orChinaTravel Service Service Several agenciesinWestern ontheinternational countriescanarrangetickets trains,buttheir inUlaanbaatar see For detailsonbuyingtickets p99 . If youare inUlaanbaatarandwanttogoIrkutsk,BeijingorMoscow,avoid goingonthe andstamping. forinspection willbetaken Whenitisreturned, itclosely–Your passport inspect originate ( x (

020-7538 8600; fax 020-7538 5967; www.intourist.com) IntheUK. 020-7538 8600;fax5967;www.intourist.com) ( GETTING THERE&AWAY ••Trans-MongolianRailway GETTING x x ( inUlaanbaatar. afew InUlaanbaatar,youcannotbuy tickets daysinadvance x ( ( ( x . 03-9672 5300;fax 5311;www.sundowners.com.au) InAustralia. x 866-338 8735; www.trekescapes.com) InCanada.866-338 8735;www.trekescapes.com) x 0161-928 9410;www.gwtravel.co.uk) Inthe UK. 02-9745 3333; fax 02-9745 3237; www.russian-gateway.com.au) InAustralia. 02-9745 3333;fax3237;www.russian-gateway.com.au) 030-786 0000; www.lernidee-reisen.de) German company. German 030-786 0000;www.lernidee-reisen.de) 0845-277 3317;www.regent-holidays.co.uk) IntheUK. ( x 020-8566 8846;www.trans-siberian.co.uk) ( x /fax 800-490-5008; 610LaSierraDr, Sacramento,CA95864, USA) kupeynyy myagkiy inRussian.Ithassofter inRussian.These are this

273 TRANSPORT TRANSPORT TRANSPORT parts at11.42amandtakes about ninehours. out this way. opened; check thesituationbefore heading willsoonbe border innorthernKhövsgöl 6pm daily except holidays. ings are openfrom9amtonoonand2pm Ereentsav–Solovyevsk inDornod.Thecross- and inSelenge aimag, Altanbulag–Kyakhta ings: Tsagaannuur–Tashanta inBayan-Ölgii ing. Inaddition,there are three roadcross- trainbordercross- the Naushki–Sükhbaatar Most travellers goinandoutof Russia at BORDER CROSSINGS border takes placein the morning. Ereention. Mosttransportbetween andthe of theplazaasyouwalkoutof thetrainsta- there’s abudget hotel (south)side ontheright hours.) Ifyouhave inJining, thenight tostay hours. (Alternatively, a7ambustakes justfour (Ereen) departsaroundnoonandtakes six ues toHohhot. ThetrainfromJiningtoÉrliàn traindepartsat9.20pmandcontin- A second 274 Russia There ishopethattheKhankh–Mondy thelocaltrainforJiningde- From Beijing, limited number ofspotsavailable andthesesell outayearinadvance. months, stoppingoff atplacesenroute. ( p91 ). Someteams thetripinaroundfive make weeks,whileothers have aslongthree taken you arrive firstorlast,youronlyreward isaroundoffree beersatthe finishlineatDave’s Place as Afghanistan ontheirwayacrosstheAsian landmass. This isbynomeansarace –whether to figure out onyourown.Teams Circleandasfarsouth have astheArctic travelled asfarnorth Finally, drivers zoomout ofLondonwith200otherlikeminded on1July. or anothercountryenroute raisedover (in2007theMongolRally £200,000incharitymoney). £387 toenter andthenyoumustraise another£1000,whichwillgotoacharityinMongolia you canhave asmanypeopleyoucansqueeze intothedamnthing. Then payyourdues:it’s and FordFiestas assemble yourteam canbepurchasedforaround100quidinEngland.Next, – rite ofpassage forEnglishadventurers. were inspired bytheutter hasbecomeanannual lunacyofitall.SincethentheMongolRally 2003. Morgan hadanothergoin2004andcompleted thetrip,alongwithafew friendswho by EnglishmanThomas Morgan, whoseownattempt toaccomplishthefeat failedmiserablyin most hostileterrain inapieceofcrapbarely capableofadrive downtothecornershop. 1L orless. Inotherwords,youhave totravel 16,000km(10,000miles)acrosssomeoftheworld’s tripmustbemadeinavehiclerally rules,theLondon-to-Mongolia thathasanengine capacityof the attemptsMongol Rally toputabitofsparkbackintothejourneyMongolia. Accordingto In anagewhengettingfrompointAtoBhasbeensimplifiedthe pointofblandness, MONGOLIA ORBUST golrally.theadventurists.com) ETN HR WY • ad THERE&AWAY ••Land GETTING The rallyisorganised bythegrandlytitled The organisers give absolutely gettoMongolia; thatyou’ve noadviceonhowtoactually got The journeybegins avehicle. byselecting AntiquegutlesswonderssuchasoldFiat Pandas The wackyideaofdrivingfromLondon to Mongoliainaclapped-outbangerwasdreamt up . If you want to sign up, contact theorganisers. Ifyouwanttosign up,contact earlyasthere are onlya League ofAdventurists International you have nothing to declare. invalid, sohave if even theformstamped receivedyou never one)itwillbeconsidered whenyouarrivedstamped inRussia (orif roubles. Further,iftheentryformwasnot train andchange alltheexcessmoneyinto you arrived, youwillhave toget the off more dollars oreurosthanyouhadwhen the formshows thatyouare leaving with received whenyouentered thecountry.If rency youlisted onthecustomsformyou you listontheformmustmatch thecur- Russian exitdeclarationform.Thecurrency anything. for the Russiansideof theborder,sobeready about scamsandproblems withcustomson are faster thanonthe local trains. Procedures train ontheUlaanbaatar–Moscow of thistimelocked insidethetraincabins. hours ontheRussianside,spendingmuch travellers have strandedforupto10 been you canget outandstretch yourlegs.Train nisingly slow,butatleastontheroadjourney One thingtobecareful about isthe Both theroadandrailcrossingscanbeago- We have received anumberof complaints lonelyplanet.com (http://mon lonelyplanet.com will bepoor. Ifthere aren’t any moneychang- moneychanger buttherate atthe trainstation, Russian roublesor Mongoliantögrögfroma look around.You maybeable tobuy some town of butthere Sükhbaatar, to isno need Mongolian border at, ornear,thepleasant touch themonceyouare inside Russia.) leave Mongolia,asalmost no-onewillwantto in Russia. ridof (Get your tögrögbefore you orsomewhere orUlaanbaatar, Sükhbaatar else tochange Naushki station money,sowaituntil you mayhave findinganyone atthe difficulty place inthemiddleof Surprisingly, thenight. andthebordercrossingusuallytakes tle tosee can have alookaroundNaushki,butthere islit- cantakeand Sükhbaatar atleastfourhours. You Naushki Customs andimmigrationbetween Russian &MongolianBorderTowns acreditto use card may work. Tellingsearched. theborderguardyouplan is oneoption,butyouruntheriskof being form. Lyingaboutnothaving foreign cash OK) orbevigilantwiththatexitdeclaration the borderwithforeign currency (roublesare To avoid these problems,To avoid either don’tcross these The trainmaystopforoneortwo hours in summer. The durationsbelowrefer tothejourneytimeto/fromUlaanbaatar. reduce inwinter,Schedules changefromonesummertoanother,andservices andcanincrease TRAINS TO/FROMMONGOLIA ocwUanatr(ejn)4 u 75p 100hr 7.55pm 100hr and Zamyn-Üüdat11.45pm. Sun *Train 23passesthroughDatongatapproximately 2.15pm,Jiningat4.15pm,Ereen at8.45pm 1.15pm Moscow–Ulaanbaatar–(Beijing) 4 Moscow–Ulaanbaatar 6 30hr Wed, 264 Irkutsk–Ulaanbaatar Thu Russia–Mongolia 7.10pm daily 8.05am 36hr Duration (Beijing)–Ulaanbaatar–Moscow 3 Ulaanbaatar–Moscow 5 time Departure 30hr Tue, 263 Ulaanbaatar–Irkutsk Thu Dayofdeparture 70hr 9pm Thu Mongolia–Russia 7.35pm daily 1.50am 36hr Trainno Ulaanbaatar–Hohhot 34 (Moscow)–Ulaanbaatar–Beijing 4 Mon, Ulaanbaatar–Beijing 24 Fri 1.50pm 8.05am 70hr Thu Mongolia–China Thu 30hr Hohhot–Ulaanbaatar 215 Beijing–Ulaanbaatar–(Moscow) 3 Sun, Fri Beijing–Ulaanbaatar 23 8.10pm 7.40am* 24hr China–Mongolia Tue 30hr Train Wed 10.40pm 30hr GETTING AROUND••Air GETTING sular (or Russian consular ifyouare headed have aletter written by the Mongoliancon- is backed uporifyouhave problems. visa and timeconsuming –uptosixhours iftraffic roadcrossingscanbedifficult these However, andEreentsav (Dornod). (Selenge) Altanbulag Mongolia atTsagaannuur (Bayan-Ölgii), It’s possible todrive Russia and between CAR &MOTORCYCLE Buryat-Intour tact inUlanUde.Hotel InUlanUdecon- Baikal leaving timeforUlaanbaatar, fromthe same ( Centre p67 ). AnUlanUdebusdepartsatthe outside theDiscovery MongoliaInformation hours leave andcostsT33,600.Buses from departs at7.30pm,andthejourneytakes 10 boundforUlanUde.departs Ulaanbaatar It daily busoperated by MongoliaandRussia.transport between A Bus isprobably thefastest formof public BUS you change money elsewhere. USdollarsers, cashtoget youcanuse byuntil In order to speed thingsup,itmayhelp to In ordertospeed Trio-Impex

