Mongolia

Transport

Driving:

,, When you leave the capital, Ulaanbaatar, you discover the end of the asphalt. You traverse into the rambling steppe that is the Mongolian farmland. The streets become soil ways that have such huge numbers of potholes and rocks, that you're mostly happier merely driving on the grass."

Bus in Ulaanbaatar

Bus tickets within Ulaanbaatar cost 500MNT (0.18 USD) only. You need to buy a U-money card in advance for around 4000MNT (The price may have had increased). You can charge it with the amount of your choice.

Bus lines are hard to use since they don't consistently run along a single street, or follow a single direction. The lines are only known by their final destination (a.k.a Zaisan), and a sense of general direction. Most tourists will choose to take taxi instead.

Mongolia - Ticket inspector on the train - j.k. photo

Ulaanbaatar - traffic police - p.a. photo

Accomodation

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Mongolia - Yurt hotel - c.h. photo

Food

Restaurants:

Restaurants (except the very high-end) don’t provide knives. They expect you to eat with a spoon and forks only. That can be an inconvenience for many foreign tourists.

There are many Korean restaurants (mainly to cater the South Korean tourist groups)

In the restaurants, bars, check prices before ordering.

Mongolia - Khuushuur (or Huushuur), large, fried, meat dumplings - n.a. photo

Mongolia - Boodog, barbecued goat - a.k. photo

Shopping

Money:

In Mongolia money only comes in paper, no coins.

“Currency exchange mainly takes place in banks, where the major currencies of other countries are exchanged without any problems. Though we had some Hungarian forints they didn’t take. We can pay in US dollars everywhere in the capital, even in the markets. In fact, they’re delighted when you do, especially in the camps. Everywhere that you pay in dollars, they give the change in tugriks.

Caution! Your dollar bills should not be crumpled, torn, or in any way less than intact. Otherwise, there are none of the regulations on their use that you may encounter in other Asian nations. You can pay by card everywhere in the capital, even at the market.

One thing which is always hazy and uncertain concerns whether tipping is expected. In Mongolia it VERY MUCH IS! The tip rate is 5000-20000 MNT, depending on satisfaction. A rough conversion shows this is comparable to European norms.

With the development of tourism, the euro is also becoming an increasingly accepted payment option.

You don’t have to worry about getting counterfeit money in change.

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,, The first large grocery store was built in Ulaanbaatar in 1923. In recent years, both small shops and large supermarkets have mushroomed. There’s an extensive range of products on offer. At first, there was mainly a supply of domestic goods, but now the stock of foreign wares has also increased. Most produce is Chinese, Russian, Polish, or German, but the products of many countries are now available. One strange thing is that you can only get fresh meat at the meat market; the stores only have packaged, frozen meat. It doesn’t hurt to take a close look at what you’re buying, and maybe even take a glance at a Mongolian dictionary, because there may be surprises. Here, they generally discard very little of any animals killed, so the intestine, for example, can be stuffed and eaten.

Basically, more or less everything is available, you just have to know where to look.

The things we couldn’t find included a whole chicken, chicken liver, other kinds of poultry, parsley, and turnip, while pork was also a rarity. Prices are rising more or less all the time, and are about 40% higher now than just two years ago. Fruit is a luxury, and expensive. Ulaanbaatar also has a market, where a wide range of both new and used goods are on sale. Definitely worth a visit.”

Mongolia - Ulaanbaatar - Market - m.t. photo

Fun

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Mongolia - Ulaanbataar - Street performance at the market - p.w. photo

Public safety

In Mongolia, tourists very rarely fall victim to crime. But: petty crime such as pickpocketing and handbag theft may occur in the capital city's markets, especially the Narantuul market, in shopping centers, department stores, and close to well-known restaurants, pubs, and tourist attractions. In isolated cases, drunken local men provoke a fight against foreign tourists.

Even outside of the cities, there are isolated crimes of violence, robbery, and theft against tourists. In some sporadic cases, taxi drivers cooperate with criminals. When taking a taxi, always take a seat in the back seat and not allow other passengers to board.

Mongolia - tourist guide-police - o.h. photo

Mongolia - Security man - s.n. photo

Mongolia - national flag flash mob - on the left side you see the gold Soyombo symbol, that is their national emblem

Destination in brief

Mongolia in brief

 
Mongolia - a landlocked country - is commonly considered as located in Central Asia (some however refer to it as an East Asian country). Neighbors: Russia (north), China (south, east, west).
 
