There are 8 road crossings and two railway crossings open on the Russian-Mongolian border, operating all year round. For citizens of third countries, crossing is possible only at the road checkpoints Tashanta - Tsagan-Nur (Altai), Kyakhta - Altanbulag (Buryatia) and at the railway crossing: Naushki - Sukhbaatar (Buryatia). If, for example, the group includes citizens of former Soviet republics, they will not be allowed to cross the border as citizens of third countries. The passage of third-country citizens at this crossing is planned to be opened only after the reconstruction of the Mondy-Khankh checkpoint.

For Russian citizens, it is also possible to cross through road checkpoints: Mondy - Khankh, Solovyovsk - Erentsav, Khandagayty - Borsho, Tsagan-Dogorod - Arts-Sura, Shara-Sur - Tes, Verkhniy Ulkhun - Ulkhun and by railway - Solovyovsk - Erentsav.

Local taxes apply when crossing the border. At the Kyakhta-Altanbulag automobile checkpoint, the Russian side charges money for processing documents when leaving Russia and sanitizing cars upon entry. The Mongolian side charges a transport tax of about $10 and car insurance of $20–25.

It takes from 2 to 4 hours to cross the border, even if there is no queue, but usually, due to queues at the border, crossing by car, for example in Kyakhta, takes the whole day.

VEHICLE CROSSINGS AT THE RUSSIA-MONGOLIA BORDER

Checkpoint Tashanta – Tsagan-Nur (Altai)

The automobile checkpoint in Altai in Tashanta is located in the mountains. Between the Russian and Mongolian checkpoints there are more than 20 km of dirt road and the Durbet-Daba pass with a height of 2400 m. There is a rule here: no one should remain in the neutral zone. This section must be passed before the Mongolian checkpoint closes. Checkpoints work with 9am to 6pm.

Checkpoint Kyakhta – Altanbulag (Buryatia)

Checkpoint 24/7!

At the Kyakhta - Altanbulag automobile checkpoint, the Russian side charges money for paperwork (about 90 rubles) when leaving Russia and sanitary processing of cars $5-7 upon entry. The Mongolian side charges a transport tax - about $10 and car insurance - $20-25.

It takes from 2 to 4 hours to cross the border, even if there is no queue, but usually, due to queues at the border, crossing by car, for example in Kyakhta, takes the whole day. The modern terminal is designed to handle up to 500 cars per day, but in practice, even if you arrive early in the morning, this does not mean crossing the border before lunch.

Checkpoint: Mondy – Hankh

Crossing the border by citizens of third countries at the Mondy-Khankh checkpoint (Lake Khubsugul) is not provided for by the intergovernmental agreement between Russia and Mongolia and is only possible for residents of Mongolia and Russia.


• Mondy-Khankh automobile checkpoint(302 km from Irkutsk) located on the pass Mungiin-Daba (1830 m.) Has double-sided status. This means that today only citizens of Mongolia and Russia can cross the border here. Open in summer from April 15 to September 15 - from 10:00 to 18:00, in winter - from 10:00 to 17:00. Closed on weekends and holidays.

  There is quite a decent asphalt road leading to the border from the Russian side. From the village of Mondy, a good quality road constantly goes up. Mungiin Daba Pass and at the same time a border. After passing the border, a standard Mongolian dirt road begins. The forest has disappeared - there is a steppe all around, with groves on the slopes of the mountains. From the border, the road goes with a general decline. Before reaching the village of Khankh, you must pay an entry fee Khuvsgul National Park.

  Since 2010, the Federal Agency for the Development of the State Border of the Russian Federation has been working on the issue of changing the status of the international automobile checkpoint (MACP) Mondy-Khankh from bilateral to multilateral. A positive conclusion to this project was given by Rosgranitsa. However, to date the issue has not been resolved.

Checkpoint Solovyovsk - Erentsav

Open 7 days a week from 9 to 18 with a lunch break from 14:00 to 15:00 Chita time.

Checkpoint Khandagaity – Borsho

The Khandagaity-Borshoo border checkpoint on the Russian-Mongolian border will soon be equipped to practically transfer its status from bilateral to multilateral. Rosgranitsa is allocating 15 million rubles for these purposes. Reconstruction of the border checkpoint on the Tuvan section of the Russian-Mongolian border will double the capacity of passing people and vehicles.

Consul General of Mongolia in Kyzyl Bazarsad announced the decision taken by the Mongolian leadership to open this checkpoint up to 3-4 times a month for the passage of representatives of third countries even before the completion of reconstruction, which usually lasts for several years.

In the meantime, the Khandagaity-Borshoo checkpoint operates in a two-way mode and is open to citizens and legal entities of Russia and Mongolia. Numerous foreigners arriving in Tuva cannot cross the state border on the Tuvan section and are forced to use the Kyakhta checkpoint in Buryatia or Tashanta in the Altai Republic.

Checkpoint Tsagan-Dogorod – Arts-Sura

Checkpoint Shara-Sur – Tes

Checkpoint Verkhniy Ulkhun - Ulkhun

ENTRY TO MONGOLIA BY PERSONAL VEHICLE

To enter the territory of Mongolia with your own car, an international driver’s license alone is enough; no other permits from the Russian traffic police or replacement of Russian license plates with Mongolian plates is required.


You cannot drive across the border in a car driven by a simple written power of attorney - only valid notarized powers of attorney. When crossing the border, the vehicle data is entered into the customs declaration by the owner and recorded in the computer database of the Mongolian customs.


