Mongolia

I was lucky enough to spend a week in Mongolia, having spent 2 weeks getting there by train from Latvia. Myself and a friend ended up booking a 4 day - 3 night tour with a community organisation called Ger to Ger. We were out in the countryside in the Bulgan province and every day stayed with a different nomadic family, travelling between gers using horses, camels and ox carts. Having not really ridden a horse before, I was relatively sort of experienced by the end of the four days. Well I could get the horse to go and stop....! The trip was really good value for money, costing about £120 for the trip, not including the bus tickets, about £10 return. We stayed in spare ...  Read the complete review

Undeniably, Mongolia is a poor country and it's obvious from just looking at the streets. Fundamentally, Mongolia is a country with a very important future and a very prosperous one. As foreign business slowly moves in, the economy will slowly grow and this can be seen all over the city, including the inclusion of modern night clubs and international hotels that cater for even the most lavish lifestyles. There are a moderate number of street children, perhaps twenty or so around the central region of the city, at least they were the ones I saw. Mongolia is interesting because in the city you do see the same people over and over again, and you can. Officially there's ...  Read the complete review

Here is my lowdown on Mongolia. But it is a vast country with a wealth of experiences - these opinions are based on the collection of experiences I had. THE OFFICIAL STUFF Tourist visas are valid for 30 days. Best go through an agency for it, especially if you are doing the Trans-Siberian railway. It will prevent you having to send your passport back several times and it also costs more for an individual to get a Chinese visa. In theory, you can get a visa at the border, but expect to be in for a wait with no guarantees. Latest situation was that Americans and Israelis don't need a visa, but the passport inspectors were not always aware of this. ...  Read the complete review

I was in Mongolia for about a week on the middle leg of doing the Trans-Siberian rail trip. We stayed with a family in the capital Ulan Bator and also did some day trips as well. We had booked with a small tour operator in the UK, it's gone bust now but I wouldn't recommend him anyway! It was the only way that we could have been issued with our visas, and it meant that our accommodation was pre-arranged, and a tour guide in Mongolia looked after us and took us on day trips. We were left to our own devices pretty much, and if you're there for shopping forget it. There's very little. The main town centre is Genghis Khan square which is ...  Read the complete review