8 rules for going on a long distance bus ride in Mongolia

Days were full and therefore went by quickly. Sunday was our departure day. Our driver Nara took us back to the Murun bus station. 

The fare back to UB is about 35,000 MNT. There are a few basic rules to be considered when going on a +10h overnight bus ride in Monoglia:

-          Have your MP3-Player fully charged to drown out the Mongolian folklore music that is played on high volume an on repeat throughout the entire journey

-          Have a pillow or anything else for your convenience with you, since seats won’t contribute much to a comfortable ride

-          Add 2 to 3 hours to the scheduled arrival time in order not to be late or miss appointments, buses almost never depart on time and unplanned stops to pick up or drop off people can cause significant delays

-          Be aware of Mongolian road conditions: if you get carsick easily, prepare yourself in advance.

-          Purchase food in advance: stops along the way are usually at Mongolian restaurants or convenience stores with less than limited offer

-          If you’re sensitive to noise: have your ear plugs with you. The busses are packed with children.

-          Get a window seat so you can open the window in case you need to, because air condition is not always working

-          Appeal to the bus driver: he’s the boss and if he says put your bag there or change seat or whatever, appeal to that, he knows best and discussion is waste of time and energy

Going by bus is somewhat part of the Mongolian experience as well. I felt destroyed after it, but wouldn’t wanna miss this it after all. 

Khuvsgul Lake: A beauty of nature

There was one thing that was on top of my to-do/to-see list in Mongolia: Khuvsgul Lake. No matter how busy I’d be working, how wet or cold the weather would be, or how short money would be, I would definitely have to see this place after what people were telling me and what Google images were showing me.

So off I went again last week for a 5-day trip to Northern Mongolia, very close to the Russian border. The ride began on Tuesday night. A friend of one of my working colleagues was heading for Murun that day coincidently and she was so kind to give us a lift in her car. Leaving UB I was impressed by the dark black sky with millions of stars shining bright, the silence and darkness surrounding. The ride was long, but the street to Murun (via Darkhan and Erdenet) was well paved and just around 7am the sun came up behind the hills with a red light introducing the day we still had ahead of us.

Arriving in Murun at 9am, we found a driver called Nara (thanks_anu@yahoo.com, +976 8822 8609) to take us the remaining 150km to Khuvsgul Lake (since bus service is pretty unreliable and irregular). Anything between 50,000 and 80,000 MNT per ride is a good deal we figured out. Since the travel season in Mongolia is officially over on September 1, it was a bit difficult to find a ger camp that was still open and willing to host us. But we eventually found one, directly by the shore with an amazing view over the lake (22,500 MNT per night per person). This is when the holiday part of our stay at Khuvsgul began.

Accommodation is very simple and basic such as everywhere outside of UB. Energy is rare, showers are rarer and warm water is rarest. Also, the climate is significantly influenced by the lake. Daytime in mid-September is still alright for hiking and taking off your jacket, but nighttime temperatures drop down to 0.

However, having a luxurious stay should not be the main purpose of your Khuvsgul visit anyway. Exploring the lake and its surrounding nature is what you should go there for. And that’s what we did. Our days were filled with hiking along the lake or the nearby mountains and forests, horse-riding, motor-boat rides and peaceful, silent chill out phases. Again, knowing a few phrases of Mongolian or Russian or someone who knows Mongolian or Russian will save you a lot of time and energy to arrange free time activities.

A little north of the ger camp we stayed at, there is ger camp called Khirvesteg. The owner Delger is a cool guy who offers you filtered coffee, motorboat rides and horse riding for a reasonable price. Don’t be ashamed to negotiate a bit, though.

All in all, I found that going to Khuvsgul Lake in mid-September was the best time, because tourists are gone, hosts are more open for negotiations regarding the rates and autumn is coloring the forests in a golden yellow.

UB Street Art: It’s all in the detail

No matter how deep the economic crises is, no matter how cold the weather is, no matter how pressuring life is – people never kept from releasing their thoughts and emotions with street art. If you take the time giving the streets, dead ends and narrow alleys a second look, you will find quite a bit of UB street art.

Since to me street art is a way of individual expression, I don’t feel entitled to comment on that. So enjoy this exclusive insight of a UB you would not find in travel guides. 

Leaving the city 2: horse riding and hiking

Weekdays in the city go by pretty fast. You work till 6pm. You head back home. You cross the same streets. You go the same underpasses. You’re in your same flat, in your very same room and you’re trying to turn the day into something special by putting the small timeframe between 7 and 9 to a good use outside. Not so on weekends.

Weekend No 3 was a muscle torture weekend. We went 1.5 h outside the city for some horse riding. There are horse riding camps all over Mongolia. And once you start riding, you kind of get an idea why horse riding is a big thing here. Nature looks different from a horse back. Not only because exploration is easier, but also because you’re off paths and in places your feet won’t take you to that easily. Your Mongolian horse will take you over hills, through rivers and beyond. Galloping just towards the farness and emptiness of the Mongolian steppe makes you feel free in a way you’d never experienced. Even though, I never stepped on a horse back ever, I felt I could deal with it pretty well. A horse ride in Mongolia is a MUST.

On our way back we had a quick stop over at the Chenghis Khan Statue Complex. Since the statue is quite far outside of the city (1h drive), you should consider combining your visit with something else (i.e. Terelj National Park).

On Sunday we went up the Bogd Mountain, that is just south of UB. There were quite a few other hikers with us. On top, you should take one of the smaller paths off the main spots in order to be by yourself and enjoy the silence and beauty of nature. The view from up there will keep you busy for at least 1 or 2 hours.