There are no prohibitions when traveling by car within the territory of Mongolia. The only restriction that motorists may encounter is being in the border zone and in specially protected natural areas. Movement in the border zone with China requires special permission. The border zone is considered to be a 30 km strip of land along the state border of Mongolia. For example, to visit the caves on the Darganga plateau, you must have approval from the border guards, since the entrance to the caves is located in the border zone. In the territories of nature reserves and national parks, a paid regime has been introduced for the stay of tourists and the entry of cars. It is legally established at 1,000 tugriks per car, and 3,000 tugriks per person for up to a week of stay in specially protected areas.


On roads when crossing the administrative boundaries of aimags, local tolls are collected, most often 1000 tugriks (for a passenger car), but more expensive for a minibus. Some aimags charge money for crossing wooden bridges. You also need to pay for the use of ferries.


To transport pets across the border, an international veterinary certificate is required.


The use of car radios (27 MHz), satellite phones and GPS is not prohibited (there is no law on the use of civilian radio stations in Mongolia) - importing them into Mongolia and working with them is permitted. The problems begin at Russian customs - permission is needed for radio stations installed on cars. According to current instructions, GPS devices are prohibited from import into Russia. Therefore, when leaving Russia, you MUST include GPS devices in the customs declaration, indicate its serial number, and have a copy of the certificate issued in the store upon purchase.

On her way home from Vladivostok, the girl decided to stop by Mongolia for a short while. We are publishing her travel recipe.

Prices are current as of the date of publication. € 1 = 2864 Mongoliantugrik

Why Mongolia?

Few travelers visit Mongolia, and those who do call it one of the most impressive countries they have ever seen. This was the first reason why I went to this country. Secondly, in June there was a “Home for Everyone”: a project of the Academy of Free Travel, which is periodically organized in different countries of the world. Any traveler can live in such a house for free. I was attracted by the opportunity to interact with different travelers and learn something new from them.

Russian travelers and tourists do not particularly spoil Mongolia. I met people who lived near the border with the homeland of Genghis Khan, but I had never been there. But in vain! The wanderer will have something to see in this country, and the bonus will be that most of the population speaks Russian (many in a conversation with me called Mongolia the 16th republic of the USSR).

How to get there?

Mongolia's main airport is located near Ulaanbaatar and is called Buyant-Ukha - Chinggis Khan International Airport. On average, a plane from Moscow in both directions costs € 500, the flight takes 6 hours. Citizens of Ukraine and Belarus will have to get to Mongolia with a transfer in Moscow.

Another option is to fly to Russian cities close to the country: Irkutsk or Ulan-Ude. Plane tickets here will already cost less: about € 200. From Irkutsk to the capital of Mongolia you can already travel by train (€ 90), and from Ulaanbaatar by bus (€ 20) or also by train (€ 60).

The legendary Trans-Siberian Railway, the road from Moscow to Ulaanbaatar, is very popular among European tourists. A train ticket will cost €260 and the journey will take a little more than four days. The train departs only on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from Yaroslavsky station.

Visa, currency, housing

Russians do not need a visa to Mongolia if they plan to visit this country for less than 30 days. Ukrainians and Belarusians are luckier: they will not need a visa if they plan to stay in this country for less than 90 days.

The same tugriks are used as currency here. The banknotes depict the founder of the Mongol Empire - the great Genghis Khan. In general, you will see his name or image all the time in Mongolia - in the names of hotels, shops, beer and various dishes. The Mongols still love and honor Genghis Khan very much.

“You will find the name or image of Genghis Khan in the names of hotels, shops, beer and various dishes”

Most hotels in Mongolia are concentrated in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, where you can find accommodation for every taste and budget. Thus, the cheapest hostel will cost from € 3, and the “presidential suite” in the Ulaanbaatar hotel will cost € 500. In general, couchsurfing around the country is also worth looking for only in Ulaanbaatar. True, they may try to sell you some kind of tour around the country through couchsurfing - be it to the desert or to real nomads, don’t agree. Personally, I received many such requests (I even remembered where there was exactly the same situation with couchsurfing), but ordinary Mongols also wrote, who happily invited me to their home. So I stayed with a man who ran a hostel, where I met cool guys from all over the world.

Transport

You can’t write much about transport in Mongolia, simply because it is absent. You can easily get around the city and short distances using buses, but if you want to go to the Gobi Desert or some other interesting cities, then the only option is a car (either hitchhiking or renting).

In my opinion, hitchhiking in Mongolia is excellent, people pick up very willingly. But here you will have to face three difficulties at once - sometimes these same wonderful people will ask you for money, the second is that in parts remote from Ulaanbaatar the traffic is much less busy. Once I even had to wait two hours for one car. The third difficulty is that in some parts of Mongolia there are no roads at all.

If hitchhiking is not for you, then choose to rent a car. The average price of a car for three days on bookingcar is € 300. In lesser-known services you can rent a car from € 70 per day. The most profitable option would be to rent a “Loaf”, since it can accommodate up to 8 people.

Route

I didn’t want to go to the Gobi Desert, because I had already been to the Sahara, so I built my route in such a way as to spend as many days in the country as possible and see as many interesting things as possible. I entered Mongolia from Ulan-Ude and left in Kyzyl.

Ulaanbaatar(4 days)

Get ready: Ulaanbaatar is practically the only city in Mongolia in the sense in which we are used to seeing it. Here is a unique combination of Soviet high-rise buildings with small yurts standing next to them.