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TRANSPORT TRANSPORT TRANSPORT Sükhbaatar to Ulaanbaatar), butthiswould toUlaanbaatar), Sükhbaatar Ude toNaushki, Naushki and toSükhbaatar, elling instages onlocaltrains(egfromUlan actually five hours ahead of Moscow. are given Irkutskis inMoscowtime,although Note thatdeparture andarrivaltimesatIrkutsk (train5)asfarIrkutsk. Ulaanbaatar–Moscow thelake, takein ahurryorwanttosee the soifyouaretravels atnight, Baikal pastLake village,stop atevery andtrain263 however, trains which These stopsenroute inDarkhan. andIrkutsk, Ulaanbaatar daily trainbetween Ulaanbaatar. Theepictriptakes four days. and Moscow,which iseasiertobookfrom connectingUlaanbaatar train twiceaweek there isadirectnecting MoscowandBeijing, con- theTrans-MongolianRailway Besides TRAIN can walkacross the border. continue tochange soit’sworthaskingifyou to paysomeonedrive youacross.Things onamotorcycle,soyoumayhavecar oreven der, buttheyare ina allowedtopassthrough bor-‘walk’ acrosstheKyakhta–Altanbulag proof toinexperienced border guards. are thatvisas as stating notneeded mentation UScitizensmaywanttobringdocu- necessary. butisnot (passport foryourcar)maybeuseful car ormotorcycleacrosstheborder. Acarnet should state thatyouare totake a authorised that way)whenyouget Theletter yourvisa. 276 Foreigners are currently notallowedto This tripcanbedone more cheaply bytrav- If youare there Baikal, headedtoLake isa anybody’s way. photos, butdon’tgetinthe shedandtake in thetrainanyway. It’sOKtowalkaround lock thedoors–they really don’twantyou station. Getoffimmediately before thestaff pulls intoalarge shedabout1kmfromthe gorges passengersinEreen. The trainthen operation. Stayonthetrainafter itdis- buffs may want toseethebogie-changing Chinese usedifferent railwaygauges. Train (and, therefore, theMongolians)and (wheel assemblies)becausetheRussians two hoursare spentchanging thebogies train disappearsfromtheplatform.About (on theChinesesideofborder)and Don’t beconcernedifyougetoffatEreen BOGIES ETN RUD AROUND GETTING next doortotheYaroslavl trainstation, Krasnoprudnaya1,building onUlitsa Intourist eaeibr 100 1,5 110,350 Yekaterinburg 91,020 (coupé) 148,080 Ulan Perm 94,220 28,63043,060n/a (soft Omsk 77,020 Ude 21,45024,970 Novosibirsk 69,210 114,400 84,860 (hard 94,370 Naushki Moscow 101,420 35,750 152,130 33,10053,720 113,280 126,220 Krasnoyarsk 60,540 74,220 99,220 139,510 Irkutsk Deluxe 60,430 sleeper) 1stclass 2ndclass Destination 160,880 we have listed the most expensive. orMongolian; the trainisRussian, Chinese costsdependonwhether listed below. Exact aredestinations inRussiafromUlaanbaatar .com; 1aCheremhovsky Lane, 664025) Irkutsk sleeper) ( 664025) 44,Irkutsk Gagarina Sta, Ulan Ude 670000). Intour ter private sellers. Traveller’s andisoneof Guesthouse thebet- www.infinity.ru) leave. Beijing from where and thetrainstoUlaanbaatar ofdetails your itinerary. duetoRussian officials wantingfull Chinese arevisas more toarrange than difficult involve more hassles,especiallyasRussian potholes, drunkdrivers and wildlife can to avoid travelling when unseen atnight, regions. Accidentsare notuncommon.Try parts are nowuncommon, exceptinremote there are quarantine restrictions. choleraeven yourtravel mayaffect plansif forest fires, theplague,foot-and-mouthand tobeawareyou need of. Annualoutbreaks of thepeople,buttheremeet are matters several Mongoliaand ently isthebestwaytosee Travelling aroundthecountryside independ- GETTING AROUND x Generally, shortages ofGenerally, petrolandspare Approximate costs(intögrög)formajor In Irkutsk,youcantry A reliable agency inUlanUdeis Infinity Travel In Moscowyoucanbuytickets atthe 3952-200 134;fax070;www.irkutsk-baikal

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populatedMongolia, avast,sparsely country AIR great waytoget completely lost. wreak havoc. Drivinginthedarkisalsoa lonelyplanet.com can bechartered for anypartof the country. www.bsamongolia.com) Mongolia and MIAT. able operation,but more expensive thanAero so check theschedule. It’s a slickandreli- Dalanzadgad. More destinationsare planned, andUlaangom, Khovd, Mörön, Baruun-Urt, UB andChoibalsan, to/from aeroplanes andhasdomesticflights ates twoSwedish-built Saab340Bpropeller and inChina,andIrkutsk in Russia. US dollars. Hohhot Aero Mongoliaalsoserves ments andtherate willbebetter ifyoupayin limit costsT2500.Itonlyacceptscashpay- cluding handluggage); anykilogramover the baggage allowance,allowingonly15kg(in- andKhovd.Choibalsan Itisreally stingy on Dalanzadgad,Mörön,, (), toÖlgii,Donoi 2007 itflewdomesticservices two Fokker aircraft.Routes change butin .mn) and a 737. Boeing recent years. includesanAirbus310 Itsfleet dramaticimprovementshand, hasseen in MIAT’s ontheother international service, are themostexperiencedinbusiness. Its domesticplanesmaybeoldbutthepilots crashsince1998. ithasn’thadafatal although Khovd Altai, , and Dalanzadgad. ice toonlyahandfulof cities,namelyMörön, and increased competitionhaslimited itsserv- the country.Alackof functioning aeroplanes owned cornerofairline thatonce flewtoevery MIAT Airlines inMongolia tic departure ispayable at tax the airport. without first returning toUB. AT2000domes- isimpossible DalanzadgadtoBayan-Ölgii say, directly soflyingfrom, fromUlaanbaatar, only12of havethough those paved airstrips. air transport.Ithas44functioningairports,al- with very littleinfrastructure, relies heavily on EZ Nis Mongolia Aero Almost allof thedestinationsare served Blue SkyAviation MIAT isnotknownforitssafety record, began service in2003andnowoperates beganservice

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( x 011-283 029;www.aeromongolia 011-312 085;fax011-322 857; isthestate- oper- August as studentsreturn to college. especially intheJuly touristpeakandinlate ticket in Mörön. you maywaitdays ormore and foraflight andthenreturna seat, overland –otherwise where youare more likely toget aticket and Mörön), it’sbesttoflyfromUlaanbaatar, return byroadintheother(forexampleto at your destination. attheairportassoonyou arrive reservation the countrysoyouwillhave toreconfirm your tem connecting thevariousairportsaround sys- but there reservation isnocomputerised soon as you arrive. hand. Inthecountryside,buyyourticket as diddly-squat untilyouhave aticket inyour isn’tworthA domesticticket reservation Reservations &Tickets to carry20kgwithout extra charges. buy youraeroplaneticket. EZNisallows you cost of the ticket. youcangetstudent visa 25%to50%off the half; underfives flyfree. Ifyou’ve comeona Children aged five between and16years pay pretty reasonable, consideringthedistances. a four-hour, tothefarwest– 1380kmflight toUS$183for from US$66(toArvaikheer) by credit Tickets cardinUlaanbaatar). range you willalwayshave topayinUSdollars (or Anyone canbuyaticket onyourbehalf, but more thanwhatMongolianspayfortickets. The foreigner priceisoften times several Costs allowed on any flight. (including bike tools).Gascanisters are not any sharp orbluntobjects inyourcarry-on makeyour bag.However, sure youdon’thave luggage tosave timeandtheworryof losing plane. Ifpossible,carryyourpackonashand make yourluggage hasgoneonthe certain do somescramblingonceonboard.Tryto soyou’llhaveare usuallynoassignedseats to assume theplanewon’tbeoverbooked. There number,don’t number andanallocated seat Evenyour flight. ifyouhave aticket, flight totheairportatleastonehourbeforeGet Checking In Seats can be difficult toget insummer, can bedifficult Seats If youwish toflyinonedirection and You canbuyareturn ticket inUlaanbaatar, Ask aboutbaggage allowanceswhenyou

277 TRANSPORT TRANSPORT TRANSPORT roads connect nomads,most of whom bytheir a signpost inthewholecountry. InMongolia, ormud,andtherein thedirt,sand ishardly the mapare often littlemore thantyre tracks recommended. Whatlook like mainroadson car ormotorcycle–withoutadriver –isnot Travelling around Mongoliawithyourown CAR &MOTORCYCLE always askat a ger. youcan yak intheirprogramme. Otherwise, travel agencies includearide onacamelor can arrange amultiple-daycameltrek. Afew friendlywayoftally hauling heavy cargo. YaksDesert. are andenvironmen- alsoauseful about one-thirdof allcargo aroundtheGobi which cancarryaround250kg, carry Camels, are recognised forms of transportinMongolia. yaksandconfrontational Intractable camels CAMEL &YAK which run on Mongolian time. toprivate vans, their destination,asopposed that theyleave ontimeanddrive to straight Thebenefitof is modern buses. usingbuses andErdenet,which use toDarkhan services areMost buses oldrustbuckets, exceptthe andMörön. ,Darkhan Arvaikheer, Dalanzadgad, ,Öndörkhaan, Ulaanbaatar. includeBaruun-Urt, These ful of Mongoliancities,allconnected to Private ahand- bus companiesserve BUS also ownsmallboatsthatcan be chartered. Mongolia. Nuur Someger campsatKhövsgöl Golontheborderofthe Selenge Russiaand Nuur. There’s alsoacustomsboatthatpatrols very occasionallytravels aroundKhövsgöl boat inthecountryis transporting peopleorcargo. Thebiggest terways in Mongolia,rivers aren’t for used Although there are 397kmof navigable wa- BOAT oncycletouring, details see p55 . could onlybedonewithvehicle support).For much anywhere atriptotheGobi (although nothing stoppingyoufromtravelling pretty travelrough butifproperlyequippedthere is perience. The vast, opensteppes make for Mongolia offers anunparalleledcyclingex- For keen bikers of adventure, withasense BICYCLE 278 At Ongiin Khiid and Khongoryn Elsyou andKhongoryn At OngiinKhiid ETN RUD • iyl AROUND••Bicycle GETTING Sükhbaatar, which the countryside – sells foraroundUS$900. the countryside–sells alloverRussian-made motorcycleyousee of Ulaanbaatar. –the AnewIjPlaneta zakh have toaskaround,orcheck outthe US$50 per day. Mongolian driver. costaround Theirjeeps support vehicle orbeaccompaniedbya a hire vehicle, togowiththeir but youneed is atouroperatorthatallowsyoutodrive ( driven byoneof theirdrivers. buttheyrequirein Ulaanbaatar, thatyoube aresights includedinthe regional chapters. Thecoordinates foranumberofsights. other manytownsandvillages,contains andsome the GPSCoordinates Table ( p284 ), which Russian. lucky, speak anythingbutMongolianor,ifyouare and very few peopleinthecountrysidewill with foodandwater are few andfarbetween, for directions atgers alongtheway.Towns telephone lineswhenthere are ask any,orelse navigation tricky–somedrivers followthe making of devoid anytraffic, dirt highways Remote tracksquicklyturnintoeight-lane shifting likeseminomadic, restless rivers. nature keep moving, theroadsare soeven country is sovast,publictransport solimited know where theyare planning to go. safer iftheytravel inpairs andletsomeone mend it.People to hitch who choose will be in theworldandwedon’tnormally recom- Hitching entirely isnever safe inanycountry HITCHING is Mongolian for station. tions are marked bytheinitials‘ that isavailable inthecountryside. Petrol sta- all Russian-made vehicles ‘76’,which is all use but it’sonlygenerally available inUlaanbaatar; byJapaneseis thebestandtypeused jeeps, at thelocal police station. you buyavehicle, inquire aboutregistration residents toapplyforalocallicence. need If licence todrive anyvehicle inMongolia;expat means ‘for sale’. In markets thesign costsaroundUS$5000. A newRussian jeep x Mongolia isdifferent, however. the Because Two typesof Russian fuelare available: ‘93’ Travellers aninternational driving canuse If youwanttobuyavehicle, youwill To helpyoufindyourwayaround,use There are acoupleof car-rental agencies 011-312 277,99118257;www.drivemongolia.com) (car market) inthenortheastern part ‘zarna’ ( Зарна lonelyplanet.com Drive Mongolia Drive ШТС ) on a jeep ) onajeep ’, which tsaiz

