Ten things I Recommend for Students going to Mongolia



2009

10 things I Recommend for Students Traveling to Mongolia – Brianna Dannen

1. Learn the language before going. Within UB many people speak English, but in the countryside very few people speak English. If you cannot learn Mongolian, Russian is very useful as well.

2. Be sure to bring clothes for all weather. It snowed the first week of June while I was there.

3. Get out and see the city! There are museums and shows and plenty of things to keep you busy.

4. Bring a flashlight. Many areas are not lit including apartment stairwells. So a small flashlight that you can carry everywhere is best.

5. Sleeping bags are very useful, especially if traveling in the countryside. It can get incredibly cold at night.

6. Mongolians are very friendly. Bring some useful gifts to thank them for their hospitality.

7. Make friends with your co-workers, get out and experience Mongolia with them.

8. Bring toilet paper with you everywhere.

9. Bring some hand wipes. There often are not sinks/soap available.

10. Bring comfortable shoes, UB is a very walkable city.

2008

10 things I Recommend for Students Traveling to Mongolia – Amanda Silverberg

1. Lonely planet has a guide to Mongolia. Although some of the information in it is incorrect, I recommend reading up on the area before you go.

2. Antibacterial sanitary wipes are very handy for cleaning fruit, washing your hands or an old fashioned sponge bath if you have no access to running water.

3. Earplugs and eye masks are a must. This will help with the airplane ride as well as any ger camping trips.

4. Make sure that you bring clothes for all weather conditions. The weather is very unpredictable and you may end up changing a couple of times a day.

5. Mongolia utilizes the same voltage as Europe so if you plan on plugging anything in you will need to bring an adapter. Some hostels may provide one for you.

6. Bring toilet paper with you everywhere. Flush toilets are generally only found in the main cities and often without the seat. Everywhere else people use squatter outhouses or there is no bathroom at all. (Welcome to the great outdoors).

7. Internet access is easy to find within Ulaanbaatar only. I recommend purchasing a cell phone there to make communication easier. There are also vendors who sell phone service on certain corners of Ulaanbaatar for about 200 tugrug per minute.

8. I recommend visiting the countryside as often as possible. There are many beautiful areas to visit and travel companies offer tours by car, horse or camel. Some must sees are Tjierling and Hovsgol National Parks.

9. Few Mongolians speak more than a couple of words of English. There are many English speaking foreigners visiting Ulaanbaatar who are usually happy to help if you need assistance.

10. There are many international groups working within Mongolia. I found it very enlightening to meet with directors of the various organizations for information and perspectives on public health and ongoing projects between foreign countries and Mongolia.

2008

10 things I Recommend for Students Traveling to Mongolia – Emma Gelman

1. Try to learn some Mongolian words before you travel. Learning the basic Mongolian greeting and how to say thank you is a good start. Once you get to Mongolia, the best way to learn is from your Mongolian colleagues. Do not rely on the phonetic pronunciation in the lonely planet guide. It is not accurate.

2. Mongolians eat a lot of meat. Fresh fruit and vegetables can sometimes be hard to find. In general, fruit and vegetables are cheaper and of better quality in the smaller markets than in the larger grocery stores.

3. Try the Mongolian National Food. Two of the most common are steamed meat dumplings and fried meat dumplings. Be prepared for hearty meat and carbohydrates.

4. When traveling to Mongolia in the summer (May-August) you will still need cold weather clothes. It can be significantly colder in the rural areas. Bring clothes that you can easily layer and at least one warm jacket.

5. Mongolians dress very professionally. Bring business clothes for weekday wear.

6. The Khovsgol province is described as “Mongolian’s Switzerland” I highly recommend traveling to this province and taking a hike around the beautiful Khovsgol Lake.

7. When you arrive find yourself a good city map and taxi booklet, which lists direction for places of interest, hotels and restaurants in Mongolian and English.

8. Go to a cultural show. They are a fabulous mix of singers, dancers, musicians and contortionists. There are nightly showings in the summer.

9. Mongolian’s are famous for their hospitality. To reciprocate, bring small gifts for adults and children when visiting families in the countryside.

10. The bright, blue skies are incredible in Mongolia. Make sure to bring sunglasses. Also, Mongolia is one of the highest countries in the world. You can get sun burned relatively quickly, so make sure to wear sunscreen.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download