Size: 1,566,000 km2 (605,000 mi2)
 
Population: 3,2 million (2020 estimate) - Mongolia is the world’s 6th least densely populated country (2.04 people per square kilometer). Most of the country’s land is unsuitable for growing crops and more than half of the population lives in the capital city.
 
There are more horses (3 million) and about 4 times more sheep than men in Mongolia. The livestock live outdoors all year round, whether in the 30°C (86°F) summer heat or in harsh, −40°C (−104°F) winters.
 
Capital city: Ulaanbaatar (formerly anglicized as Ulan Bator), with a population of about 1,3 million. Ulaanbaatar means Red Hero.
 
Language: Mongolian is the official language (a so-called Mongolic language), and is completely different from Russian or Chinese  (true, Mongolians did loan many words from the Chinese - mostly nouns that are related to food). Mongolians write in Mongolian Cyrillic, which is written vertically.

The Mongolian language is not even remotely like Chinese. It isn't tonal; it doesn't utilize characters.
Mongolian is often described as 'harsh and guttural.'
Text spoken in Mongolian often is longer than spoken in English (noticeable when watching Mongolian videos with English subtitles).
In 2020, Mongolia announced a plan to revive the use of the traditional Mongolian script, which is still in use in Inner Mongolia, a northern province of China. Mongolians have already adopted English as an international language in favour of Russian, so it became inconvenient to use the Cyrillic alphabet that was adopted in the 1940s.

 
Religion: Mongolian Buddhism and Mongolian shamanism are traditionally dominant. Most religious people identify themselves as Buddhist, but at least 40% of Mongolians are atheists - a consequence of anti-religious pressure and the repression of Buddhism under communist rule (1924-1990).
 
Most frequent surname: Ganbold
 
Currency: tugrik or tögrök (MNT) – The Mongolian stock exchange is so small that it fits in the building of a former children’s movie theatre.
 
Average net monthly salary: about 190 USD (2020)
 
Mongolia is a safe tourist destination, but some culture shock related discomfort should be expected.  No compulsory vaccination is required.
 
Mongolia is not that expensive for tourists, but hiring a van with a personal driver is pretty expensive, which is important, since almost all tourist attractions are outside the urban areas.
 
The tourist season is between the middle of June and beginning of September. The rest of the year is too cold to enjoy traveling around.  Those who are only staying a few days should visit the Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, which is only about 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the capital. There are organized stays with local families in comfortable yurts (a traditional round tent) so visitors can learn first-hand about the everyday, semi-nomadic life of the Mongolian steppe.
 
The Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape is a UNESCO world heritage site.
 
Mongolians insist that ice cream was invented in Mongolia. More than 700 years ago, their horsemen were carrying cream in animal intestines in on long winter journeys on horseback across the Gobi Desert, and it shook until it became ice cream. Nowadays, it is a profitable business for Mongolian entrepreneurs to produce and sell ice cream from yak’s milk.
The legendary Genghis Khan, who ruled over the largest contiguous empire in history (died in 1227), is truly worshipped as a national hero in Mongolia. He’s on banknotes, the main airport is named after him, and there is a square in his name in front of the Mongolian Parliament. Many hotels and buildings are also named after him.

History

To most Mongolians, Genghis Khan is a hero, a symbol of national/ethnic pride. The Mongol national identity itself was born as the result of Genghis’ unification of the Mongol tribes. Under his leadership (during the 13th and 14th centuries), the Mongol Empire became the most powerful empire in the world, and it is the second-largest empire (after British Empire) to ever exist in the world. There is even a local beer named after him.

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“The cult of Genghis Khan is strong in Mongolia – it’s become practically the embodiment of national self-consciousness. At least there is some legitimacy to this since it was Genghis Khan who united the Mongol tribes and established the mighty Mongol Empire.

The greatest conqueror in world history was born around 1162 and, as they say, had a difficult childhood. His father was poisoned, he killed his half-brother, his wife Börte was kidnapped, his first-born son didn’t really know who his father was, and so on. Winning all sorts of tribal wars, he finally united the Mongol tribes in 1206 and the bloodthirsty conquest began, which eventually led to the largest empire on earth. It is true that in his lifetime the empire only reached only from the Caspian Sea to the Sea of Japan, including much of China. In addition to the massacres, there were also positive aspects to his reign, including the unified political environment of the Silk Road, which allowed communication and trade between the West, the Middle East, and Asia. He introduced Mongolian writing, the first written code can be linked to his name, he banned corruption, allowed religious freedom in the conquered territories, and so on.

