Mongolia
Table of Contents - Clickable
Mongolia Trip Planning
Comprehensive Information for Mongolia trip planning. Do it yourself travel.
Mongolia Pictures for Your Travel Itinerary – Desert, Steppe, UB
My Trip Report. One month in the country summarized.
What to Know for Traveling in Mongolia.
Topical Posts
Mongolian Toilets – Cities, Steppe, Gobi Desert
Mongolian Horse Riding & Milking
Diary Entries in Chronological Order
Getting to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia |
| Pre-flight jitters |
| Seoul Incheon Airport Fun: Heading to Mongolia |
| Learning About Sushi en Route to Mongolia |
Arriving in Mongolia |
| Breathing – My Arrival in Mongolia |
| My Cozy Bed – Arriving at the Apartment – Mongolia |
| My Embarrassing Toilet Situation – Mongolian Adventures – nighttime travails. |
Day 1 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia |
| German in Mongolia – I Never Expected This |
| German Food at Home – Mongolia |
| My First Day in Ulaanbaatar + Mongolian Dumplings – The Ulaanbaatar Beatles monument! |
| Jacket Shopping in Ulaanbaatar – I fail. 100% |
| The Transfer: Babysitter 1 to Babysitter 2 – Mongolia |
| The Talent Show & Gladys the Dog – Day 1, Event #1 – For disabled Mongolia youth and adults. Traditional dancing, clothing, and more. |
| A Sketch Artist Draws Me – Mongolia. More traditional clothing |
| Theater In Mongolia – Day 1, Event #2 – A Christian event. |
| Walking Home – Ulaanbaatar Supermarket |
Day 2 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia |
| Car Trouble After Breakfast – Day Two in Mongolia |
| Visiting the Ulaanbaatar Black Market Bazaar – Mongolia (I visit again at the very end of my trip) |
Day 3 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia |
| Children’s Day in Mongolia – A Mongolian holiday |
| Instagram Meetup, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia – Instameets are so fun! Get off the phone, already. (We have a 2nd Instameet at the end of my trip) |
Day 4 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia |
| Fortunes & Family – Mongolian culture |
| Horse Meat for Gobi Desert – Shopping at the big market with stalls for meat, veg, and more |
| Yikes! The Pickpocket Hits – Mongolian crime |
Gobi Desert |
| The Road to Gobi Desert – Getting into the Mongolian Desert |
| Camels in the Distance. Super Thrilled! – Mongolian camels are so cool! |
| Supper Time! – Camping in Mongolia |
| Mongolian Camel Day! – I love today |
| Desolate Earth – Mongolia |
| At My First Ever Ger Camp Stay – Mongolia’s small ger camps are family-run, the food is good, and toilets are… |
| Mountain Goat Day! – Mongolian mountain goat. We spot a few! |
All Blog Posts with Pictures for Browsing – Not Chronological Order
Mongolia Pictures for Your Travel Itinerary – Desert, Steppe, UB
Mongolia is a beautiful country, and the landscape is outstanding. During May, the days are long and the light is gorgeous during the morning and evening. It's ideal for photography! This page of Mongolia photographs allows for easy viewing. For further information,...
Mongolia Travel Blog – Comprehensive Information
This comprehensive Mongolia travel blog post includes Mongolia tours, horse trekking, and solo travel. Whether you're 7 days in Mongolia or any other amount of time, this will guide you. I highly recommend Mongolia travel, as it's safe as a solo or group traveler....
Mongolian Toilets – Cities, Steppe, Gobi Desert
I love sharing stories about my month in Mongolia-- driving for days across the desolate Gobi Desert + horseback riding for a week on the vast green steppe. My friends listen patiently, + ask in a hushed voice: where did you go to the bathroom? Meanwhile, my women...
Adventurous Mongolian Horse Riding & Milking
The Mongolian horse is a key part of the nomadic culture in this vast and wild country. They are smaller than most other horses around the world, likely because they require fewer calories for survival of the Siberian-like winters. The majority of Mongolian people...
Mongolian Mountain Goat Day!
This morning I was going to leave most of my things in the ger, since last night we spoke about staying here for two nights. But Dasha told me it is not safe to leave things in the ger, so I packed up although I didn't understand why it wasn't safe. After breakfast of...
