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I am very grateful that modern technology has led me to exciting places that I would not have found without it. I traveled for 20 months between 2016 and 2018

I am very grateful that modern technology has led me to exciting places that I would not have found without it. I traveled for 20 months between 2016 and 2018 in Asia and Europe with my self-made 4WD camper. I spent months in the Mongolian steppe and an Iranian desert. Without the map data from the Openstreetmap project (and a satellite navigation device) I would not have found many fantastic places and wonderful routes. The Mongolian nomads still have their yurts (ger they call them), their herds, and their families. But they also have smartphones and solar panels today. Does this ruin the experience of visiting these wonderful and hospitable people? I don't think so. It makes to better because you can stay in contact easily after leaving their country.

Melatonic 4y ago
How did Mongolia compare to other places you have traveled? I have been eyeing going there for awhile now - I was mainly planning to maybe spend a few days in Ulaanbataar since I would need to fly in there and then make my way over to the Altai mountains to do some backpacking and mountaineering.
- netsharc 4y ago
  Not OP, but Ulanbataar is a traffic jam. I guess walking is possible, but not great with all the rustbuckets spewing fumes... Was there in 2019, I'm not sure if I used Google Maps for buses or figured out the paper timetables, in any case there was a lot of waiting for and on the bus (due to the traffic). I think a whole day is enough for UB, maybe 2 days, and that would include a trip to a cashmere factory store (got a cashmere sweater for 60 Euro) since there's nothing else to do. Apparently the way to get around town is to stick your hand out, and everyone's a taxi you can haggle with. I didn't know any Mongolian so I didn't dare do this. I did a 5-day van tour of the steppe (mostly south of UB) with 4 European 20-somethings (plus a driver and guide), it didn't disappoint, each night we went to a different yurt camp set up for tourists, where there were also vans full of Koreans with wheeled suitcases..
  - wonderbore 4y ago
    FYI Ulanbataar occasionally tops some “worst air quality” lists. Probably not representative of the beauty of the inhabited Mongolian landscapes. https://www.iqair.com/blog/air-quality/ulaanbaatar-mongolia-worst-air-quality-october-2020 https://www.iqair.com/blog/air-quality/ulaanbaatar-mongolia-...
  - snickerer 4y ago
    The way to move in Ulaanbaatar is using locals as a taxi. Everybody does this and most people stop whem you give a sign. You have to know the current inofficial price per km and make clear you don't want to pay more before you start the ride. The everybody-is-a-taxi replaces the missing public transport system there.
- snickerer 4y ago
  Just do it. Being in Mongolia is easy. Ulaanbaatar is ugly but nevertheless interesting. There is much to learn. I liked the big market with its yurt parts section very much. The Altai is very far away from Ulaanbaatar. Very far. It is a 1.400 km tour mostly on sand tracks. I would use a car and plan a week for just the trip from Ulaanbaatar to the mountains. But only if you hurry and don't want to stop and have a look left and right of the main track. To enter the Altai you need a special permit because it is border area. But you get that easily in the capital.
  - Melatonic 4y ago
    I think I was looking at a small small flight that went from Ulaanbataar most of the way toward the Altai. I forget where. Anywhere else nature wise you would recommend going?
    - snickerer 4y ago
      The nature is open, wide, and great verywhere in Mongolia except Ulaanbaatar. If you like the open steppe. Remember that you need a vehicle or a horse to get somewhere. There are domestic flights. But when you leave the airfield you need something to transport you into the mountains. If I would fly to Mongolia, I would buy a small Chinese motorcycle there (200ccm, you get a new one for 1k$). If you are a horse rider then Mongolia would be your paradise. In this case I would be a horse. But I am sure you can find a guide who drives you with his car whereever you want.
- snickerer 4y ago
  About the comparison: Mongolia is the most 'democratic' state in the area. You don't have to face police corruption (robbers in uniform) or bureaucratic insanity like in man ex-Soviet states. That was very relaxing for me, because I hated the daily encounters with uniformed robbers in Kazakhstan. And the Mongolians are nomads. So they have a tradition of traveling. Traveling is the most normal thing to do there. As a traveler this makes me somehow feel at home. The key for Mongolia is time. The country is so big, you need time to explore and to learn how things are working there.
- scrappyjoe 4y ago
  I spent a few day in Ulanbataar and then went on a horse trek in the Altai in 2014. Ulanbataar felt, to me, like a post-soviet city bursting at the seams with informality (which it is). The main plaza with its status of Ghengis Khan is something but I got the sense that the locus of Mongolian culture is outside the cities. The Altai was amazing. The horse trek was an organised affair (through Zavkhan trekking) and struck that sweet spot between immersion and comforts. Comfort preferences vary but we got hot meals, someone else dug our pit latrine, but we still had to pitch our tents. On horseback or not, I highly recommend it.
  - Melatonic 4y ago
    Will have to check out that trekking company - how long did you spend in the Altai? Anywhere else you would recommend visiting nature wise?