His successors then further expanded the empire, extending it from Kyiv to Korea, from Siberia to Central Asia, and to the Gulf of Oman. After his death, his empire was divided into khanates, and his successor became his son Ögedei. Even his grandchildren were conquerors. Batu (the child of a previously deceased son of disputed descent) was responsible for the Mongol invasion of Eastern Europe, and led the Golden Horde, while Kublai Khan occupied all of China, founding the Yuan Dynasty. The family tree, they say, runs to eight printed pages, and these are just the legal children they know of – there were obviously a lot more illegal births during the conquests – so allegedly 0.5% of the male population is genetically related, although of course, this is mostly speculation. (2017) "

Mongolia - 44 kilometers (27 mi) from the capital, Ulaanbaatar - Genghis Khan Equestrian Statue - Elter photo

Nowadays

There are significant corruption, fatal environmental, and health issues in Mongolia.

Most of the tourist visitors are Chinese, Russians, South Koreans. 

Mongolia - Ulaanbaatar - Blue Sky Tower - K Elter photo

People

The female beauty ideal is women with long breaded hair. There are even contests for long-haired women.

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People of Ulanbaatar often live their entire lives in their city, without ever moving to other (smaller) towns or regions in Mongolia. Moving from the city to the countryside is very rare.
Families tend to stay connected and tightly bound. Friends someone made in elementary school will still be around years afterward. In this way, Ulaanbaatar has the feel of a small town despite being a capital city.

Most of the education and job facilities are also strongly concentrated in Ulaanbaatar. Mongolians of the countryside gravitate to the capital in pursuit of education, career, and other opportunities.

There is a bit of tension between longtime residents and new arrivals from the countryside. Residents regard the newcomers as boorish and uncultivated, while those from the countryside regard residents snobbish, snooty.

Mongolia - Ulaanbaatar - locals

Mongolia - Ulaanbaatar - young people

Mongolia - Ulaanbaatar - newlyweds - p.w. photo

Karoly Elter's photo

Gastronomy

Mongolian eating culture is very much meat-based. The appetizer is mutton with bones. Most locals handle that with a small knife. 

Chatsarganii shuus or sea-buckthorn juice is the favorite juice of Mongolians. They drink it cold or hot alike.

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About kumis:

“Unfortunately, the Mongolian tradition of drinking kumis, or ‘ayrag’, in the local language, is, alas, still going strong. I think I may end up writing a little Mongolian survival book. The chapter on kumis would look something like this: For the Western stomach, the alcohol content is negligible, but the taste and quantity served can quickly lead to problems. When it’s an old vintage, the taste is pretty sour and unpleasant, and the only thing likely to make you forget about it is the sight of dead flies suspended in the liquid. The fresh stuff, by contrast, can be quite good, at least so long as you don’t want to drink vast quantities of it. The problem is, you’re not likely to have many choices… The smallest cup that’s likely to be pushed into your hands is about a quarter of a liter, and the polite thing to do is drain it almost completely, then hand it back so it can be refilled and handed on to the next victim. By the fourth round of this, a drink which was never great, to begin with, is beginning to get genuinely unpleasant, but true despair only set in when the big Western traveler glances away and sees the huge plastic drum by the door, containing at least 80 liters of the stuff.

Since for some reason I had an upset stomach on the last day, I didn’t drink any more kumis, but even if you’re visibly sick, they’ll still press a cup (or five) of it into your hand. In addition to kumis, we also have to talk about the equally ubiquitous Aaruul, which is actually delicious when fresh, and a bit like cottage cheese, but when it’s old, you might end up needing dentures if you bite into it. The advantage of aaruul over kumis is that you can easily stack it in your pocket, and eat it much later, somewhere out on the steppe. Unlike kumis, the local vodka will get you drunk very quickly, and Mongolians, who have less tolerance for alcohol than most Westerners, are particularly susceptible. The other problem, in my experience (admittedly only one occasion), is that Mongolians like to drink to excess, and may become aggressive.”

Mongolia - Khorkhog, barbecue mutton dish cooked using hot stones - m.a. photo

Mongolia - Buuz, steamed dumplings filled with meat. - b.r. photo