Author: Traveling Rockhopper

In general, I prefer to travel by myself. However, there are places where it’s more convenient, easier or simply safer to get some help from a local travel agency.
What about Mongolia? From my point of view, you can travel by yourself in Mongolia, but it’s not so easy; it’s possible but it needs some effort. There is also a problem with understanding, because not so many Mongolians speak English.

I usually, don’t give this kind of practical information on my blog, because they depend on your nationality and actually rules may change quite fast. So before traveling somewhere, it’s always very important to check the current status and all conditions (visa or required vaccinations etc.).

So why am I writing now about visa to Mongolia? Well, just to share my story with you.
I wanted to travel to Mongolia in August, a few years ago. Shortly before, I had to change my passport, so I was checking how long does it take to get a visa to Mongolia. The schedule was quite tight, but I expected to finish everything on time. Just after I got my new passport, some rules were changed and it happened that I didn’t need a visa to Mongolia any more! So I was lucky, perfect timing! 🙂 About one year later, my friend was planing her trip to Mongolia and she told me that she has to apply for a visa. I was surprised. Then we realized that rules were changed again so currently I need a visa to Mongolia.

On one the popular way for visiting Mongolia is to take a train. You can take the Trans-Siberian Railway and arrive from Russia or China. It’s also possible to take a bus from Russia or China. However, if you choose a train or a bus, then you need to arrange more visas. If you’re anyway visiting these countries, then traveling by train/bus sounds like a good idea.

You can also simply fly to the Mongolian capital – Ulaanbaatar. I was flying to Mongolia from Europe and didn’t have any problems. But be aware, that flights may be delayed or cancelled because of the bad weather, what apparently is not a seldom case.

“You don’t go to Mongolia because of food” – that’s what I read before visiting Mongolia. I don’t remember where I saw this sentence, but I remember the moment when I understood the meaning of it… 😉

To be fair – maybe, I’m not the best person for talking about food; I’m a bit picky… And I don’t eat meat – that’s something extra weird for many Mongolians.

In general, Mongolian diet is based on animal products. We can distinguish “white” and “red” food.
-“White” food consists of dairy products (often made of fermented milk) and it’s eaten in summer.
-“Red” food means simply meat, and it’s the main source of energy in winter.

Just one warning; if you visit a nomadic family, it’s very likely you’ll get some diary products made of fermented milk. They are healthy, but if you’re not use to them, your stomach may get upset…

Traditional Mongolian clothes are very nice, unfortunately mostly older people wear them.
As you can see in today’s picture – the older man is wearing beautiful clothes (Deel) with an interesting belt; a young one is wearing just jeans and a T-shirt.

Each ethnic group in Mongolia has their own traditional clothes. There are different clothes for men and women, some special ones for summer or winter, etc. I heard that the most unique are traditional Mongolians head wear; apparently they have hundreds kinds of hats!

If you want to see different traditional Mongolian clothes – visit Mongolia during one of the bigger festivals, e.g., Naadam festival (later, I’ll tell you more about this event).

Mongolia is an empty country, well, almost empty. 😉
There are about 3 million people living in Mongolia, and 40% of the total population lives in the capital!

Typical Mongolian family is quite big. Usually, Mongolians have at least four children.
When I was in Mongolia, I saw many young pregnant women, as well as women with small children.

The majority of Mongolian people belong to Khalkha Mongols and Kazakhs.
However, there are many ethnic groups living in Mongolia, often having a nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyle.
If you have a chance, talk with Mongolians or spend some time with nomads – it can be a very interesting experience!

In the 16th century, the Yellow Hat Buddhism came to Mongolia from Tibet. These days, Mongolians are mostly Buddhists, however Mongolian Buddhism is different from Tibetan one.

Mongolian is the official language of Mongolia.
Russian is known by many.

What about English?
I guess, Mongolians learn English; but in general, don’t expect that a random person can understand English. Even your “English-speaking” guide may not understand you so well; he may speak English and be able to explain you a lot in English, but he often uses sentences learnt by heart.

Mongolia has a continental climate with extreme low temperatures in winter (up to -40°C or even lower) and extremely high temperatures in summer (up to +40°C). Of course, the weather varies a bit from region to region.

So when is the best time to visit Mongolia?
I was there in August and it was great. However, July seems to be the great period because of the Naadam Festival; on the other hand it may be too warm for enjoying the Gobi desert.

Mongolia is called as the “Land of Blue Skies”.
There are apparently about 250 sunny days a year.

I’m not so sure is it true. Anyway, the name is nice. 🙂

Do you know what Mongolia has in common with the Great Wall of China?
The Great Wall was built because of Mongolians; well, kind of.
The Great Wall was built to protect China from the various nomadic groups of the Eurasian Steppe, e.g., from Mongolia.

p.s. Today’s picture shows the Gobi Desert; it’s not the Great Wall of China.

Mongolia shares their boarders with only two countries, i.e., Russia and China.
And this affects many aspects of Mongolia.
Apparently, Mongolians don’t like so much China; Russia is definitely the favorite neighbor.

Welcome in August on my blog.
This month, I’m taking you to Mongolia.

Have you been to Mongolia?
I only spent in Mongolia about a week, and mostly explored just one region. However, I think, I was lucky to see one of the best sites of Mongolia. Hopefully, you’ll agree with this sentence after seeing my pictures in August. 🙂
Well, there are many beautiful places in Mongolia, but the Gobi desert stole my heart. 🙂

A “South African month” on my blog is almost over.
How did you like it?
Would you like to visit South Africa?

South Africa is a large country and there are still many great regions I didn’t have time to visit (e.g., famous Kruger National Park), hopefully, one day…

And tomorrow, a new adventure will start. 🙂
Stay tuned!

Of course, it’s not a pigeon in today’s picture. Just, this name came to my mind, while waiting for lunch and observing these cute yellow birds. Like pigeons are so common in many places in the world, in that area, I saw plenty of these birds flying between tables, trying to steal some food or begging for leftovers. For me, all pigeons could look like that. 😀

p.s. Who knows the name of this cutie?
EDIT – Thank you for telling me the name of the bird, it’s a Cape weaver bird! 🙂

West Coast National Park is another place worth visiting, especially when you stay in nearby Cape Town.
West Coast is a very nice area, with many hiking paths, as well as cycling options, bird watching etc. Doing “nothing” is also possible here. 😉

The Camdeboo National Park is located in the Karoo area, nearby the town of Graaff-Reinet.
And both, the park and the city – are tourist attractions.

The Camdeboo National Park is the most famous from the Valley of Desolation (seen in today’s picture).

And, Graaff-Reinet is one of the oldest cities in South Africa. It was founded by the Dutch East India Company and named after the wife of governor of Cape Colony – Reinet van de Graaff.
p.s. Don’t miss the Dutch Reformed Church in Graaff-Reinet.

I remember well entering the Karoo National Park. The friendly older ranger greeted us and told us basic information about the park. I liked a lot the picture of a colorful lizard that he showed us so I really wanted to spot it in the park. And we were lucky, so here it is – in today’s photo. 🙂 I know, it’s not a lion… 😉

The Karoo National Park is a wildlife reserve in the Great Karoo.
Some of the animals you may find in the Karoo National Park are:
-springbok
-greater kudu
-gemsbok
-zebra
-buffalo
-red hartebeest
-jackal
-rhinoceros
-eagles
and many more.