All you need to know about Mongolia (almost)
Seems like you are really planning that trip to Mongolia or you might have even bought that air tickets to Mongolia. Let me then share a bit more on what I have gathered about Mongolia.
Content:
1. Climate
2. Transportation
3. Accommodation
4. Food
5. Etiquette
6. Tipping
1. The Climate.
Mongolia's weather patterns are quite extreme. It has warm, short summers and long, cold winters. Mongolia might have approximately 250 sunny days a year but don’t expect a warm climate. Most of the sunny days are between September to May. The coldest winter months are in December to February with some parts of the country freezing in -50 °C temperature. Ulaanbaatar, the capital often sees temperatures of -30°C in January. The Gobi desert soars close to 50°C in the summer while dropping to -40°C in the winter.
Low Season Oct-Apr – Most ger camps are some guesthouses are not open. It gets frigid in December and January month with air pollution in Ulaanbaatar. Wind and dust storms are frequent in March and April.
Popular season May – Dry, windy and Sunny. Day 10-20°C, Night 0-10°C June – Less fluctuations as compared to May. Day 15-25°C, Night 10-15°C. July – Like someone on severe mood swing. Lots of fluctuations in weather with a moment of sunshine followed by cloudy skies and rain closely. Day 15-30°C, Night 10-20°C. August – Weather becoming drier and sunnier but colder at nights too. Day 15-30°C, Night 0-15°C. September – Dry, sunny but calm. Can be chilly too. Day 0-20°C, Night -5 to 5°C.
2. Transportation
Mongolia is a large country with limited transport infrastructure. The country is interconnected by a network of pot-holed filled roads, gravel trails and dirt tracks. Driving in Mongolia means predominantly driving in off road conditions, especially once you are out of the capital, Ulaanbaatar. There are not much road signs, if there was even any.
Self-Drive
For those considering self-drive in Mongolia, the cons:
Poor road conditions. It is akin to driving off-road.
Road signs and markings are infrequent.
Maps if available are inaccurate and navigation will be difficult.
You need to be self-sufficient in preparing for camping and cooking gears.
Due to poor road conditions, recommended vehicles are 4WD vehicles which might not be the easiest to drive.
Driving to particular spot for sights might take a few hours.
Vehicles tends to break down (they are not the newest and with the off-road condition, it happens).
Communication once the vehicle broke down will be difficult without someone speaking Mongolian.
Lastly, rental and fuel aren’t exactly cheap.
Public Transport
By Rail – Tickets/billets can be easily purchased at the Ulaanbaatar train station. It is safe, runs on time and is one of the most interesting options. However, the rail routes are unfortunately confined to the path of the trans-Mongolian rail from Russia to China and the trains are quite slow.
There are 3 train compartment classes.
1st class - closed cabins with soft bench seats that double up as beds. It is possible to accommodate a total of 4 passengers in a cabin.
2nd class - similar to the 1st class but without a door.
3rd class - the public hard sleeper compartment. Most economical but doesn’t offer any comfort one might crave. It has a very social atmosphere as there is a high chance of drunks looking to make a new friend in the form of you.
By Bus – There are 2 main bus stations in Ulaanbaatar, Dragon Tuv runs all the bus towards the west while Bayanzurkh Tovchoo runs all the buses to the east. Bus leaves around the scheduled departure time but remember to buy the tickets at least a day in advance! Buses are large and it makes the bumpy rides more tolerable. Luggage are packed like a game of tetris, so plan ahead to go with a luggage that is soft and malleable.
Once a breakdown happens, a trip of hours might into a full day-trip. There are scheduled food stops and bathroom stops along the way but the drivers don’t stop to sleep. For multiple days trip, they will switch between multiple drivers. It is possible you might not have a good sleep or rest throughout the journey!
Taxi – Only useful along paved roads. With most of the roads to sights being gravel and dirt tracks, hiring a taxi to tour the countryside is the last thing you would want to do. I have seen sedans getting stuck in rivers, mud trails and needed help to pull it to safety.
Shared minivans/jeeps
A very common form of public transport especially among tourists as it brings people to specific tourist destinations. The problem however is that they won’t leave until the vehicle is packed and it is possible to spend a few hours just waiting for the seats to be filled up before they are ready to leave. A typical minivan is an 11-seater vehicle but they will try to squeeze in 20 or so passengers and even when they are filled up, the driver might disappear for some time looking for spare parts, petrol etc.
All above options have their own pros and cons but for one who is looking to experience the Mongolian way of life, it isn’t that bad to give them a try.
However, for a tourist who is looking to get the most out of his/her limited time in Mongolia, I personally recommend privately hiring a minivan and sharing it with a few others. With a private hire, you get a driver who will prepare the necessary equipment and necessities and an English speaking guide to smooth out the trip and keep the hassle to the minimum.