always waiting forpublictransporttoturnup.Itis freeis seldom andoften nodifferent fromjust form of transportinthecountryside. Hitching trucks) isarecognised –and,often, theonly– and thepeoplesopoor,hitching (usuallyon lonelyplanet.com everywhere; with someluck, guidance and done for centuries. experience thecountry asMongolianshave footingand localsonalevel helps youmeet ridingahorse some ideas).Mostimportantly, way totravel aroundsome areas (see p59 for unless youhave alotof time,butitisthebest Mongolians rarely walk anywhere. horses astheirprimary modeofuse transport. ers have acquired motorcycles,butmoststill for you.Inrecent manyherd- decadesthough, it worked fortheMongolhordes,itcan work Mongolians forthepastfew years. thousand If Horses have provided reliable transportfor HORSE with your travel mates. breakdowns, along orsuffer for theinevitable threshold campinggear fordiscomfort.Carry large amountof patienceandtime,ahigh arethings tobring,though, anextremely put yourbackpackin.Themostimportant travelled. hour shared figure jeep; onaroundT1500per much cheaper bus or thanalong-distance some negotiablepayment,which won’tbe orsomeofKhentii thelakes inthe far west. in themountains example, theGobiDesert, another. for tohire Youstillneed tosee, ajeep will justtravel fromonedreary aimagtownto vehicles stop before any journey. ontheoutskirtsofstation town,where most Thebestplacetowaitisthepetrol station. variably hangaround,oratthebus/truck/jeep the towns,askatmarket, where trucksin- days.In sometimes nobody atallforseveral one ortwovehicles adayonmanyroads,and inremotetraffic ruralareas; see youmight tremely Don’texpectmuch uncomfortable. sonally, butitisstillhazardousandoften ex- a truckcantake 48hours to cover 200km. of petrolandgetting stuckinmudandrivers, fixing flattyres, breaking down,runningout Bring awater- anddust-proof bagto Truck drivers willnormallyexpect If yourely onhitching entirely, you though, Hitching isnotgenerally dangerous per- If youare rider,there aserious are horses byhorse everything It’s impossibletosee slow–after stoppingatgers todrink, GETTING AROUND••Horse GETTING kilometre, butthis will increase.certainly The rate atthetimeof writing wasT300 per just flagdownthe driver andagree onaprice. vehicle onthestreet isa potential – taxi ies isthere inUBany though service, taxi Only inUBandacoupleof thebigger cit- Taxi facilities are located centrally. you are most unlikely thembecause toneed shuttle fromoneendof towntotheother,but andErdenethave that as Darkhan minibuses main roadsforaroundT200aride. Citiessuch trolley-buses, plythe andminibuses buses regularIn Ulaanbaatar, andvery crowded Bus, Minibus&Trolley-bus Also beprepared foratleast one spill. Mongolians almostinvented horsemanship. boxed text, p281 . be aware of. the Forsomehandyadvicesee buttherelong enough), are pitfallsto several It’s afineadventure (ifyoucanget for avisa aroundMongolia. off andtaking ing ahorse stiff and sore. you’reto ridingahorse, likely toget mighty tract allkindsof flies.Also,ifyou’re notused multiday horse trip,remember thathorses at- is nowordfor‘stop’.Ifyouare consideringa nate nature of Mongolianhorses isthatthere horses go. Somewhattelling about theobsti- ‘ thephrase Mongolians use may rear ifapproached thewrongway.The accept humanapproach fromtheleft,and the left.Theanimalshave trainedto been mounting ahorse (orcamel),dosoonlyfrom trips. horse-riding p270 ) andlocaltravel agencies alsoorganise day (thelatter atger camps).Mostforeign (see tourist areas US$6andUS$20per forbetween September). to best timeforridingisinthesummer(June themeltingsnows.The their waythrough ter andbefore fresh springplantshave made when allanimalsare weakafter thelongwin- you. TheonlyexceptionisinAprilandMay, youdon’tlike,horse like orwhich doesn’t readily, sothere’s tobestuckwitha noneed Mongoliansswaphorses suited toyour needs. experience, youshouldbeable tofindahorse LCL TRANSPORT LOCAL Some finaladvice:watch andlearn. One thingtobearinmindisthatwhen You canrent ahorse andguideinmost A few foreigners cherish theideaof buy- chu! ’ tomake their

279 TRANSPORT TRANSPORT TRANSPORT get around, you’ll see surprisinglylittleofget around,you’llsee few minivansgoto the butveryoperate mostaimagcapitals, between frequenttinations. Less andreliable services majoraimag capitals, citiesandtouristdes- Private vehicles toall gofromUlaanbaatar mon formof publictransport inMongolia. Share andminivansare jeeps themostcom- here youcan average 60km/h. Gobi region generally hasthebestroadsand only travel 30km/hand50km/h.The between more remote attractions.Theycantypically transport, andare mandatorywhenvisiting andminivansarejeeps formof animportant 30% more thanforagood Russian jeep). have themforhire, butexpecttopayatleast sometravel (though purposes agencies might forshare used wealthy Mongoliansandnever are jeeps ownedby Landcruiser–style Toyota original model.Thelarge andcomfortable jaris They are nicknamed remote areas such as khaki-coloured orgreen, are foundinmore alotofJeeps, traffic. country tripsthatsee Furgon minivansare forlonger cross- used hired privately. thegrey, Inmostcases, 11-seat Alternatively,from Ulaanbaatar). theycanbe one aimagcentre toanother(orusuallyto/ is goodforagroupof people headedfrom They canbeshared amongstrangers, which traveland short-distance inthecountryside. Both minivans and arejeeps forlong- used MINIVAN &JEEP 280 Share Minivan&Jeep On theterrible Mongolianroads,these If yourely solelyonshare vehicles to could still countontwohours ormore. Thepassengers sweatit outatthemarket. waiting timefromUlaanbaatarisn’tas bad,butyou you todosomething productive (such assleeporcatchuponyouremailing) whiletheother they are ready togo,whichtheyusually agree to. This arrangementworksoutwell andallows will vanishforanhourortwolunch, ortofindmore cargo, andpetrol. spare parts seats tofillup,iftheyever do. up, whichmeansthatifthevanisn’talready mostlyfullyou’llbewaitingaround alldayforthe your hairgrey. are tighter packed thanasardine tin.The waitinggamesometimeshastheeffect ofturning A real problemwithshare vehicles isthat theyare privately operated andwon’tleave untilthey THE MINIVAN WAITINGGAME ), which means‘69’–thenumberof the ETN RUD • iia ep &Jeep AROUND••Minivan GETTING One solutionistoaskthedriver topickyouupatyour hotel orthelocalinternet caféwhen The processcanbeagonising. Even after the11-seatvanhas20orsopassengers,driver andwait for passengerstoturnIn thecountryside,mostvansjustpark atthelocalmarket jaran yös sum sums (district)centres. . (shortened to minivan or jeep, whichminivan orjeep, willcomewithadriver Mongolia independentlyistohire yourown thecountrysideofThe bestwaytosee a listof departure times and fares. sum anda anaimagcapital between once aweek have fixed departure times,normallyrunning vans,which acceptpassengers.postal They Mörön (25 hours). (21 hours) orUS$15to fromUlaanbaatar equivalent of US$12toget toDalanzadgad end up flying back. minivantoMörönorDalanzadgad distance uncomfortable. Most peoplewhotake along- traveldistance of over 10hours isfiendishly have somewhere. tospendthenight Long- you ing bagandwarmclothesjustincase it wouldbeagoodideatobringsleep- You canexpectatleastonebreakdown and cheap restaurant) canbefew andfarbetween. water; stopsataroadside easier toorganise this from Ulaanbaatar. or tohireYou’ll stillneed acarfromtheaimag interesting ontheway. citieswith littletosee Mongolia. Most vehicles drive un- between transport tomajor regional gateways –that driver, you’llhave thetimeof your life. ment, water andfood,areliable and jeep expensive. time,campingequip- Withenough workouttobetoo costs withothers itdoesn’t and, foralittleextra,guide. Ifyoushare the Hiring aMinivanorJeep You cansave moneybyusingpublic operatesIn thecountryside,postoffice Minivan fares are reasonable, costingthe tripbringsnacksand For along-distance sum capital. The local post office shouldhave Thelocalpostoffice capital. centres to see anything,andit’susually centres tosee guanz lonelyplanet.com (canteen or lonelyplanet.com guide, so bringone from Ulaanbaatar. You maynotfind alocalEnglish-speaking have little experienceof dealingwithtourists. driverseasily, though will outsideUlaanbaatar places, youwillbe able torent fairly ajeep forthefareast. Then,fromthese Choibalsan west, Dalanzadgadforthesouth Gobi and Nuur,Khovd forthe is MörönforKhövsgöl LZN SDLS SADDLES BLAZING you felt intheLandofGreat BlueSky. some hairsfromthemaneandtail.Tie themaroundsomethingtoremind youofthefreedom and willbeabletoread thewordsyouare stumblingover. Lonely Planet’s there iswater. other option,thoughthesecanalsobedry.Ask around.Where there are animalsandpeople, have astore, assomemaynolongerexistinthisnomadicculture. towns thatmarked along yourjourney.Topographicmapsare bestboughtinUB;double-check magazines. recommended thatyouoffer thefamilyasmallgift, suchassweetsorhorse/car/motorcycle restrained. Break thelanguagebarrierwithpictures ofyourfamilyandhometown,itis ger. Remembertocalloutpriordismountingsotheferocious atyouwillbe animalbarking in desperate tosayhello,youmayapproacha needoffoodanddrink,orwouldsimplylike hire aguide,doublethatamount. your investment whenyousellbackyourhorses. AfairpriceisT5000toT10,000perday;ifyou quietisgood. extra packhorses, before buying. pace,andloadupapackhorse sure Alsowith thehorsewalksatacomfortable with theirwell-mannered, quiethorsesandmaytrytosellanoldiewithoutmuchgo. Make prices are ontheincrease. AgoodhorsemaycostT300,000andup.Herdsmenare loathtopart orground cloth. a blanket folk wearthemandtheyare great protection againstwind,rainandsnow,aswellforuse To roundoutyourappearance,buya admire theirbeautyfromafar. Ifyouare long-legged,bringnarrowstirrupleathersfromhome. be boughtforT55,000toT65,000,packsaddleshalfthat. inUlaanbaatar.hobble canallbeboughtattheoutdoormarket AnEnglishhybridsaddlecan these twowordsgowelltogetherregardless inMongolia.) ofyouractivity during thesummermonths. tion andnutrition.No,Mongoliansdon’teathorses;instead, theydrinkfermented mare milk straight, Mongolianshave builttheirculture aroundthehorse. They useitforwork,transporta- If horses are ofinterest, fromthetimetheycansitup Mongoliaistheplacetomountup.Riding When thetripendsandyousayfarewell toyourhorses,doastheMongoliansandpluck Unless youspeakMongolianorRussian,communicationwillbedifficultin thecountryside. Rivers are agreat sourceofwater, however, thesmalleronesare seasonal.Wellswillbeyour It isnotnecessarytocarryallyourfoodstuffs fromthebeginning ifyouwillbepassingtowns On Mongolia’ssteppe anopen-doorpolicyexistsforlocalsandforeigners alike. Ifyouare a loop,becauseyouwillnever viableoptionifyouare recoupRenting isaperfectly making Once outfitted, locate ahorseortwo. Youmaybuyorrent. Despite theirvastnumbers,horse Unless youhave thighsofsteel andhave previously riddeninaMongoliansaddle,itisbestto tofocuson.Asaddle,bridle,halter subjects Gear andhorsesare and thetwomostimportant Creating ahorsebackadventure patientperseverance. doable;itjusttakes (Actually, iscertainly For more information abouttravelling onhorseback inMongolia,seeJoshuaHandler’swebsite: GETTING AROUND •• Minivan &Jeep AROUND••Minivan GETTING Mongolian Phrasebook Joshua Handler willbeinvaluable. AmajorityofMongoliansare literate del (overcoat) orhave onemadeforyou.Mostcountry van. This does notapplywhen travellingvan. This does to the driver willhave togobackwith anempty you willhave topayforthereturn fare because countryside totake youtoanotherruralcity may notbeavailable or running. Villagesaimag capital. dohave butthey jeeps, Note thatwhenhiringavehicle in the Don’t expecttorent outside of ajeep an www.stepintoyourselfexpeditions.com.