You can be stuck in Ulaanbaatar for a long time, especially if you are surrounded by good company! In the hostel where I lived for couchsurfing, there were a lot of cool foreigners. Sometimes I could spend half a day without leaving home and talking with the guys. It’s amazing how many foreigners trudge around Mongolia! Perhaps we should adopt this? On my last night at the hostel, my host cooked a ram's head for us all, an authentic Mongolian delicacy that was unlike anything I'd ever tasted before. In addition to the meat itself, this was the first time I ate lamb eyes and brains. It sounds terrible, but it's actually very tasty and definitely worth a try!

“Besides the meat itself, this was the first time I ate lamb eyes and brains. It sounds terrible, but it's actually very tasty."

Besides hanging out in a hostel, Ulaanbaatar has a lot to offer for the cultural traveler. Start from the central Genghis Khan Square, where the monument to the national hero of Mongolia, Sukhbaatar, is located. From here you can walk to National Museum of the History of Mongolia (Juulchin 1). It’s worth coming here to see the life of the Mongols from prehistoric times to the present day; entrance to the museum is € 5.

From the History Museum you can go to another museum - dinosaurs (Independence Square, 5th Khoroo, Chingeltei District/Chingeltei duureg 5th Khoroo) , entrance fee is a little less than € 2. In Mongolia, scientists have found many dinosaur remains and you can get acquainted with them in this museum (these are the bones of real dinosaurs!).

Once you've finished learning about dinosaurs, go to Winter Palace of Bogdy Gegen (Khoroo 11), where you can see the conditions in which the last emperor of Mongolia lived. The walk from the center will take about half an hour, but it is better to walk, because there are terrible traffic jams in Ulaanbaatar. The cost of a ticket to the museum is € 3.

From the palace you will be within walking distance of the monument to military friendship between Soviet and Mongolian troops Zaysan (Mount Zaisan) . From here it will be great to watch the sunset and see the whole of Ulaanbaatar from above.

Having enjoyed the historical part of Ulaanbaatar, you can safely devote the second day to the Buddhist aspect. Start with Mongolia's largest Buddhist monastery and the country's first religious center - Gandantegchenlin Monastery. More than 600 monks permanently live here and various Buddhist rituals are held. The monastery became famous, among other things, thanks to the hollow 26-meter statue of Buddha made of copper and gold. Entry here will cost you €1.25. In addition to this monastery, there are many small datsans in Ulaanbaatar, but they are less interesting for the traveler.

You can set aside a separate relaxed day for shopping. To do this, come to Naran market tul (Khoroo 14). Here you can first of all make purchases for your further trip to Mongolia, as well as simply buy national souvenirs. Among other things, here you can find dinosaur bones, products made from camel and yak wool, and national dresses. Beware: there are pickpockets in the market, so keep all your belongings in front of you and never lose sight of them!

Gorkhi-Terelj National Park(2 days)

We've spent a little time in the city and that's enough, it's time to go to nature! Fortunately, in Mongolia there is only one nature, as well as many national parks. You can get to Gorkhi-Terelj by bus, which will cost a little less than a euro; the ride will take about two hours.

The park is very beautiful: camels graze between the mountains on their own, and some even offer to ride them. The park is best known for its unusually shaped rocks created by nature. Also inside the park is Buddhist temple Aryaabal, where you should definitely look! This is a place of power, a place where soul and body rest. During the climb to the temple you will have to overcome 100 white and 8 black steps, at which time you will be surrounded by wooden tablets on which Buddhist wisdom is written.

You can stay right there in the park. Nowadays, many tourist bases have been built here that offer recreation, including in a national yurt (will cost from € 30). I relied on chance and while hitchhiking I met a wonderful family who allowed me to live in their yurt.

I advise you to combine a trip to the national park with a trip to Genghis Khan statue in Tsonzhin-Boldog. This is the tallest equestrian statue in the world. In addition to viewing the statue from the outside, you can go inside, where a museum dedicated to Genghis Khan will be waiting for you, and you can also climb to the observation deck at the top of the statue. Entrance € 3.

“Huge dunes and a whistling wind are what will make you feel like you’re in a real desert.”

Elsen-Tasarhai National Park (1 day)

If you, like me, don’t want to spend a lot of time and money visiting the Gobi, go to Elsen-Tasarkhay Park, where you can see a piece of the desert. It takes about four hours to drive here from Ulaanbaatar, and public transport no longer goes here, so you have two options: hitchhiking or renting a car. Huge dunes and a whistling wind are what will make you feel like you are in a real desert. At night, the stars shine brighter than ever here. To see it all, take a tent with you, or ask for an overnight stay with local nomads.

Kharkhorin (1 day)

From the park it will be convenient to get to Kharkhorin, the ancient capital of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century (which was previously called Karakorum). Despite its former greatness, today the city looks like an ordinary village and in general there is nothing to do here. It will be interesting here for those who want to see the place where the Golden Horde formed and the path of Genghis Khan began. Here it is worth visiting the ruins of the ancient city of Karakorum, of which, unfortunately, little remains, and taking a look at the 16th-century Erdene Zu monastery. People also like to come here to look at the huge stone phallus sticking out of the ground. The phallus is directed towards the hollow, which the locals call the female womb. Locals associate several legends with this unique “monument”. According to them, a childless woman should sit on the phallus, praying that she will have children - and then, they say, the problem will be resolved. Another legend says that there used to be a monastery here. The phallus became a reminder to the monks to learn to tame their flesh, instead of running around on dates with girls from the neighboring village.

Ulaang (2 days)

Since the Mongolian border with Russia does not operate at this checkpoint on weekends, I had to stay longer in Mongolia. Ulaangom is a small, unremarkable town where Russians often go to buy Chinese goods. There are hotels here where you can stay for €2, but I pitched my tent next to the river that flows outside the city. There were also “summer cottages” - yurts of the Mongols, and whole herds of cows, horses and yaks grazing.