3. Accommodation
Mongolia currently still does not have a wide ranging selection of hotel options. Most of the hotels are in the 1 or 2 star range although there are a few luxury options. Once travelled out of the cities, it may be difficult to even find hotels with hot showers or comfortable beds. What you will find are budget hostels that might not even meet the 1 star rating. It is thus important to inspect the room before agreeing to stay. If you don’t like what you see, you can move on and look for other options.
However the highlights of Mongolia are neither the hotels nor hostels. It’s the Ger camps and camping in the wild that brings out the nomadic experience and that is best part of travelling in Mongolia.
Mongolia has about 360 registered ger camps and tourist camps, a ger tent can sleep up to 4 or 6 adults and usually include a meal or two. However it is best to book it through a tour as the ger camps can be hard to find and reach. Another way of staying in a ger is through home-stays which are normally arranged by tour companies too. You get to stay in a ger tent beside a Mongolian family, eat with them and do what they do in a typical day. Home-stays offer a chance to experience the Mongolian life up close, to learn about their customs and enjoy their traditional cuisine.
Camping is another option which is guaranteed to be breath taking for the nature lovers. You can put up a tent and sleep anywhere outside any town, village or city. This is due to the state owning all public land and the nomadic lifestyle which the Mongolians are still leading. Just make sure you keep a distance away from the edge of the town and if camping near some gers, check with them if they mind you camping near them. More often than not, they will welcome you with open arms and a cup of airag or two.
4. Cuisines
Mongolian cuisine consists of mainly dairy products, meat and animal fats. Mutton is commonly eaten and in the city, dumplings filed with meat (yes! mutton) are pretty popular too. Vegetables are not common and due to the geographic proximity with Russia and China, their cuisines are influenced by Russian and Chinese cuisines too.
The signature Mongolian cuisine is arguably the Khorkhog, a barbecue meat dish (guess what. Yes, it is mutton). It is special in the sense that the barbecue is done with the help of fist-sized stones. The stones are heated up and when hot enough, they are placed together with the meat inside cooking containers (traditional choice are metal milk jugs). Other ingredients are added by layers with vegetables finally on top, water is then added and the container covered. The khorkhog requires quite a bit of preparation and may take an hour or so to cook the meat. It is generally not served in restaurants and I guess it is due to that.
Mongolia has a variety of local specialty drink. They have the Mongolian tea, a mixture of half water, half milk, some salt and a bit of butter/fat. It taste more like soup than tea in my opinion.
In summer months, there is also the airag(fermented mare’s milk). Young airag taste light with a slight fizz. It has low alcohol content. Older airag are richer, more sour and fizzier. It has slightly higher alcohol content. Regardless of age, both are an acquired taste (I will stick to my beer).
There are also the wide variety of Mongolian beer and Mongolian vodka. Nomads distill their own milk vodka and if you come across a nomadic family, there will be a high chance you will be offered a chance to try them!
5. Etiquette
Every country has their social tradition and culture. As the world opens up, it is important we know about the Do’s and Don’ts when we travel to the respective countries. In Mongolia, respect and superstition lies behind most of the do’s and don’ts and while we might not believe in these superstition, it is only right to respect them since we are guests in a foreign country.
Do
Greet the people when entering the Ger
Give/receive presents with both hands
Enter or leave Ger through the left
Accept food or drink with your right hand or both hands
Bring some small gifts such as stationary for children
Always get on horseback from the left
Shake the hands of someone who you have accidentally bumped feet with
Don’t
Stand on the threshold when entering the Ger/house
Refuse offered drink or food in the Ger/house (it’s customary for Mongols to offer tea and food and it is considered a bad omen if refused)
Whistle inside a Ger
Lean against the pillars in the Ger
Pour water or rubbish into the fire (fire is sacred!)
Touch other people’s hat or, especially a man’s head
Walk over the Uurga (pole used to hold down the horse)
Point at someone with a single finger
Pee in water bodies in nature such as lakes, rivers, streams. (Water is sacred!)
Pour milk/dairy into river/lakes
Talk or joke about bad things that may happen
Estimate travel hours as drivers believe it brings evil to the trip
Ask about the names of mountains while the mountain is still in sight
Say thank you too much for small gestures
6. Tipping
Tipping is a new concept in Mongolia. Drivers and guides involved in the tourism industry will probably expect some tips (that is if they earned the tips!), but restaurants staffs do not take tips for granted.
In my opinion, the drivers might work even harder than the guides so the tips they received should not be far off from what the guides are getting from you. Most of the drivers do not just drive; they tend to help with the setting up of the camp, with the preparation of the meals and little things like setting up the camp fire. While they might not speak English and does not have much interaction with the tourists, they do put in just as much effort in making the trip an enjoyable one.
Hope all these information are useful in your planning of your Mongolia trip! Have fun!