281 TRANSPORT TRANSPORT TRANSPORT for theemptyvehicle travelling one way. up, ordropyouoff,agree onareduced price for byyou.Ifyouarrange topickyou forajeep costing aboutT500),which are normallypaid bridges andtollsaroundthecountryside(each accommodation. There are private several sible ‘extras’such aswaitingtime,foodand reading –before Ask youstart. about allpos- the terms and conditions–theodometer the furtheryouget from Ulaanbaatar. around T450.Vehicle hire ismore expensive per-kilometre rate; inthecountrysidethisis research. Somedrivers maywanttocharge a Petrol wasaroundT900perlitre atthetimeof 20Ltotravelomy: you’llneed around100km. havepetrol. Russian jeeps terrible fuelecon- market) usuallycharge US$35perdaywithout and cooking gear. This maybemore iftheythrowincamping to US$60)thatwillprobably includepetrol. will have aper-day charge (usuallyUS$50 sights. the work wellifyouwanttotake it slowandsee be inahurrytoget backhome,which won’t own, willbecheaper, buttheywillprobably ormarket,stand andnegotiatingonyour monasteries. Findingadriver fromthejeep tions such ascaves, stonesandruined deer routes andcanlocate hard-to-find attrac- ist. More theyknowthetourist importantly ofguide whounderstands theneeds atour- commission, butyou’llget adriver and/or willtake a guesthouses These guesthouses. ing foradriver andaguideisatthevarious would fromUlaangom to Ulaanbaatar. from, forexample,UlaangomtoMörönasit tohirealmost thesame adriver totake you there. Theupshot of thisisthatitwillcost asthedriverUlaanbaatar canfindpassengers 282 Vehicles thatyouhire onyourown (froma trip,touroperatorsOn along-distance look- thebestplacetostart In Ulaanbaatar, It is vital thatyouandthedriverIt isvital agree to Mandshir Khiid andTereljMandshir Khiid (US$40). National Park,Mongolia tour(US$280) andatourtosightsnearUlaanbaatar, includingKhustain Mongolia;eachcostsUS$123. Italsorunsawestern theGobiandnorthern routes thatservice OTAMback onwhenthenext vanappears (usuallytwodayslater). The companyhastwoseparate a looptourofthecountryside. WithanOTAM youcanhopoffwherever ticket andget youlike Open TourAroundMongolia of system hasledtothebirth public transport Mongolia’s unreliable, slowanduncomfortable OTAM VANS Alyska Bldg,Peace Ave),Alyska ETN RUD • iia ep &Jeep AROUND••Minivan GETTING aprivate travel companythatdispatchesvansfromUlaanbaatartomake

(OTAM; Map p64 ; x 7015 0159;www.otamecotours.com; Room504, 5thfl, for thedriver’s foodorbuythemthe to dothis,youwillhave toagree onafee eat andwashuptogether. Ifyoudon’twant longer tocook, tripit’seasiestforeveryone that youwillfeed themalongtheway.Ona water- and dust-proof bag. filthy soit’sagoodideatoputthemin andsoon.Yourbackpackswillgetpasta bags are foropenedbagsof useful sugar, boxes willrapidlydisintegrate. Resealable drum isalsovery forstoringfood,as useful and awater drum.Awide-mouthedplastic your driver hasjerrycans,forextrapetrol, the route. Forlongexpeditions,alsoensure and make sure theyhave amapandagree to tothedriverexplain youritineraryindetail minivan tourof Mongolia. thetrip, Before orconsider whenembarkingonajeep There are otherfactors youshould several backpacks, tents, water and so on. room atthebackof andminivanfor thejeep be more There comfortable. isusuallyample three twowould passengers though inajeep, driver, youcantherefore take amaximumof If youalsotake aguide,ratherthanjust trips. Five orsixpeoplecanrideinaminivan. spreads around viruses the group. water bottlesasthis drinking fromthesame penknife, cutlery,bowlandtorch. Avoid and aladle. Everyone should bring theirown abigcookingpotfor agroupyou’llneed stove iscookingdinner. Ifyouare cooking and toboilwater fortea whiletheother idea tobringyourownstove asabackup, Soviet-built petrolstove, it’sagood though T4000 per day. Thisshouldn’tcostmoreyourself. than TI PREPARATION TRIP jeep, but it may be uncomfortable onlonger butitmaybeuncomfortable jeep, Experienced driversExperienced willhave theirown Drivers fromtouristagencies willassume Three can sit in the back seat ofThree aRussian cansitinthebackseat lonelyplanet.com guide) has a go in the front seat. Don’tpush guide) hasagointhefrontseat. (includingthe sothateveryone seats tating a goodideatokeep happyby ro- everyone town. Ifyouare travelling withstrangers, it’s lonelyplanet.com negotiable US$8toUS$15 per day.Totake professional guideor a studentwillcost and universities are on summer break. 15 Juneand1August,whenschools between hotels andschools. Guidesare easiertofind side, there isnothingtodobutask–trythe ( board atChezBernard p90 ). Inthecountry- travel or the bulletin agencies, guesthouses guistic and cultural interpreter. and actaslin- explain captionsinmuseums lice, findaccommodation,negotiate jeeps, traditions, helpwithanyhasslesthepo- most mandatory.Aguidewillexplainlocal guide-cum-translator isvery handy,andal- other thanMongolianandRussian, soa No-one inthecountrysidespeaksanything GUIDES and sortout your stuff. inadecenthotelat leastonenight tocleanup guanz booster istheoccasionalmealinadecent water!) Anothermorale in anaimagcapital. (hot morale boosted byatriptobathhouse add timeto the journey. and lengthystopsforachat andasmoke can the vehicle) tostopandrest. regular However, the driver orguidetoohard;allowthem(and For getting anon- around Ulaanbaatar, youcan findguidesthrough In Ulaanbaatar Shop asagroupwhenyoureach acityor Lastly, ifyouareLastly, onalongtrip,you’llfind over thehorizon,untilyoureach ger. thenext GPS (GerPositioningSystem), whichrequires followingthevaguesweepofgerowner’shand can offer goodinfoonthebestroute totake. Ifallelsefails,youcanalwaysrely onMongolian roadwillbecomeimpassable,runningintoariver, swamporwallofmountains;herderslooking will veer offinthewrongdirection, requiring constantcorrections andzigzagging. there probablywon’tbeanyoneroadbetweenplaces. Every few thetrackyou’re kilometres on know theroughdirection. Gobiandsteppe areas tricky– exceptforthemainroutes are particularly the towncentre). Manyplacesare listed inthetableon p284 . book, pluscoordinates for pinpoint yourcoordinates. Wehave given GPScoordinates placesinthis formanyhard-to-find useful indetermining where youare, exactly aslongyouhave areliable maponwhichto Gobi oratangleofconfusingvalleysinthewest,GlobalPositioningSystem (GPS)canbevery When youare travelling aroundthefeatureless ofthe plainsofeastern Mongolia,thedeserts TAKING A GPS It is always a good idea to ask about road conditions at gers along the way. Often agood- It isalwaysagoodideatoaskaboutroadconditionsatgersalongtheway.Often A GPSwon’thelpyouevery even time,asyou’llstillneedtoknowwhichroadtake, ifyou . Ifyouare campingalotthenaddin GETTING AROUND •• Minivan &Jeep AROUND••Minivan GETTING sum (district) andaimagcentres (district) (toanaccuracyofupto1kmfrom lisation eitheron foot (notrecommended),lisation by offaced withthetask tryingtoget back tocivi- down irreparably inaruralarea, you’llbe nite possibility. Should yourvehicle break breaking downonmore isolated roads. The downsideof shortcutsisthepossibilityof but don’tinsistonany–theyare theexpert. take shortcuts whentheyfeel itisworthwhile, you have anexperienceddriver, allowthemto especially toshorten trip.If anuncomfortable the kilometre, youwillwelcomeashortcut, rangetain orragingriver. Ifrenting by ajeep driver ashortcut isahuge fromtaking moun- (but notalways)putoff aMongolianjeep line,andtheonlythingthatcould is astraight leaving the city. spare tyre, request thattheybuyonebefore tyre have irons.Ifthedriver doesn’t auseable the driver hasatyre pump,hydraulicjackand glue, extratyre sure valves andavalve tool.Be tyre-patch kitconsistingof rubberpatches, Insist thatyourdriver bringaspare anda Flat tyres are atime-honoured tradition. US$20 per day. fluent inyourlanguage, at thebiddingstarts specific interest, such asbird-watching, and fessional guidewhoisknowledgeable ina HAZARDS US$5 per day, plus any expenses. Forapro- US$5 perday,plusanyexpenses. aguide(ifyoucanfindone)costsabout tal, food andaccommodation.Inanaimagcapi- you willhave fortravel, toincludeexpenses one aroundthecountrysidefromcapital Serious mechanical breakdownsSerious are adefi- The quickest distance between twopoints The quickest between distance