It’s worth stopping here to chat with the lovely Mongols, try yourself as a shepherd herding cattle (I was allowed to ride a horse for free, chasing slow cows!), and just take a break from the big trip you’ve just completed around Mongolia.

Lifehacks

You don't need to buy a tour to visit a real Mongolian yurt. Mongols are very friendly people, and they will just invite you to their home if they like you.

Don’t expect anything interesting from Mongolian supermarkets; basically, you can find here all the same food that we are used to seeing on the shelves of our supermarkets. For national delicacies, go straight to cafes or the market.

The main product that Mongols eat is meat. It will be very difficult for a vegetarian here, so take a couple of kilograms of vegetables with you: in Mongolia they are worth their weight in gold.

You can come to Mongolia without a reason, or you can come with one. The most important reason to come here is the largest national festival in Mongolia, Naadam (in 2019 it will be from July 11 to 15). Here you will find Mongolian wrestling, horse racing and archery, all very impressive.

Even if you are going to Mongolia in the summer, take warm clothes with you. At night in the desert and steppe it can be very cold.

Budget for one for 10 days:

Food – €25

Museums – €5

Transport – € 2

Souvenirs – € 6

Overnight – couchsurfing and tent

Total: € 38

Photo:

I’ll briefly explain to the girls and those who are not yet in the know: the Toyota Prius is a hybrid Japanese car in which a gasoline engine is supplemented by an electric one. The process of their joint work is controlled by the on-board computer, and the main (gasoline) engine runs only when necessary. And it turns off as soon as the need for its efforts disappears - when driving at low speed (for example, in traffic jams), while stopping at a traffic light, when braking, when driving with the gas pedal released or on a slope and in other situations when the electric motor is able to cope on your own.

Thanks to this, hybrid cars are more environmentally friendly than conventional cars with internal combustion engines, but, of course, that’s not why Mongolians buy them. But because “hybrids” allow you to save on gasoline, which, as I already wrote, is expensive in Mongolia. Consumption for Priuses is from 4 to 6 liters per 100 kilometers, depending on the version, season and driving style. Driving in eco mode along long steppe routes allows local residents to significantly save on fuel.

Hybrid cars have one small drawback (but it is also an advantage) - the starting battery. It is used to turn on the car - yes, that's right - and maintain its functions when it is turned off (powering the clock and alarm, for example), so it gradually discharges. So the “hybrid” does not like to stand idle for a long time; it needs to be “walked” at least once every few days so that the starting battery is recharged. These cars especially don’t like to sit idle during the cold season. But in constant use, the battery feels vigorous, and the car does not need to be warmed up regularly in cold weather, like regular cars. Even at -30° and below, it will turn on without problems - it doesn’t need to turn a frozen starter. But the capabilities of the starting battery are very limited, and, for example, you cannot “light” a regular car from a “hybrid”, only a fellow car with the same cute little battery. So if you suddenly need this kind of help, don’t rely on Priuses, look for a simpler or larger car.

The Mongolian government strongly welcomes the purchase of “hybrids”. In principle, this country already has very humane duties on imported cars - they don’t have their own “automotive industry” that needs to be pulled by the ears with all their might, which means there is no need for protective duties on imports. The duty on hybrid cars is even lower than on regular cars. Moreover, since June 2016, Mongolia has abolished the customs rate for importing new cars from Japan and taxes on Japanese cars with mileage less than 3 years. An excellent example of competent import regulation, when the import of higher quality goods is encouraged. So in the near future this country will put us behind the belt in terms of the number of cool cars per capita. In terms of automotive environmental friendliness, I think it’s already closed. Eh, lucky!

Just at the end of last week, I returned from the largest road trip of my life - almost 10 thousand kilometers across the territories of two countries - Russia and Mongolia. It turned out to be three thousand kilometers towards the state border and back to Khabarovsk and four thousand kilometers across the territory of Mongolia. The route through a new country for me looked like this:

As you can see from the map on which I plotted the route I took, the purpose of this trip was to drive to the empty Gobi and visit the most interesting places that Mongolia has.

In continuation, there is an accelerated video recording from the car’s recorder, as well as my impressions of the trip, of course in a very compressed format. In the future there will be many notes with photographs and videos, where I will tell you in more detail about the country and the places I managed to visit.

If anyone has any questions about the trip, ask in the comments, I will be happy to answer.

The trip took 16 days(the first half of June 2015), it took 2-3 days in each direction to travel across Russia from Khabarovsk to the border settlement of Kyakhta, and directly across Mongolia there were 11 days of constant travel.

Everything that the car saw can be seen on the video, which is compiled from the records of the car recorder. Here is everything from the Mongolian customs to it on the way back. It is clear that there are no parking lots and other moments when the car was not working. Also in this video there is almost no city of Ulaanbaatar - I traveled there by taxi or just on foot. In general, 11 days of travel still fit into this 26-minute video, which I accompanied with modern Mongolian songs to make it more fun for you to watch.

Now a few words about Mongolia.

It was very interesting to visit the country. Mongolia is kind and simple in everything. The attitude towards tourists, especially from Russia, is very friendly and welcoming. No one refuses to help with anything, communicate, etc.

Drive, even in the capital, is not complicated - the rules and signs are similar to ours, the locals almost follow them. Local traffic police (there are very few of them and only in the center - near the capital) treat drivers normally. There are many cameras installed in cities and towns, but I didn’t see the point in them.

