Has anyone been to Mongolia (the Republic)? What was your experience like? Lonely Planet had it as #1 place to visit last year but it seems like it's overlooked when it comes to Asian destinations.
Anon I have tried to make this thread various times, it always dies after like 10 responses. I would love to visit it looks kino, I am going to next summer
>>2818426Doesn't look like that yurt has free WiFi, kekMongolia as a summer destination sounds great. Cool climate refreshed by rain showers. But there is so much freakin' nothingness. You definitely have to be a self-sufficient traveler willing to 1) spend a lot of money, and 2) brave hardship to explore Mongolia.
>>2818520>brave hardship to explore Mongolia.wat?
>>2818426>>2818520why don't you two go there and tell us all about it then
>>2818562What?>>2818585I am planning on it anon, I was just stating this thread often dies.
>>2818426A famous travel youtuber from my country did a long series about it, he traveled all across the country seeing all the main sights. He described it as one of the the harshest, most logistically and hygienically challenging journeys you can have in that part of the world.>most places you sleep in have no real showers or toilets, you poop in a hole in the ground>most homestays have poor hygienic conditions, unwashed bedsheets / blankets are the norm>traveling between different destinations consists of hours and hours of driving along rough roads (or just off road) on old, soviet vans which will make you feel every bump and hole>you NEED vaccines for dangerous diseases like rabies and pray to God you don't get it because the closest real hospital may well be hundreds of kms away. The fucking bubonic plague is endemic in parts of the country>food is bland and always the same, mutton, mutton and more mutton>apart from natural landscapes, there's not much to do or see except the occasional buddhist monastery (which is a recent construction anyway, most of the old ones were destroyed during the communist period). Ulaan Baatar may be the ugliest city in Asia and has literally nothing to offer to a tourist apart from a soviet-era monument or two (but nobody goes to Mongolia to visit UB anyway)All that and more aside, it is a genuinely interesting destination if you enjoy untouched wilderness with many different landscapes that are often unique to Mongolia (like the gobi desert) and want to experience the rough life among the nomads, or if you're the kind of person who wants to go where tourists don't. By all means, if you do go there, report back and let us know how it went.>Lonely Planet had it as #1 place to visitLonely Planet is not a real travel guide, it's mostly entertainment that lets people fantasize about places they'll never go to
>>2818685>poor hygienic conditions, unwashed bedsheets / blankets are the norm>you poop in a hole in the ground>traveling between different destinations consists of hours and hours of driving>you NEED vaccineshonestly not that different from america
>>2818426I was there for naadam festival this summer, and I fucking loved it. I rented a motorcycle and rode around to Khuvsgul Lake, it is very scenic and beautiful. That said, there are a lot of problems in Mongolia, and you will encounter most of them. The traffic in rush hour is unbearable. You will likely be able to walk to most destinations in central Ulaanbatar before a taxi can both pick you up and get there. Not to mention, linking a bank card was a pain in the ass with UBCab, their own version of uber. If you plan on spending a fair bit of time in the city, I recommend an airbnb near shangrila or somewhere on seoul street, where most of the nightlife is. There's a soft serve ice cream stand every 500 meters with honestly some of the best I've ever had. The beef tasted different than in the states, not marbled as much and more lean, but the flavor was amazing and so was the cuisine in general. The city itself is not as bad as many people have written about, although it is rough around the edges and not as sterile as other asian cities. I tend to like that.The countryside is unbelievably vast and takes some time to travel to. I took a train to Sainshand to see Khamaryn Khiid, which was both convenient and inexpensive, overnight sleeper and hired a driver in town for all in under $100 for two passengers. Nobody can take cards in the countryside, so plan accordingly.Living with nomads is cheap, but never make plans online. If you're there in person, you can haggle the price and save a ton of money at one of the dozens of tourist companies in the big city. There is always someone looking for tourists to take around. Renting a car is also pretty cheap. Make sure you get a local to show you around the ger district, it's an interesting place. Cont'd.
>>2818845The country has a huge brain drain problem and the government isn't doing anything to help that. Infrastructure is a fucking joke, the pollution in winter is astoundingly bad, and the country bumpkins who move to the city are largely a drunken nuisance. That said, I didn't have any interactions that would prevent me from going back- I'll be visiting again in winter to apply for jobs because I like the people there and the proximity to other asian countries, everything is a cheap 5 hour flight away. Everything is cheap in Mongolia, too. All that aside, the countryside is beautiful. I hope you rent a car or ride a motorcycle to take it all in, it is a special place for the right person who takes the effort to be there. Go to naadam, drink a shit ton of beer, eat a shit ton of khuushur aned tsuivan, and have a laugh with the locals. Most speak English, Korean, or Japanese. See you in the steppe, cowboy.
you can see everything Mongolia has (except some of the more forested landscapes to the north) with basically zero of the downsides that >>2818685 mentioned in Inner Mongolia (which is actually developed, and has an economy that doesn't just rely on mining)>no showers and toiletsrare unless you stay in an actual yurt>poor hygienesame as above>hours of driving on rough roads in soviet vansRoads in inner mongolia are in great condition, they even have trains, and the cars are usually modern Chinese 4wd. or you can take a bus>vaccines and healthcaredon't need vaccines (but hospitals also not great, outside of Baotou Ordos and Hohhot you're fucked)>food is blandyou can eat Chinese food from anywhere in China + Mongolian food so its the best>nothing to do outside of natural landscapesthis is the biggest differenceUlaan Baatar is a polluted hellscape, big cities in Inner Mongolia like Baotou or Ordos are much less polluted (still polluted but better), much bigger, lots more to do. There were also a lot more temples in Inner Mongolia (bc it was historically more developed and less nomadic) and they were not (all) destroyed by the communistsalso the Gobi extends into inner Mongolia and if you want to see stuff like the grasslands you can go to Altay in Xinjiang or Ili which is very similar
>>2818847>coldest national capital on Earth>I'll be visiting again in winterYou're not cut out for the easy life, are you?
>>2818923life is to live for the difficult