283 TRANSPORT TRANSPORT TRANSPORT 284 ...... Bayan Uul...... Bayan Tumen...... Batnorov...... Baruun-Urt...... Baldan BaraivanKhiid...... Asgat...... Bayangol...... Bayan Önjuul...... Bayan-Öndör...... ...... Bat-Ölzii...... Arvaikheer...... Ömnödelger...... Öglöchiin Kherem...... Norovlin...... Khökh Nuur(BlueLake)..... Kherlen BarKhot...... Khalzan...... ...... Galshar...... Erdenetsagaan...... ...... Dashbalbar...... Dadal...... ...... Choibalsan...... Binder...... Ondor Ulaan...... Ölziit...... Ögii Nuur...... Ögii Nuur(Lake)...... Naiman Nuur...... Khujirt...... ...... Khashant...... Kharkhorin...... Khangai...... Khandgait...... Jargalant...... Ikh Tamir...... Gunjiin Süm...... Guchin Us...... ...... ...... Delgerkhan...... Chuluut...... Burenbayan Ulaan...... Bogd...... Bayantsagaan...... Khustain NationalPark..... Chinggis Statue...... Batshireet...... Ulaanbaatar...... Tsetseguun Uul...... Stele ofTonyukuk...... ...... Züünbayan-Ulaan...... ...... Uyanga...... Tövkhön Khiid...... Terelj...... Övgön Khiid...... ...... ...... Öndörkhaan...... Tsetserleg Soum...... Tsetserleg City...... Tögrög...... ...... Mönkh Khaan...... ...... EASTERN MONGOLIA Orkhon Khürkhree...... Möngönmorit...... Mandshir Khiid...... Eej Khad(MotherRock)..... CENTRAL MONGOLIA 43°52’36” DMS. between thedegree symbolandthedecimalpoint.Forexample:43°52.598’DMMisequalto your seconds,whichcanberoundedtothenearest wholenumber. The minutes isthenumber multiply thenumberafter thedecimalpoint(includingpoint)by60.The result is minutes anddecimalminutes todegrees, (DMM).Toconvert minutes andseconds(DMS)format, The tableshowslatitudeandlongitude coordinates forvariouslocationsinMongolia,degrees, TABLE COORDINATES GPS ETN RUD • P oriae al AROUND••GPSCoordinatesTable GETTING 47º19.416 47º53.469 48º24.443 48º41.449 46º58.163 46º57.007 48º01.150 48º03.287 46º10.019 47º59.565 46º13.324 45º54.165 47º10.735 49º32.794 49º01.291 49º52.163 48º04.147 48º36.967 49º15.276 49º07.550 48º03.076 47º56.952 46º40.884 48º11.910 46º21.724 47º42.357 46º31.176 48º11.843 46º27.431 48º53.095 47º28.561 47º26.909 49º06.426 47º00.772 45º32.482 47º59.193 48º09.574 47º25.561 46º47.234 48º02.700 48º05.573 47º40.319 47º47.344 46º31.232 48º12.192 47º45.520 46º54.225 47º22.196 47º27.034 47º11.981 47º51.553 48º07.066 48º43.716 47º35.221 48º11.010 45º27.866 47º19.071 48º31.445 47º18.699 46º37.097 47º32.830 45º10.276 44º39.971 46º45.806 45º48.505 46º52.859 46º30.018 47º48.157 46º49.028 46º15.941 47º45.459 70.5 109º09.356 47º06.157 110º11.062 48º41.405 106º55.007 47º55.056 107º00.165 47º48.506 47º41.661 Latitude (N)Longitude(E) Latitude (N)Longitude(E) 110º39.775 109º49.166 110º11.812 111º59.596 112º03.418 115º16.008 108º56.450 113º21.865 112º57.119 118º05.760 110º50.606 115º22.149 109º11.423 114º24.720 111º37.598 115º43.406 114º31.404 110º36.400 113º21.565 112º42.809 114º22.252 111º30.103 113º16.825 109º25.840 113º34.536 106º56.861 102º34.971 104º46.629 102º16.731 101º14.305 101º27.282 101º45.648 102º15.362 102º59.657 107º27.834 103º41.686 101º57.694 100º30.446 102º32.640 102º33.051 102º45.828 101º50.705 108º28.291 106º59.675 102º46.545 102º28.746 103º09.708 102º50.527 106º54.296 100º45.120 101º12.413 107º33.377 102º23.726 104º28.937 101º22.265 106º58.583 104º33.051 101º25.989 102º08.777 107º08.709 103º26.811 105º56.571 104º05.996 101º59.040 102º13.989 102º46.724 99º08.574 99º52.982 99º26.126 105º52.418 107º28.586 100º13.166 ...... Bayankhongor...... ...... ...... Bayan-Uul...... Bayan-Ovoo...... Bayan Dalai...... Baga GazrynChuluu...... ...... Altanshiree...... Altai Soum...... ...... Bayangol...... Baruunburen...... Amarbayasgalant Khiid..... Altanbulag...... Erdenedalai...... Delgerekh...... Delger...... Dalanzadgad...... Choir...... ...... ...... Bugat...... Böön TsagaanNuur...... Bömbogor...... Biger...... Bayanzag...... THE GOBI Khötöl...... Khishig-Öndör...... Khatgal...... Khankh...... Khangal...... Gurvanbulag...... Five Rivers...... Erdenet...... Erdenebulgan...... Dulaankhaan...... Dashinchinlen...... Dashchoinkhorlon Khiid..... Darkhan...... Chandman-Öndör...... Bulgan City...... Bugat...... Borsog...... Arbulag...... NORTHERN MONGOLIA Khar BukhBalgas...... Jiglegiin Am...... Chuluut andIder...... Züünkharaa...... Uran Uul...... Ulaan Uul...... Tosontsengel...... Tsagaannuur (Selenge)...... Tsagaannuur (Khövsgöl)... Tsagaan Uur...... Tsetserleg...... Toilogt...... Teshig...... Selenge...... Saikhan...... Renchinlkhumbe...... Khutag-Öndör...... Sükhbaatar...... Shine-Ider...... Orkhontuul...... Orkhon...... Mörön...... Mogod...... Ongon...... Uul Bayan...... Tsagaan Ovoo...... Tsenkhermandal...... Sümber...... Sükhbaatar...... Shiliin Bogd...... 45º21.509 45º48.157 46º21.074 43º34.355 45º47.994 46º10.411 44º05.312 45º33.440 45º37.114 46º12.279 45º42.583 44º08.311 44º32.555 46º11.637 44º44.017 46º48.223 46º59.129 42º58.607 43º27.898 46º13.827 45º33.266 45º32.046 44º37.010 46º22.388 48º51.466 48º59.855 50º40.668 49º31.959 50º05.835 51º21.778 50º32.391 49º28.650 50º39.266 49º57.649 50º14.196 48º57.213 49º26.647 48º39.448 51º06.504 48º49.202 49º08.621 49º38.143 48º16.372 49º22.990 49º05.486 48º17.678 50º26.517 51º30.070 49º18.810 47º44.499 49º15.475 49º01.855 50º06.880 49º55.103 47º51.179 48º47.821 49º29.232 50º28.436 48º48.722 49º02.874 50º59.677 48º55.472 49º09.753 49º54.949 49º28.648 50º19.225 46º30.036 47º44.673 48º33.864 47º38.174 46º46.285 45º28.350 Latitude (N)Longitude(E) 46º00.418 75.9 103º53.513 47º53.198 100º16.003 51º00.406 100º40.335 49º10.415 Latitude (N)Longitude(E) 113º08.297 113º52.646 114º35.349 104º56.996 111º12.823 104º25.673 109º18.462 103º32.297 103º43.667 100º49.809 100º43.115 100º23.476 106º06.994 103º30.763 106º04.192 110º27.017 106º27.154 102º44.003 105º25.989 101º31.806 100º53.074 100º14.961 102º35.657 106º11.911 103º58.903 102º37.851 104º49.920 105º24.891 100º09.321 102º59.520 102º41.417 105º34.903 103º27.086 100º09.599 100º41.382 104º22.629 103º30.103 100º40.385 104º03.316 101º35.589 106º11.302 104º02.281 103º30.687 105º56.480 100º56.378 103º32.213 103º40.389 100º42.983 106º05.486 104º48.686 105º05.122 106º29.392 112º20.769 109º03.909 113º14.380 118º36.421 97º22.011 98º41.637 94º20.571 99º15.350 99º37.234 97º10.354 98º06.189 95º11.863 99º26.188 94º55.131 96º15.164 99º13.920 97º46.011 99º21.082 99º32.297 99º40.234 99º26.537 WESTERN MONGOLIA Batuunturuun...... Altantsögts...... Altai...... Ölgii City...... Ölgii (Uvs)...... Nogoonuur...... Naranbulag...... Khovd City...... Khovd (Uvs)...... Erdenkhairkhan...... Erdeneburen...... Dörgon...... Deluun...... Darvi...... Chandmani...... Bulgan (Khovd)...... Bulgan (Bayan-Ölgii)...... Nomgon...... Khüreemaral...... Khövsgöl...... Khökhmorit...... Khatanbulag...... Khanbogd...... Khamaryn Khiid...... Jargalant...... Gurvantes...... Gurj LamiinKhiid...... Govi-Ugtal...... ...... Erdentsogt...... Tsenkheriin Agui...... 97º20.546 Khökh Nuur...... Yolyn Am...... Tsagaan Agui...... Takhi ResearchStation...... Zavkhanmandal...... Zavkhan (Uvs)...... Üüreg Nuur...... Urgamal...... Uliastai...... Ulaankhus...... Ulaangom...... Tüdevtei...... Tosontsengel...... Zamyn-Üüd...... Zag...... Ulaanbadrakh...... Tsogttsetsii...... Tsogt-Ovoo...... Tsengel...... Tsagaannuur...... Tsagaankhairkhan...... Tsagaanchuluut...... Tseel...... Nuur...... Tolbo...... Tes...... Telmen...... ...... Otgon...... Öndörkhangai...... Tsogt...... Taihshir...... Süm KhökhBurd...... Sevrei...... Sainshand...... Saikhan-Ovoo...... Orog Nuur...... Ongiin Khiid...... Ondorshil...... Möst...... Mankhan...... Shinejist...... Manlai...... Mandalgov...... Mandal-Ovoo...... Mandakh...... lonelyplanet.com Latitude (N)Longitude(E) 72.2 91º57.225 47º20.828 47º37.207 104º04.000 43º29.332 101º10.187 93º39.055 44º42.604 45º32.197 48º19.071 48º49.463 50º05.236 48º30.653 47º44.591 49º02.525 49º58.764 48º59.390 48º57.213 49º31.437 49º24.209 47º06.531 48º45.286 48º35.320 48º24.557 49º39.013 48º38.197 48º54.688 47º12.488 49º15.849 48º58.070 49º01.306 49º36.923 49º23.164 46º41.626 47º24.557 48º00.430 49º16.720 48º07.228 48º30.131 48º19.768 47º51.553 46º56.181 43º39.100 46º05.486 46º55.559 49º38.578 49º02.700 45º49.115 43º42.967 46º56.168 43º52.598 43º43.541 44º24.906 45º20.813 45º33.266 46º42.671 46º09.621 44º32.917 43º35.617 44º53.576 45º27.459 45º02.692 45º20.367 45º13.585 42º50.160 44º04.441 45º46.042 44º39.100 44º24.122 46º24.523 43º36.314 47º21.248 43º08.882 43º12.000 44º36.038 47º01.480 43º13.759 43º29.030 46º01.916 46º42.061 46º25.080 100º26.057 111º54.651 110º24.686 105º35.040 105º19.406 105º45.590 102º09.737 110º08.351 103º54.110 100º36.314 104º00.306 108º15.223 105º08.983 106º51.703 106º16.380 104º02.880 108º13.851 109º39.017 109º08.709 107º11.862 110º16.650 101º03.360 103º50.930 107º30.377 100º07.131 100º49.234 95º06.789 93º06.103 91º04.587 94º16.046 96º50.582 89º26.929 92º04.028 96º32.229 89º09.257 89º46.697 94º13.440 96º39.497 98º05.992 90º04.536 90º16.457 95º49.029 97º09.900 89º39.429 97º36.391 94º51.154 89º58.028 92º00.411 90º13.577 92º34.286 92º48.000 92º12.617 91º38.474 90º54.720 95º44.229 91º26.811 92º37.303 90º44.160 93º37.158 92º48.411 91º32.571 91º04.594 94º23.177 92º15.497 99º09.806 96º37.166 95º51.223 96º29.623 99º17.349 98º17.037 94º30.446 99º30.103 There isno easysolution,butithelpstotravel phone; see p260 ). (orbringasatellitegroup usingtwojeeps The safest solutionistotravel withasmall hitching, orbywhatever meansisavailable. lonelyplanet.com the tyres outof the mud). (driversunder thewheels usuallytrytojack you canhelpbygatheringflatstonestoplace drivers willget outashovel digging; andstart tor tocomeandtowthevehicle out.Other word tothenearest farmortownforatrac- their haunches, have asmoke andthensend tions whentheyget bogged. Somewillsiton wildflower meadow to slush. compacted undertyres,instantly reducing a of which water are inthedecayinggrasses, a springyalpinebog,holdinghuge amounts onaslope,isoften theground,even because forests themosttroubleof cause all.Thisis theworst problems,but driving wouldpose thinkthatmountain Youmight mountains. hours whentemperatures are relatively low. during theearly-morningorlate-afternoon Mongolian drivers have oneof tworeac- Most of and Mongoliaisgrassland,desert easilyoverheat.A warning:Russianjeeps ROAD DISTANCES(km) Uliastai Ulaangom Ulaanbaatar Tsetserleg Sükhbaatar Sainshand Öndörkhaan Ölgii (Khövsgöl aimag) Mörön Mandalgov Khovd Darkhan Dalanzadgad Choibalsan Bulgan Bayankhongor Baruun-Urt Arvaikheer 1214 1234 1561 1001 1656 1122 1332 874 371 571 502 218 662 948 879 424 635 583 Altai AROUND••Taxi GETTING (Gov-Altai aimag) 1188 1085 1206 688 663 373 200 990 266 430 659 377 596 308 995 Arvaikheer 761 679 1190 1013 1544 1896 1985 2196 1231 871 340 878 560 191 856 779 613 Baruun-Urt 229 1285 1006 863 830 218 503 630 497 988 577 795 751 508 627 Bayankhongor 961 1033 1180 1344 781 649 340 289 326 807 973 725 248 578 Bulgan 353 1108 1639 1074 2080 2291 1326 531 324 966 655 991 874 Choibalsan 741 1585 1074 1372 1583 1056 516 710 864 643 553 772 Dalanzadgad 293 1281 1519 1582 682 550 537 219 989 479 601