Roads completely different here. There is also completely new asphalt, and of very good quality. Driving along it is a pleasure! But, there are also completely roadless places or places with a huge number of roads (sometimes made by the passage of one car). All roads pass through the mountains, so sometimes the condition of those roads where there is no surface leaves much to be desired. Therefore, if you want to get somewhere, you need to go in an SUV, and if you want to drive around towns and main attractions, then you can go in a regular passenger car.

Nature Mongolia is very beautiful, although deserted. If you drive from North to South, you will notice how the vegetation becomes less and less. And as a result, in the desert itself there is sand and rocky mountains. There are a lot of mountains in general. and from the smallest to the largest - with constant snow. There is a lot of life around reservoirs; even the smallest stream can give life to an oasis in the middle of the empty steppe. We met different animals - camels, gophers, mice, hares, etc. And also a lot of birds.

We were able to see a variety of Mongol life forms - from yurts to the most modern comfortable houses. During the trip managed to visit: Altanbulag, Sukhbaatar, Darkhan, Ulaanbaatar, Terelzh, Zuunmod, Deltsertsorgt, Mandalgobi, Tsogt-Ovoo, Dalangadzad, Khurmen, Bayandalay, Saikhan, Arvaikheer, Kharkhorin, Tsetserleg, Tariat, lake. Terkhiin Tsagaan Nur, Khorgo volcano, Bayan-Khongor, Bayan-Ovoo, Zhargalant, Muren, Khatgal, lake. Khubsugul (Khevsgel Nuur), Khutag-Ender, Selenga, Bulgan, Erdenet, Barunburen. In some settlements we spent the night in hotels, in others in yurts. In the towns and villages where I stayed, I managed to take photographs, and there will definitely be separate notes. There will also be a few notes about the capital of Mongolia - the city of Ulaanbaatar. This is a very interesting and under construction city.

The language barrier- very serious. Moreover, what is interesting is that the letters are almost all from the Cyrillic alphabet, but it is absolutely impossible to understand anything. Therefore, you stare at the names and are completely stupefied. Communicating with local residents is also difficult. But what’s interesting is that some speak Russian, some speak English. And if everything is more or less good with the Russian language, then their English is very unclear, and they themselves understand it poorly. Sometimes you meet very educated people in terms of language. For example, at the museum I met a young guy who spoke excellent Russian and English. Some young people in Ulaanbaatar managed to study in Russia or Belarus, and also speak Russian simply perfectly.

Goods in Mongolia their choice is very poor, especially in all the small towns and villages. Products mainly from Russia and the countries of the former socialist camp, and industrial goods from China. They have some of their own products from milk, meat and vodka, which is also made from local products. Yes, and the local beer there is also good, especially the dark beer. Prices for products, about the same as in Russia. And here, petrol, which is imported to Mongolia from our country, is very expensive. Here you had to pay from 50 to 60 rubles for a liter of 92nd. Almost all gas stations accept payment Visa cards. In shops and hotels you can also sometimes pay with them, but not everywhere.

mobile connection exists wherever there are populated areas. And here is the mobile Internet- this is already a rarity. However, the Internet that I used in the hotel via Wi-Fi also leaves much to be desired in terms of speed. Sometimes I couldn’t even measure it. Again - in the capital and, for example, the city of Darkhan - everything with network access is excellent.

Customs, both Russian and Mongolian are completed normally, without any problems, although there are some peculiarities and subtleties. In particular, on our side, Russian citizens can enter without waiting in line (because very few of our cars go there), but on the Mongolian side, they asked me a thousand dollars to get through and not have to wait in line, but of course I refused. The inspection on the Mongolian side was superficial; I didn’t even take things out of the car. But on ours it’s different. They may ask you to open your bags, or they may just look into the salon. Naturally, they check the documents for the car, check the license plates at the exit and check them in different databases. There was also such a moment on the way back - a lot of Mongols are now going to Russia for gasoline (you can take a car tank and 10 liters in a canister out of Russia), food, etc. And that’s why customs simply can’t cope with the flow, even though they work around the clock. I had to stand at the border for eight hours.

It seems like I told you the main thing, if you have any questions, ask. And I will be preparing new notes from this trip.

Yes, and one more thing - I have now started posting photos from the trip on , so if anyone is interested, you can follow the photo journey there.

Mongolia is the birthplace of Genghis Khan. The country of winds, lamb and steppes.
This is a review of a short independent trip to Mongolia. Rent a car with driver in Ulaanbaatar.

Mobile communications and Internet in Mongolia. Weather in Mongolia. Mongolian cuisine - what Mongols eat. National parks of Mongolia and photographs from them

Today is September 1st. As in Russia, in Mongolia this day is declared the Day of Knowledge. This day is celebrated with amateur performances, horse and camel racing, as well as a ban on the sale of alcohol in Ulaanbaatar restaurants.

Therefore, I, dear readers of this topic, am sitting, despondent, in the very center of Ulaanbaatar, with a glass of water and waiting for the grub I ordered.

Tomorrow I'll go eat meat stewed with stones. . And then .
By the way, they don’t sell, but there are plenty of drunken people on the street.

Traveling to Mongolia on your own

I wanted to make this trip from Ulaanbaatar.
Last time it was proposed to travel together from Tomsk or Barnaul. But I am such that I can’t stand depending on anyone - it was suggested that I go in the company of someone whom I personally do not know and with whom I have never traveled anywhere before.

And I am very sensitive to my travel companions and I have long sworn off traveling with anyone. Therefore, I only considered Ulaanbaatar and renting a jeep here in Mongolia.

