What you need to know before travelling to Mongolia
Mongolia is one of those places that draws you in with the images and wide open spaces with few tourists. I have always been drawn to Mongolia so when I started planning my trip there I was super excited.
I booked my flight to be in Mongolia for just under a month. There was a lot I wanted to see and do while here, so I wanted to give myself the time to do it all. I didn’t have to purchase a visa as I get a 30 day visa exemption when I arrive being Canadian.
After I had booked my flights I started looking at what I wanted to do. I then got very worried that I was not going to be able to afford being here for the 24 days I had booked. Everything I was finding online was so expensive. There are definitely things you want to know before you start planning your trip here. I learned these both from my research and from personal experience (aka: lack of the right research). Here is what I learned:
Booking tours
Book your tours when you get to Mongolia. Yes, you would think this has some risks, but it is actually easier than I thought. After I bought my tickets to Mongolia, I started doing some research and I quickly realized that I could not get around Mongolia on my own and needed to book tours.
Upon looking up tours, I quickly got nervous wondering if I was even going to be able to afford being here for the 25 days I booked. The prices of tours were in the thousands and they were only for 10-14 days!
I then started researching how others afforded the trip and I learned that the prices are a fraction of the online prices when you book them in person and can negotiate. Yes, most tours are negotiable a bit, so see what you can do. I was able to find a tour I wanted to do and book it within one day and I was leaving on the tour two days later.
Two Tips:
1. Have an idea of what you want to see and do here so you can make sure you find a tour that has as many of those things as possible.
2. Have a small list of tour companies and addresses/phone numbers written down before you arrive so you can go straight to the offices after you check into your accommodation. I went with Sunpath tours and I would recommend them in a heartbeat. 🙂
Getting money out/access to money
Mongolian currency, the Togrog, is a closed currency. This means you are not able to purchase it outside of Mongolia, so you’ll have to purchase it once you get there. This can pose a problem when paying for your tour.
Most tour operator’s work on a cash only system (unsure if this has changed) but getting money out of bank machines (and ones that will work with your cards) becomes like a treasure hunt. Once you find the bank that will accept your card, you will then have to go around to multiple machines as each machine has a limit of the amount you can take out. With the tour being anywhere between $400-$1000 depending on the length you end up with a whole WAD of cash.
Remember before you leave Mongolia to change your money back from the Togrog, unlike me. Since it is a closed currency you will not be able to exchange it back anywhere else. I have a chunk of change in Togrog just waiting for me to go back to Mongolia.
Preparing for your tour
There are blogs out there that go deep into the details about being on tour here in Mongolia. I am going to give you the highlights.
The majority of the time you are going to be road tripping with not a lot of stopping. Since this country is so vast, it takes a long time to reach all the points you want to get to. Mongolia may not be the trip for you if you get car sick.
You want to have with you the comforts you need to be in a van for extended periods of time. There is a big department store downtown Ulaanbaatar where you can get everything you need before you head off.
- For me this included a small pillow, so I can be comfortable lying down in the van.
- Snacks keep the energy up and share with others.
- Wet wipes, there are not going to be a lot of showers on your tour, so wet wipes become your daily shower most days.
- Extra cash. The tour will include everything except the extras like souvenirs and alcohol.
- Check out packing lists here for your trip. The things I listed above are all things you can purchase in Mongolia for ease.
- Be sure to bring books, notebooks to write down your thoughts and adventures, and lots of memory cards for lots of photos. You will have plenty of time to use all of these things. Headphones are also a must so you can listen to your own music because…well see below.
Karaoke
One thing you may not know about Mongolians, is their LOVE of singing and Karaoke! They are right up there with the Japanese and Filipinos for their love of singing, but with one big difference. Mongolians LOVE to sing almost solely songs from Mongolia. How can you tell the song is from Mongolia? There are only three themes in Mongolian songs. Songs about horses, the landscape and love, and to the outsider they all sound the same! LOL
Get ready for listening to your driver sing the whole trip. My driver, I think, had the same 4 songs on repeat for the whole 15 days.
Theft
When you think of Mongolia you think of Gangis Khan. We have heard the stories of their history but you, or maybe it was just me, I didn’t associate that with what Mongolia is today. It didn’t even cross my mind about theft here. It didn’t jump out at me when I was doing my research, but I sure came face to face with it on multiple occasions.
On the second day of my first tour here, I got my bag, wallet, and passport stolen. I fell into a false sense of security being in a tour group. We were at the Nanddam Festival and I put my bag down beside me and then it was gone. I was stupid for not separating all my stuff and for leaving most of it in the secure van, but alas, this is what happened. I still had my camera with one lens and my phone, but all the other things I needed on a daily basis was gone. I did get some money back from my insurance company, but I was still out a few thousand dollars worth of stuff and cash.
I was lucky that I did have copies and extra credit cards and bankcards back in my bag at the hostel locker, but the paperwork, the running around as well as asking to borrow money from people I just met on my tour was not enjoyable.
I also witnessed thefts at work too. When we were back in Ulaanbaatar a few of us went to the black market. Now at this point we were all warned to watch our bags and pockets, as this market was famous for pickpockets. Low and behold, we witnessed someone reaching into a woman’s purse to try and get her wallet. One of the guys in our group yelled at her, so she didn’t get away with anything that time, but is crazy to see how brazen they are.
On the whole, Mongolians are wonderful people. Even though outside of the city, you won’t be able to have conversations with anyone, as no one speaks English, but their warmth shines through in their actions and generosity.
Mongolia may not be for everyone, but when you do go, the magic of this place will make you want to come back again and again. I know I can’t wait to come back here and experience more adventures.
Are you planning on visiting Mongolia? Do you want first hand advice and help with your trip? Contact me and lets make this a trip you’ll never forget.