Darkhan 92 1612 1658 1756 1425 1303 travel andontoSükhbaatar northtoDarkhan, Dornod aimag,tothe Russian border. of thecapital fromChoibalsan, runs weekly Anothertrain (fromUlaanbaatar). Baganuur andthecoal-miningcityofDarkhan) copper-mining centre of Erdenet(from In addition,there are twospurlines:tothe line.) thissame and international trainsuse ing ChinawithRussia. (Boththedomestic connect- up of theTrans-MongolianRailway, The 1810kmof railway lineisprimarily made TRAIN or jeep Furgon minivan. the countrysidemeansthatmosttravel isby The general appallingqualityof roadsaround ontheunpaveda Hyundai-styletaxi steppes. impractical onHongKong’sbackstreets, sois ButjustasaHumvee is sibly Kharkhorin. Zuunmod, Terelj, Erdenetandpos- Darkhan, pavedthese to roads,egfromUlaanbaatar actually paved. Taxis are along onlyuseful –ofhighway which onlyaround 1900kmis Mongolia claimstohave about49,250kmof TAXI 438 238 465 211 Khovd 853 From Ulaanbaatar, dailyexpressFrom Ulaanbaatar, trains 1383 1314 571 355 417 500 260 967 Mandalgov 913 1134 1002 693 413 680 671 388 Mörön 991 (Khövsgöl aimag) 1869 1967 1823 1220 1636 311 Ölgii 676 1667 1315 302 642 784 Öndörkhaan 331 1738 1355 774 855 Sainshand 463 1373 1147 629 Sükhbaatar 311 883 430 531 Tsetserleg 1336 Ulaanbaatar 984 529 Ulaangom

285 TRANSPORT TRANSPORT TRANSPORT fight to get a seat. Ifyou’re togetfight aseat. nottravelling below have), youwillalmostcertainly to like the hard seat but everyone gets buteveryone like their own thehardseat dirty. Ahardsleeper sold, sothecarriages are alwayscrowdedand bunks noranylimittotheamountof tickets ally paddedbunksbutthere are noassigned are class,theseats actu- Inhard-seat soft seat. and hardsleeper trains:hardseat, passenger There are ondomestic usuallythree classes Classes drink on local trains. theredrinks. Otherwise, isnothingtoeator travel bread aroundthetrainselling andfizzy gage onboard.Youngboysandgirlsusually andtheothercanbringlug- find seats alone, oneof youcanscrambleonboardand transport. domestic for theTrans-MongolianRailway can’t use terminating You atChoirtwiceaweek. Choir andSainshand.There are alsotrains via toZamyn-Üüd, trains fromUlaanbaatar or Erdenet.Tothesouth,there are dailydirect 286 © LonelyPlanetPublications When travelling in hard-seat class (see When travelling class(see inhard-seat ETN RUD • ri AROUND••Train GETTING (platzkartnuu) looksjust tces available. tickets there class, though willalwaysbehard-seat general, bookingaheadisagoodideaforany ture. There maybeasmallbookingfee. In this canbedoneupto10daysbefore depar- wellinadvance– tobookasoftimportant seat the lapof luxury,andworth paying extra. mutton. Compared class,it’s withhard-seat vestment sincesomeof thequiltssmelllike provided in- foraboutT900,which isawise noisy. Ifyoutravel cleansheets are atnight, partment mates aren’t rip-roaringdrunkand assuming,ofsleep, thatyourcom- course, given anassignedbed,andwillbeable to partments withfourbedsineach. Youare carriagesThe soft-seat are dividedintocom- isprohibitivehard seat) formostMongolians. ence (usuallyatleastdoublethepriceof the conditions are thepricediffer- much better: the stand hard seats. available ifyoudecidecan’t tosoft seat of andablanket sheets (T900).Upgradesare bunk andthere istheoptionof getting aset If you’re travelling itis fromUlaanbaatar, areSoft seats onlyalittlebitsofter, butthe lonelyplanet.com HEALTH

287 (WHO; www.who.int)