It turned out that cars are rented in Mongolia only with drivers.
It turned out, literally before leaving, that the SIXT company, which provided cars for rent at the Ulan Bator airport, had closed its representative office.

Imagine the situation: I have in my hands tickets purchased for miles from the Aeroflot company, the tickets have already been postponed from June to September since plans have changed somewhat... and here it’s such a bummer.

What to do? Of course we go!
I am Vinsky and must show by personal example how real independent travelers should behave.

On the day of departure to Ulan Bator (August 30), I sent similar letters to several Mongolian companies found by searching for “rent car Ulaanbaator” via Google and from several instant responses I chose the one that suited me the most:

• by price
• in the absence of a request to pay something in advance (I can’t stand giving money in advance)

I note that the Russian companies included in the mailing list gave the most monstrous prices.
As I understand it, they simply multiplied the prices existing in Mongolia by two.

So, I have a meeting party 4 hours before departure.
The backpack contains a windbreaker, socks, a couple of T-shirts, as well as a laptop, tablet, and phone.
I'm ready.
In duty free you buy vodka in small packages for gifts and a package of cookies for the same.

Visa to Mongolia

The Mongolian visa was arranged in advance. Costs $100. Of the entire necessary list of documents (tickets, application form, photo, certificate of employment, copy of the first page of the salary), only the invitation is difficult, but it is done easily through a Russian company based in Ulaanbaatar. The invitation costs 800 rubles. For other issues, it is better to contact the Mongols directly.

Now you don't need a visa to Mongolia

Ulaanbaatar Airport

Mongolia greeted me with a sign “Sergey Vinskiy - Welcome to Mongolia” and a sunny morning.
The taciturn driver walked me to the ordered jeep - Land Cruiser 80 and handed me a SIM card from the Mongolian operator Mobicom, purchased at my request.

Mobile Internet in Mongolia

By tradition, I’ll tell you about mobile Internet in the country where you plan to travel.
I took the SIM card for a newly purchased Samsung tablet - normal size, not micro.
It didn't work on the tablet. Then I took his Samsung phone from the driver and created an access point on it.

All. Although the Internet was weak - GPRS - I had it.
Let me make a reservation that in those places where I returned to Ulaanbaator this evening, there is no cellular communication at all. But on the way there, in small villages, you could check your mail.

Route in Mongolia

Since I had 4 days to do everything about everything (for the test, I decided not to risk it and fly to Mongolia for a short time), the route that I compiled using the English-language websites of Mongolian companies was logical:
— I don’t put Gobi on time
— lakes and fishing didn’t interest me for the first time
— Ulaanbaator didn’t interest me, especially

What is there within 300-400 km from the capital of Mongolia?
Eat Khustain nuruu— sand dunes (Elsen Tasarkhai), which in fact turned out to be a tourist attraction with Potemkin-like camel rides
Eat Kharkhorin— the ancient capital of Mongolia (you can spend 30 minutes exploring and then have lunch at Dream World)
Eat Orkhon valley- but this is already interesting.

First time in Mongolia

What you immediately notice in Mongolia is its identity as Russia: the same broken roads, an abundance of SUVs and trash along the roads. The same nondescript houses in the city - in Ulaanbaatar and on the periphery: I had a strong feeling that I was not in Mongolia, but in Buryatia or the Irkutsk region. Same.

We left the airport and went to the city to pick up groceries for the road.
Since I went on a full inclusive course, they were going to feed me 3 times a day, provide overnight accommodation along the route, pay for any entrance fees and taxes, and also refuel the car.

The price was announced by email and I agreed with it: 5 days 4 nights = 1050 dollars, not including the hotel for the last night in Ulaanbaatar.

I tried to change money at the airport, but the driver said softly (I had a Russian-speaking driver who understood Russian):

- There is no need to waste time. If you need tugriks, I will give them. Then, upon arrival, you will give it back.

The Cyrillic alphabet in an Asian country looks awkward and funny.
Mongolian writing was banned here in the 30s of the last century, when Chaibalsan began to build socialism in Mongolia, following the example of the CCCP.

Such devotion was generously rewarded with the massive construction of Khrushchev-era apartment buildings, panel houses with blue tiles (a la Biryulyovo), factories, mines and power plants.

There are three of them in Mongolia. One is located at the exit to the city on the way from the airport - a monument to socialism. One on one smoking monster on the Moscow Ring Road in the Kapotnya area.

The stores are full of products from the Russian Federation, as well as local vodka (Genghis Khan, naturally) and beer.

I had vodka with me, and tried beer - the usual powdered rubbish like Siberian Crown or Klinsky.
Take the proven Tiger.

While they were picking up the food basket (in reality it was a basket full of canned goods), it started to rain. The sky turned gray and sank almost to the ground. It’s terrible - everything around is gray, and then there’s sadness and melancholy thrown on top.

We left the city along a completely broken road. Every minute someone tried to cut us off, there was a steady hum of horns, brand new Land Cruisers competed with broken Korean junk to see who could do who.

The only thing missing were loaves of bread and UAZ cars - they would show you Kuzka’s mother. But they were ahead.

Ahead was the real Mongolia.
This is how I imagined it: deserted, endless, cold, windy and incredibly beautiful

A little about driving culture in Mongolia

There is no culture. There is no respect. Pedestrians are schmucks. And they realize it.

Roads in Mongolia

The road to the west. Asphalt. In some places there are holes, potholes, potholes. The driver swears, mutters that asphalt in general is evil and there would be nothing better than it (asphalt).