At My First Ever Ger Camp Stay – Mongolia
The three of us, Dasha, Binderya, and I, stayed at that second ger camp last night. When we first arrived in the late afternoon it was gray, but then I found colorful goats and a beautiful sunset made the sky pop. Of course, I ran around taking a million photos of...
Desolate Earth – Mongolia
We have been driving on dirt roads for hours, and it is early afternoon, when suddenly there are buildings in front of us. It is a town. Actually, it should probably be called a small city simply because it is the capitol city of the region. These buildings would not...
Mongolian Camel Day!
Day 2: Mongolian Camels On the Road to Gobi, the Mongolian Desert It’s morning, and of course I am the first to wake up. I always wake up to the morning light, and jet lag certainly doesn’t help. I walk around the stark landscape, but don’t take many photos. With a...
Supper Time! – Mongolia
It's supper time and getting dark fast. We're camping out tonight, on our way from UB to Gobi Desert. While Dasha prepares our supper of pasta with horse meat and hot tea, I wander off to take photos and Binderya wanders off for a long chat on the mobile. A herd of...
Camels in the Distance. Super Thrilled! – Mongolia
I see camels in the distance, but they are far, far in the distance sitting in the back of a small flatbed truck. Who knew a bunch of Bactrian camels could fold their legs beneath their bodies and fit in such a small space? I am so excited that I start squealing a bit...
The Road to Gobi Desert – Mongolia
We’re in a hurry to get going, since it’s nearly 1pm by the time we return from the market (and the pickpocket!), load up the car, and leave home. Driving to Gobi takes a long time—a really long time! Like 2 days long, if you don’t want to sit in the car for 12 hours...
Yikes! The Ulaanbaatar Pickpocket Hits – Mongolia
Walking back to the apartment, all of have our hands full with many plastic bags carrying our purchases of meat, vegetables, bread, pasta, my little yellow squeeze bottle of mustard, and a few bananas. I had decided on some fresh fruit, and pineapple was hugely...
Horse Meat for Gobi Desert – Mongolia
Off we go to the market for horse meat, vegetables, and supplies for our trip to Gobi! The three of us, my driver Dasha, his 16-year-old daughter, Binderya, and I walk from the apartment complex where I'm staying with Dasha's dad. We cross the busy 4-lane road to...
Fortunes & Family – Mongolia
We are leaving for Gobi today! I’m so nervous about the vehicles’ ability to complete our journey, given its recent issues. This might be the most nervous I’ve ever been regarding a trip, and I haven’t been sleeping well because of it. I guess it will be ok, because...
Instagram Meetup (Instameet) Ulaan Baatar – Mongolia
This is a longer Chapter, since I first give the backstory about my experience with Instagram Meetups, and then tell you all about the very first Ulaanbaatar Instagram Meetup. Backstory - Instagram in San Francisco About a month before traveling to Mongolia I attended...
Children’s Day in Mongolia
It's 6am on Mongolia Childrens Day I don't know if Dasha's car is fixed yet. I'm thinking I could go on a tourist tour, and then be back in a few days or a week and by then Dashas car should be fixed all the way, and we can hit the Gobi then. Today is Children's Day....
Visiting the Ulaan Baatar Black Market Bazaar – Mongolia
After the car drama from this morning, we left Dasha's SUV at the repair shop and got Gobi Desert directions from his friend. His friend had a couple of small, playful children. It was a joy to watch their energy as they climbed all over their dad as though he were a...
Car Trouble After Breakfast – Day Two in Mongolia
The omelet I cooked for breakfast Dolgormaa's dad was pretty bad. I didn’t like it. I should have added more onion. And I forgot to ask for cinnamon. And, the sausage I used is very fatty and tastes terrible when cooked. Oops. I always cook something American-like for...
Walking Home – Mongolia
By the time the Christian theater event for children is finished, it's early evening. I'm exhausted from jet lag and ready to head home and to bed. Ochma tells me that we're actually quite close to home. So, we decide on walking home instead of waiting for a bus,...
Theater In Mongolia – Day 1, Event #2
Ochma and I depart the disco and head to event #2, which is at a theater. We wait at a bus stop along with some business people dressed in suits, and an old drunk guy with shoulder-length gray hair approaches me. He commences speaking a lot in Mongolian, but I don't...