© Lonely Planet Publications Planet Lonely © World Health Organization While you may prefer a policy that pays While you may prefer any existing medical conditions Declare Western medicine can be in short supply in short medicine can be in Western of contact lensesof and glasses, your and take INSURANCE INSURANCE If your health insurance does not cover insurance does not cover If your health you for medical expenses abroad, consider supplemental (Check the Lonely insurance. at www.lonelyplanet.com/ Planet website information.) more travel_services for hospital bills on the spot, rather than pay- and sending in in documents later, ing first Mongolia the only place that might accept ). p66 (see clinic this is the SOS Medica to the insurance company; if your problem the company will not cover is pre-existing You may require you if it is not declared. – make activities for adventurous extra cover for a fall if you plan on covered you are sure un- If you are or a motorbike. riding a horse evacuation is expensive, emergency insured, not uncommon. US$100,000 with bills over RECOMMENDED VACCINATIONS The for be covered that all travellers recommends diphtheria, tetanus, measles, mumps, rubella their destination. As of and polio, regardless most vaccines don’t produce immunity until visit given, at least two weeks they’re after depar- a physician at least six weeks before clinics are Specialised travel-medicine ture. information; they stock your best source of specific vaccines and will be able to give optical prescription with you. Bring medica- optical prescription con- original, clearly labelled tions in their your from letter signed and dated A tainers. medical conditions physician describing your names, generic and medications, including or If carrying syringes is also a good idea. a physician’s letter to have needles, be sure medical necessity. documenting their comes from China Most medicine Mongolia. and the labels won’t be in English, and Russia might you think you so bring whatever need prescribed extra supplies of Take from home. into separatemedicine and divide it pieces goes that way if one piece luggage; astray, of back-up supply. a you’ll still have Insurance 287 Insurance Resources Internet Diarrhoea Traveller’s 288 291 The following advice is a general guide guide The following advice is a general Before You Go Before Recommended Vaccinations Reading Further In Transit (DVT) Thrombosis Deep Vein 287 Jet Lag & Motion Sickness In Mongolia Care & Cost of Health Availability 287 Diseases Infectious 288 Environmental Hazards 289 288 288 Traditional Medicine 288 289 289 291 292 risk to your health in The biggest Mongolia’s dry, cold climate and sparse and sparse Mongolia’s dry, cold climate make a beeline for Ulaanbaatar to have your a beeline for Ulaanbaatarmake to have ailment diagnosed. to seek a doctor the advice of only; be sure medicine. trained in travel BEFORE YOU GO to staying healthy is the key Prevention depar- before A little planning while abroad. illnesses, particularly for pre-existing ture, See be- your dentist trouble later. will save pair going on a long trip, carry a spare fore CONTENTS of few are human habitation means there diseases the infectious that plague tropical The rough-and-tumble countries in Asia. however, presents landscape and lifestyle, its own. Injuries sustained from of challenges common in the summer are a horse falling off the are season. threats the biggest In winter, wildfire like spread flu and pneumonia, which in November. medical training is patchy the standard of If you do be- poor. very at best, and often come seriously ill in Mongolia, your local Western details of embassy can provide evacuation require Emergencies doctors. to Seoul or Beijing. If in the countryside, Health Health Mongolia may be the hospitals. The Mongolia may be the hospitals. The low and is chronically doctors number of HEALTH an International Certificate ofan International Certificate Vaccination and pregnant women.Ask yourdoctorfor forchildrenThis isespeciallyimportant recommendations foryouandyourtrip. 288 „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ country. your pharmacistforbrandsavailablein –consult sider includinginyourmedicalkit Following isalistofitems youshouldcon- MEDICAL KITCHECKLIST

Water purification tabletsoriodine Rehydration mixture (eg Gastrolyte) – to Sunscreen, lipbalmandeyedrops Scissors,tweezers andathermometer – Multivitamins–considerforlongtrips, Loperamideordiphenoxylate –‘block- repellent Insect (DEET-based) Coldandflutablets,throatlozenges Calamine lotion, sting-relief sprayor Bandages,Band-Aids(plasters) and Aspirin orparacetamol(acetaminophen – Antiseptic(suchaspovidone-iodine) Antinausea medication Antifungalcream orpowder(eg Clot- Antibiotics(prescription only)–for Antibacterial cream (eg Muciprocin) NTAST • epVi hobss(V) IN TRANSIT••DeepVein Thrombosis(DVT) prohibited byairlines note thatmercurythermometers are inadequate maybewhen dietaryvitaminintake ers’ fordiarrhoea and nasaldecongestant bitesburn andinsect orstings aloe vera –toeaseirritationfromsun- other wounddressings in theUSA)–forpainorfever for cutsandgrazes (eg Prochlor perazine) and thrush infectionsrimazole) –forfungalskin need itrefilled the prescription withyouincase travel well‘offthebeaten track’carry important whentravelling withchildren)important during boutsofdiarrhoea(particularly prevent dehydration,whichmayoccur women or peoplewiththyroid problems) (iodine isnottobeused bypregnant while sitting,drinkplentyof fluidsand about thecabin,contractleg muscles youshould walkregularlyon longflights fr families. for Lonely Planet’s Deborah Mills(www.travellingwell.com.au). Richard Dawoodand references include get sickontheroad.Otherrecommended information,andwhattodoifyou disease ning, emergency first and aid,immunisation informationincludingpre-tripuseful plan- is ahandypocket sizeandpacked with Lonely Planet’s FURTHER READING and is updated daily. health recommendations country forevery health.com, which provides complete travel terest isMDTravel Health atwww.mdtravel .who.int/ith. Anotherwebsite of general in- and isavailable onlineatnocostwww Travel &Health, publishes asuperbbookcalled TheWHO.com isagoodplacetostart. Lonely Planetwebsite atwww.lonelyplanet the internet. Forfurtherinformation,the There is awealthof travel healthadviceon RESOURCES INTERNET have received, andtake it with you. which willlistallof thevaccinationsyou knownastheyellowbooklet),(otherwise plenty of nonalchoholic fluidsand eatlight more thanfive time zones)trytodrink To avoid jetlag(common whencrossing JET LAG&MOTION SICKNESS alcohol. avoid should immediately seek medical attention. ties. Travellers withany of symptoms these chestmay cause painandbreathing difficul- When abloodclottravels tothelungs,it usually butnotalwaysonjustoneside. swelling orpainof thefoot, ankle,orcalf, the risk.Thechief is symptomof DVT immobility. Thelonger thegreater theflight, of chieflyplane flights, because prolonged Blood clotsmayforminthelegsduring DEEP VEINTHROMBOSIS(DVT) IN TRANSIT To prevent of thedevelopment DVT Travel with Children Healthy Travel Asia &India which annually isrevised Traveller’s Health Travelling Well lonelyplanet.com International is useful isuseful byDr by Dr

lonelyplanet.com Most basic drugsare available without apre- with Western doctors, charges around$200. SOS Medica, areliable clinicinUlaanbaatar costaroundUS$5,although Consultations best advicewillcome fromyourembassy. travel agency The ortop-endhotel might. know thebestplacetogo,buta reputable carefully. OrdinaryMongolians won’t anddoctor yourhospital butchoose baatar, Health care isreadily available inUlaan- AVAILABILITY &COSTOFHEALTH CARE IN MONGOLIA tive is ginger. treating motion sickness.Aherbalalterna- Bonine) are usuallythefirst choice for (Dramamine) andmeclizine(Antivert, etc)assoon meals, sleep as possible. andreadjustral sunlight yourschedule (for meals. Uponarrival,get exposure tonatu- Antihistamines such asdimenhydrinateAntihistamines spending more thanonemonthinruralareas inthesummermonths. for Hepatitis A. Side effects arefor HepatitisA.Sideeffects mildanduncommon,usuallyheadachesore arm. sation isgivenasthree dosesoversixmonths,thougharapidscheduleisalsoavailable,ascombinedvaccination suchasheadacheandsore armoccurwithsomepeople. sideeffects Mild 20 years’protection. sore armandfever. Adult Diphtheria &Tetanus The WHOrecommends thefollowingvaccinationsfortravel toMongolia: REQUIRED &RECOMMENDED VACCINATIONS Tuberculosis (TB) rare –occasionallyheadache andsore arm. Rabies Pneumonia Japanese BEncephalitis orlungdisease. cal conditionssuchasheart Influenza special risk: The followingare recommended forlong-term travellers (more thanonemonth) orthoseat Varicella Typhoid youngadultsneedabooster. receiving thevaccine. Many aweekafter illnesscandevelop Occasionally arashandflu-like Measles, Mumps &Rubella(MMR) Hepatitis B Hepatitis A spending more thanthree monthsinChinaand/orMongoliashouldbevaccinated. travel,ratherthanavaccination.Onlyonevaccineisgiveninlifetime. testbefore Children andafter underfive skin mended asithasfewer Asore sideeffects. armandfever mayoccur. two tothree yearsandcomesasasingledose. Tablets isusuallyrecom- are alsoavailable,althoughtheinjection or with underlying medical conditions that compromise immunity, such as heart orlungdisease,cancerHIV.or withunderlyingmedicalconditionsthatcompromiseimmunity,suchasheart Three injections are required. A booster after one year will then provide 10 years’ protection. Side effects are Sideeffects are one yearwillthenprovide10years’protection. required. Three injections Aboosterafter Recommended unless your trip is less than a week. The vaccine offers around 70% protection, lastsfor Thevaccineoffers around70%protection, islessthanaweek. unlessyourtrip Recommended If you haven’t had chickenpox discussthisvaccinationwithyourdoctor. Ifyouhaven’thadchickenpox Asinglejablastsoneyearandisrecommended forthoseover65yearsofageorwithunderlyingmedi- Now considered routine for most travellers, it provides lifetime protection for95%ofpeople.Immuni- Nowconsidered routine formosttravellers,itprovideslifetime protection Provides almost 100% protection for up to a year; a booster after 12monthsprovidesatleastanother foruptoayear;boosterafter Providesalmost100%protection A single injection with a booster after fiveyearsisrecommended foralltravellersover65yearsofage withaboosterafter Asingleinjection INMONGOLIA••Availability &CostofHealthCare A complex issue. High-risk adultlong-termtravellersare usuallyrecommended tohaveaTB Acomplexissue.High-risk Involves a series of three injections with a booster after two years. Recommended if twoyears. Recommended withaboosterafter ofthree injections Involvesaseries Singleboosterrecommended 10years.include ifnoneintheprevious Sideeffects TwodosesofMMRare recommended unlessyouhavehadthediseases. constipation. The onset ofconstipation. Theonset thesymptoms fatigue. There and,later, maybediarrhoea headaches, jointandmusclepains, fever and freshly killedmeatcanalso be infected. with opencutsontheirhandswho handle milk oreatinghome-madecheese. People isbydrinking unboiled contract thisdisease humans. Themostlikely wayforhumansto yaks, camelsandsheep butitcanalsoaffect area for of cattle brucellosis. This isadisease (FAO) reports thatMongolia isahigh-risk The UNFood&Agricultural Organization Brucellosis INFECTIOUS DISEASES available outsidethe main cities. won’tbe pons withthemonatripasthese travellers totake padsandtam- willneed the countrysideistherefore risky.Female nonexistent. Taking very smallchildren to inthecountrysideare abysmalor services scription. See p66 formore Health details. In humans, brucellosis causes severeIn humans,brucellosis causes