All obstacles are driven around oncoming traffic or on the side of the road (more often). Despite the fact that there are often more potholes on the side of the road than on the asphalt, apparently there is some reason for this - I often noticed cars on the side of the road with their legs sticking out from under them and pieces of a burst tire just after such potholes on the road.

They do work on the road, but not much. What is placed in the pits is placed in water, in a puddle, and after a couple of months it pops out like a filling from a rotten tooth.
I told you that a Mongol and a Russian are brothers forever.

Roadside cafes in Mongolia

Two hours on the road. We need to have breakfast. We stop at a roadside canteen.
Very curious, while they bring me the soup with dumplings I ordered, I look at the audience: the driver.

They use this canteen as a hotel - there are rooms on the second floor and having received bed linen right there in the canteen, they go upstairs, holding a rolled-up mattress under their arm.

Catering workers can't stop watching a Russian TV series with Mongolian dubbing. Channel Russia2.

I ask my driver:
- yes, people here love Russian TV series, and although there are Korean and Chinese TV series, they watch Russian ones and that’s why they go on prime time.
I say that a Mongol and a Russian are brothers forever.

Obo and hadak in Mongolia

In Mongolia, here and there there are heaps, and sometimes heaps of stones, mixed with banknotes and candies.
As a rule (or rather always), in the center of such a pyramid there is a pole to which multi-colored ribbons are tied.
I saw something similar in Buryatia. I asked the driver - what are these, shamanic lures?

“No,” he says, “this is already a Buddhist topic, it’s called about.” Anyone who wants to receive a blessing from heaven must go around the pile clockwise and throw offerings. Usually it's candy or vodka - vodka is splashed into the sky, and then on all 4 sides.
- And the ribbons?
- This is a bad thing. Blue means heaven, white the soul, red courage, yellow wealth.

However, a blue hadak wouldn’t hurt us now, I thought, standing in the drizzling rain. Then he took a bottle of whiskey from his backpack and distributed it to each side of the world... and also wet the heavens.

Lamb in Mongolia

The asphalt gradually ended.
Or rather, it ended in a village whose name I naturally forgot. One attraction is the airfield. Almost overgrown with weeds. But once upon a time (during the times of the USSR) AN-2s flew here from Ulaanbaatar.

We bought meat in this village.
Lamb, a kilo costs about 2 dollars.

— Somehow your lamb is too smelly. I mean it smells like goat meat...
I'll tell you a secret: I'm a big fan of lamb. Was. But after the soup with mouflon (goat) dumplings, which I ate in the canteen, although I washed it all down with plenty of vodka…. I feel like this smell is following me. And the sight of meat triggers my gag reflex.
- What are you talking about!...

And then an excursion into the process of cutting a ram or lamb carcass began.
At first it was said that Koreans, Chinese and other nationalities do not know how to slaughter cattle:

“They cut their throats and leave them tied upside down so that the blood flows out...

- Do you like to drink blood? — I couldn’t help but sarcastically, but the driver didn’t pay attention to it.

— First, they cut the skin of the sheep on the belly….

- Isn't he in pain? - I interrupted again

- I don’t know, I’m not a sheep... So, after they made the cut, they put their hand in there and climb towards the spine. And there are two arteries there. So, you need to feel which is pulsating. Grab it tightly and tear it off.

“Oops...” was all I could say. I imagined it, winced, but didn’t back down.

- Well, why is this good?

“And therefore, look for yourself: our meat is red, because there is blood in it, but among the mountaineers it is white, because all the blood has flowed out.”

- Cool. I'll probably give up lunch today...

Wild Mongolia

And so began the Mongolia that I imagined based on the works of the film Mongol, Urga, the Territory of Love, the books of Chapaev and Emptiness... Although the latter rather concerns Baron Ungern - the driver was constantly tortured about him, however, like the treasure of Genghis Khan - this is generally from other sources.

I read a lot about Mongolia as a child.
Hills overgrown with spruce began, rivers began jumping over boulders, fields from hill to hill with lawn grass from the “golf” series began.

The jeep climbed steadily along the country road, skirting the black pumice of hardened lava that was thousands of years old.

This road is not asphalt. At every step, something new opens up to your gaze: a landscape, an animal, a bird, a hill. And how good it is that there are few people here.

Mongolian village

— Sergey, shall we have lunch? — the driver’s voice interrupted my admiration outside the windows of the jeep.
- Why not, and where?
- Now there will be a village. My friends live there - I warned them that we would stop by.
You will feel Mongolian hospitality at the same time.

Of course. That’s what I wanted - to be with a family. Not ostentatious, for tourists. But the real one. So, it's time to eat and drink bitter things.

The village is no different from what we saw on our last trip to Baikal: the same unpaved streets, multi-colored roofs, and all the trash in the yard, as if the village of the Plyushkins lives here.

The hut, or rather the house, is a solid one made of solid larch. The inside is predictably cheap with Chinese light fixtures on the ceiling and linoleum. But still better. than in our Russian wilderness.

And the people are not old women with drunken grandfathers: they are relatively young (by the way, I found out the age of the driver - he is the same as me, 46, but he looks like my grandfather (may he rest in heaven).

The hostess rustled when she saw us. She placed low stools next to the painted chest, covered with oilcloth.

A buuz threw an aluminum basin onto the table - this is a variant of Buryat poses and a plagiarism of Chinese jiaozi - steamed dumplings. Hole at the top for steam to escape.

A simple filling made from chopped lamb, but sooo fresh. Yes, fresh, but from the cold and rain near the cheerfully crackling potbelly stove. This is what we need.