Melatonic 4y ago

How did Mongolia compare to other places you have traveled? I have been eyeing going there for awhile now - I was mainly planning to maybe spend a few days in Ulaanbataar since I would need to fly in there and then make my way over to the Altai mountains to do some backpacking and mountaineering.

netsharc 4y ago
Not OP, but Ulanbataar is a traffic jam. I guess walking is possible, but not great with all the rustbuckets spewing fumes... Was there in 2019, I'm not sure if I used Google Maps for buses or figured out the paper timetables, in any case there was a lot of waiting for and on the bus (due to the traffic). I think a whole day is enough for UB, maybe 2 days, and that would include a trip to a cashmere factory store (got a cashmere sweater for 60 Euro) since there's nothing else to do. Apparently the way to get around town is to stick your hand out, and everyone's a taxi you can haggle with. I didn't know any Mongolian so I didn't dare do this. I did a 5-day van tour of the steppe (mostly south of UB) with 4 European 20-somethings (plus a driver and guide), it didn't disappoint, each night we went to a different yurt camp set up for tourists, where there were also vans full of Koreans with wheeled suitcases..
- wonderbore 4y ago
  FYI Ulanbataar occasionally tops some “worst air quality” lists. Probably not representative of the beauty of the inhabited Mongolian landscapes. https://www.iqair.com/blog/air-quality/ulaanbaatar-mongolia-worst-air-quality-october-2020 https://www.iqair.com/blog/air-quality/ulaanbaatar-mongolia-...
- snickerer 4y ago
  The way to move in Ulaanbaatar is using locals as a taxi. Everybody does this and most people stop whem you give a sign. You have to know the current inofficial price per km and make clear you don't want to pay more before you start the ride. The everybody-is-a-taxi replaces the missing public transport system there.
snickerer 4y ago
Just do it. Being in Mongolia is easy. Ulaanbaatar is ugly but nevertheless interesting. There is much to learn. I liked the big market with its yurt parts section very much. The Altai is very far away from Ulaanbaatar. Very far. It is a 1.400 km tour mostly on sand tracks. I would use a car and plan a week for just the trip from Ulaanbaatar to the mountains. But only if you hurry and don't want to stop and have a look left and right of the main track. To enter the Altai you need a special permit because it is border area. But you get that easily in the capital.
- Melatonic 4y ago
  I think I was looking at a small small flight that went from Ulaanbataar most of the way toward the Altai. I forget where. Anywhere else nature wise you would recommend going?
  - snickerer 4y ago
    The nature is open, wide, and great verywhere in Mongolia except Ulaanbaatar. If you like the open steppe. Remember that you need a vehicle or a horse to get somewhere. There are domestic flights. But when you leave the airfield you need something to transport you into the mountains. If I would fly to Mongolia, I would buy a small Chinese motorcycle there (200ccm, you get a new one for 1k$). If you are a horse rider then Mongolia would be your paradise. In this case I would be a horse. But I am sure you can find a guide who drives you with his car whereever you want.
snickerer 4y ago
About the comparison: Mongolia is the most 'democratic' state in the area. You don't have to face police corruption (robbers in uniform) or bureaucratic insanity like in man ex-Soviet states. That was very relaxing for me, because I hated the daily encounters with uniformed robbers in Kazakhstan. And the Mongolians are nomads. So they have a tradition of traveling. Traveling is the most normal thing to do there. As a traveler this makes me somehow feel at home. The key for Mongolia is time. The country is so big, you need time to explore and to learn how things are working there.
scrappyjoe 4y ago
I spent a few day in Ulanbataar and then went on a horse trek in the Altai in 2014. Ulanbataar felt, to me, like a post-soviet city bursting at the seams with informality (which it is). The main plaza with its status of Ghengis Khan is something but I got the sense that the locus of Mongolian culture is outside the cities. The Altai was amazing. The horse trek was an organised affair (through Zavkhan trekking) and struck that sweet spot between immersion and comforts. Comfort preferences vary but we got hot meals, someone else dug our pit latrine, but we still had to pitch our tents. On horseback or not, I highly recommend it.
- Melatonic 4y ago
  Will have to check out that trekking company - how long did you spend in the Altai? Anywhere else you would recommend visiting nature wise?