289 HEALTH HEALTH HEALTH Plague) isnormallycarriedbymarmots, liver time needs to recover. alcohol forsometimeafter theillness,as eyes. People whohave hepatitisshould avoid low) skinandyellowing of thewhites of the urine, light-coloured faeces,jaundiced(yel- vomiting,abdominal pain,darknausea, of weakness,followedbylossof appetite, ache, fatigue,aches andpainsfeelings the illness,andincludefever, chills, head- The symptomsare similarinallformsof the liver. worldwide. It isacommondisease This isageneral term forinflammation of Hepatitis sprayed with disinfectant. reported,plague hasbeen andvehicles are checkedthoroughly whenanoutbreak of the frominfectedinto Ulaanbaatar areas are also land travel. andcars Alltrains,buses travelling is prohibited, which can greatly over- affect may be used. in Mongolia. Tetracycline isanotherdrugthat jected intramuscularly,butitisnotavailable antibiotic streptomycin, which mustbein- can bequicklytreated. Thebestdrugisthe 60% deathrate, butifyouget toadoctorit lymph nodes.Theuntreated hasa disease ing. Thesymptomsare fever andenlarged fromhumantobycough- be passed home ontheinfected animals.Itcanalso humans bybites fromfleasthatmake their squirrels andratscanbetransmitted to occur inAugust and September. late summer. Almost90%of reported cases appearance inremote partsof Mongoliain Europe duringtheMiddleAges) makes an (which wipedoutone-thirdofThis disease Plague Bubonic Mongolia. outside medicalattention, preferably seek disease If youthinkmayhave contracted the quires bloodtests tomake thediagnosis. Fatalities are rare but possible. long-term healthproblems.and cancause which recurs sporadicallyformonths oryears butpeoplecangetweeks, chronic brucellosis, weeks. two after exposure, withtheaverage timebeing can occurfromfive months daystoseveral 290 The disease (alsoknownastheBlack The disease which re- disease Brucellosis isaserious Most patientsrecover intwoorthree During anoutbreak, travel toinfected areas NMNOI • Ifciu iess Diseases IN MONGOLIA••Infectious and death.Theincubationperiodforrabies tions toprevent of the onset thesymptoms promptlytoreceivesought acourse of injec- or iodinesolution.Medical helpshould be and runningwater, andthenapplyalcohol immediately Scrubwithsoap andthoroughly. alickfromananimalshouldeven becleaned thatisinfectious.saliva Anybite, scratch or are often viciousandcanberabid; itistheir In theMongoliancountryside,familydogs Rabies the othertypes of hepatitis. B, butthere are currently novaccinesagainst can alsoleadto long-term complications. are spread wayashepatitisBand inthesame or long-term carrierstate. Hepatitis CandD lems such aschronic liver damage, liver cancer canleadtolong-term prob- and thedisease of hepatitisBmaybemore severe thantypeA blood productsorbodyfluids.Thesymptoms spread withinfected contact through blood, women. pregnant in hepatitis A;itcanbeparticularlyserious Hepatitis Eistransmittedwayas inthesame andavoidingfluids, eatinglightly fattyfoods. can doapartfromresting, drinkinglotsof medical advice,butthere isnotmuch you food anddrinkingwater. Youshould seek is safe todrink, and thesouring of milkto boiled milk.Milkthathas been unpasteurised may betransmitted consumptionof through from person toperson butwhich bycoughing TB isabacterial infection usuallytransmitted (TB) Tuberculosis return. your during yourtravels, have anSTD check upon attention. Ifyouhave active sexually been immediate medical when passingurineseek anyrash,lumps,dischargedevelop orpain or herpes.Ifafter encounter anysexual you andchlamydia but notsyphilis gonorrhoea no signsof infection. Condomswillprevent People often diseases have carryingthese andchlamydia.herpes, syphilis,gonorrhoea The mostcommonSTDs inMongoliainclude Sexually TransmittedDiseases(STDs) on thelegsit’s 60 days. face orneckit’saslittle10days,whereas depends onwhere you’re bitten. Onthehead, Hepatitis Aistransmitted bycontaminated There are vaccinesagainsthepatitisAand Hepatitis BisendemicinMongolia. It is lonelyplanet.com common intravellers. Symptomsinclude lonelyplanet.com metronidazole isa option. second months. Thetreatment of choice istinidazole; ally goawayifleft untreated, but thiscantake specific togiardiasis. Theparasite willeventu- attributed solelytogiardiasis, butmaynotbe termittent diarrhoea. ‘Eggy’ burpsare often bloating,excessgas,fatigue and in- nausea, seek medical attention. chills orsevere abdominalpainyoushould hours orisaccompaniedbyfever, shaking, isbloody,persists formorerhoea than72 agent (such as Loperamide).Ifdiar-rhoeal (usually aquinolonedrug)andanantidiar- anantibiotic taking a day,youshouldstart havingif youstart more thanfourorfive few stoolsdon’trequire loose treatment, but oral rehydration solution(egDioralyte). A plenty of nonalcoholic fluids,preferably an meals. buffet-style and avoid foodthatishotthrough milk. Eat unpasteurised contain products thatmight bles ifcooked andbe waryof orpeeled, dairy clear of ice. Onlyeatfresh fruitsorvegeta- disinfected andsteer (withiodinetablets), boiled,filteredless ithasbeen orchemically To prevent avoid water tap un- diarrhoea, later ifyou become ill. travel thedisease asthiscanhelpdiagnose tohaveon. Youmayneed aTBtest before you usually required ispassed before thedisease withaninfected contact household person is Travellers are usuallynotatgreat riskasclose make alsokillsthebacilli. yogurtorcheese TAELRS DIARRHOEA TRAVELLER’S Giardiasis isaparasite thatisrelatively If you develop diarrhoea, besure diarrhoea, If youdevelop todrink

„ „ DRINKING WATER „ „ „

Tap water yousickbutbecauseof inUlaanbaatarandothercitiesprobablywon’tmake Bottledwater isgenerallysafe atpurchase. –checkthatthesealisintact Water filters shouldfilter outviruses. Ensure yourfilter hasa chemicalbarriersuchasiodine The bestchemicalpurifierisiodine. Itshouldnotbeusedbypregnant womenorthosewith fromstreams astheyare andlakes Becautiousaboutdrinking easilypolluted bylivestock. long-term health. antiquated plumbingthewater maycontaintracesofmetalswhichwon’tbegoodforyour and asmallpore size (eg lessthanfourmicrons). thyroid problems. boil yourwater. Water isusuallyOKifyoucangetithighupinthemountains,nearsource. Ifindoubt, INMONGOLIA••Traveller’sDiarrhoea especially prepared. Even inthelowlands, be across thecountry,particularlyatnight, alongbus tripaltitudes orsimply taking Ifyouaretake seriously. trekking athigh met to-40°C,cold issomethingyoushould In a country where temperatures canplum- Hypothermia fluids ifthey are conscious. ortowelandfan continually. Givewet sheet move their clothingandcover themwitha victimsoutofor delirious.Get thesun,re- aggressiveVictims canbecomeconfused, theskinbecomesflushed andred.ceased, body temperature. Where sweatinghas sweating very much (oratall)andahigh heatstroke. to fluidscanleaveinsufficient youvulnerable tinuous exposure temperatures tohigh and perature todangerous Long,con- rises levels. mechanism breaks downandthebodytem- can occurifthebody’sheat-regulating condition occasionallyfatal, This serious, Heatstroke 500m even sary; can help. immediate however, worse, descentisneces- for headaches. Ifsymptomspersist orbecome or two. Paracetamol oraspirincanbetaken altitudeuntilrecoverysame –usuallyaday petite. Treat mildsymptomsbyresting atthe andlossof sleeping ap- dizziness, difficulty Mild symptomsincludeheadache, lethargy, experience altitudesickness inMongolia. inrare will Except onlymountaineers cases, Sickness Altitude ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS The symptomsare feeling unwell,not

291 HEALTH HEALTH HEALTH the above - ‘Do the right thingwithourcontent.’ the above -‘Dotheright thetermsandconditions onoursiteforalongerwayofsaying youknow,orresell it.See everyone site,mass emailitto only. Inotherwords, pleasedon’tuploadthischapterto apeer-to-peer Inreturn, wethinkit’sfair toaskyouuseitforpersonal,non-commercial purposes restricted. © LonelyPlanetPublications. iteasier foryoutouse,accessthischapterisnotdigitally Tomake wherewear boots,socksandlongtrousers yourchancesmise of beingbitten always small berus), common Europeanviperoradder snakes: theHalys viper urgent medical care. fer severe breathing andrequire difficulties who are allergic andwaspsmaysuf- tobees reduce people the painandswelling.However, relief spray willgive relief andicepackswill lotionorsting- than dangerous. Calamine andwaspstingsare usuallypainfulrather Bee Bites &Stings fluid to drink. simple sugars togenerate heatquicklyand basic supplies,includingfoodcontaining blanket foremergencies iftrekking). Carry proof (anda‘space’ outer layerisessential thehead.Astrong,water-is lostthrough asalotofmaterials. A hatisimportant, heat new artificialfibres are allgoodinsulting to dress in layers; silk,woolandsomeof the core temperature of thebodyfalls.Itisbest heat faster thanitcanproduceandthe plummeting. temperature the sudden windsfromthenorthcansend 292 © LonelyPlanetPublications Mongolia hasfourspeciesof venomous Hypothermia occurs whenthebodyloses NMNOI • TaiinlMdcn IN MONGOLIA••TraditionalMedicine taphrometaphon lineolatum Orsini’s viper (vipera ursine) (agkistrodon halys), . Tomini- andthe (vipera

Rinpoche Süm (see p76 ). traditional-medicine clinicsattheBakula Tibetan there practices.InUlaanbaatar, are and medicine here onbothChinese isbased to read prayers forthesick.Traditional pieces of paper. are often Lamas employed theswallowing ofeven prayers written ontiny native herbs,ground-uprockorbone,and munism. Medicine often involves of theuse in Mongolia,after suppression duringcom- Traditional medicinehasmadeacomeback TRADITIONAL MEDICINE the sun to dry. washed invery hot,soapywater andleftin the liceandinfected clothingshouldthenbe like. Powderorshampoo treatment willkill people orbysharing combs,clothingandthe catch direct licethrough withinfected contact hair, yourclothing,orinpubichair. You fort. Theymake themselves athomeinyour itching anddiscom- may help.Alllicecause lotionorasting-reliefrows. Calamine spray leave itchyon thewall.Bedbugs bites inneat byspotsofevidenced bloodonbedclothesor ticularly indirtymattresses andbedding, firewood. collecting into holesandcrevices, andbecareful when snakes maybepresent. Don’tputyourhands Bedbugs live invariousplaces,butpar-Bedbugs lonelyplanet.com