I take out a Finnish check. Will you? As you wish.
I take a bowl of tea and pour it cold. Afterwards, I put a few buuz on my plate with my hands and on top the lecho I brought with me (my inclusion, however).

I eat the first one and burn myself with juice. Inserts immediately and without vodka.
I drink a bowl in one fell swoop and another bottle in my mouth.
The whole face is covered in tomato paste. The driver gives a rag - there are no napkins. Will pull.

So, while talking about politics, economics and women, we finish off a bowl and half a bottle of vodka...
Woo!!!
Now I’d like to get some sleep... But there’s still 50 km of difficult road ahead

How to cook marmot in Mongolia

Legend has it that there once was a brave warrior who could hit any target with a bow. And then one day he told everyone - I will shoot the Sun. And he took aim at the Sun, and pulled a tight bowstring, and fired, and the arrow would definitely have hit the Sun, if not for the swallow.

The swallow turned out to be the last because it knocked down the aimed flight of the arrow. Nothing happened to her - she flew off about her business. And the brave and accurate shooter swore:
“If I don’t kill this damn bird, I’ll cut off my thumbs and live underground.”

A year has passed.
The shooter was never able to hit and kill the swallow.
So the groundhog was born...

It is prohibited to kill marmots since almost all of them have already been eaten. Therefore, you have to contact poachers to repeat the cooking process with video.

The process of buying a groundhog is reminiscent of the process of buying marijuana: looking around, we go into the gateway. There they hand us a plastic bag with the carcass, take 45,000 and disappear.

We need to check to see if the groundhog is sick. This is done by visually inspecting the paw pads. If they are black, everything is fine and the marmot was as healthy as an ox. Well, if they are red, then there is a chance of contracting some kind of plague or anthrax.

But we still screwed up - we were treated like students: we definitely had to make sure that the groundhog was shot in the head. This is done like this: you inflate the marmot like a balloon through the place where the head once was (do not confuse it with the opposite!) and it becomes clear whether your animal is airtight or not. Ours turned out to be full of holes like a sieve.

They hit him with shot, no less... But this can also be treated: we patch it with improvised means - such as a tourniquet for car tires.

Karakoram

The ancient capital of Mongolia - Karakorum
Is it worth visiting?
Not worth it. Nothing very interesting to travel 350 km from Ulan Bator here.

If only you stop for 30 minutes on the way. Take a photo of the wall, weeds on the territory and several buildings of non-original “pagoda” architecture.

Well, if you are a believing Buddhist, you can spin the drums with mantras, and also look at the large bronze pot in which food was prepared for 200 monks.

There are several restaurants nearby: Dream World (at the time of my visit here it was closed and the guard waved a broom in front of my nose, upset about something) and a couple more at the campsites.

Old men and women from Europe and the USA are brought to the campsites, so that they can live a little in the shoes of the Mongols. Yurts with air conditioning and heating. Tourists walk with their mouths open to a model of a Mongolian warrior in armor standing in a restaurant.

The food is disgusting - complex. The service is such that the staff are apparently so tired of these grandfathers that the smile has been erased from their faces forever and hatred towards visitors drips onto the floor like Botax

Instead of visiting the ancient capital of Mongolia, the city Karakoram, I would advise you to try milking a yak.
I'll tell you an exciting activity.

Gorkhi-Terelj National Park

It takes 30-40 minutes to drive from Ulaanbaatar. The main thing is to leave Ulaanbaatar. Traffic jams here are worse than in Moscow.

Having paid the entry fee and entered the park, you instantly relax after the capital. There are few cars here. Beautiful nature. There are many places to stay: I recommend the UB-2 golf hotel. Not expensive - about $80 for a single. In the forest. There are women standing on the road selling berries (blueberries are now available in Mongolia).

Using UB-2 as a base, you can wander or ride a horse around the area during the day. There is a lake and a river in the park. I don't know about fishing. I didn’t see it - the Mongols don’t fish.

The valley through which the road passes is surrounded by beautiful rounded rocks. Here is the famous turtle rock, near which annoying traders will offer you to take a photo with an eagle for 1000 tenge.

In general, you can spend day and night. Suitable for those who are transiting Mongolia and want to check in there.

Horhog

At this point I decided to try horhog. This is a national Mongolian dish of stewed lamb with potatoes, milk and cabbage. Made in a can.

Made for 6-10 people.
Since I ordered it for myself, they made me a light version.
I know what I did was wrong.
But more than the taste of the dish - I know this dish well as lamb under sachem in Montenegro and Croatia, or as kuerdak in Kazakhstan - I was interested in:

Why put hot stones in a pressure cooker if the meat is stewed on the fire anyway?

This question was never really answered. I suspect that earlier, when pressure cookers were in short supply, the Mongols actually cooked meat with hot stones, as they do or goat (they don’t make ram with stones, since its bed bursts from the heat).

It was prepared by a family that owns a plot of land in the Gorkhi-Terelj National Park. WITH
I inform you that every Mongolian has the right to a free plot of land measuring 70 by 70 meters.

This does not apply to land in Ulaanbaatar and national parks.
This family was just lucky that their ancestors lived here. The family rents out yurts to city residents who come to the park for a picnic.

One of the women squats by the road with a GER poster and, if there is interest, escorts guests to the place.

I don’t know why, but the Mongols are attached to these very yurts.
When we come for a picnic, it’s customary for us to sit in the open air, and they sit and lie in these same yurts.

Many yurts are equipped with a satellite dish and a solar battery. But I didn’t see a shower or toilet in any of the yurts.
Flaw. The Mongols need to work on this issue.

How to cut up and eat a lamb's head

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