Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Market
MONGOLIAN$
( 8am-8pm Sun-Fri)
Reasonably well stocked with foodstuffs (and warm clothing).
Cheap
guanz
(canteens) can also be found here.
Seoul Restaurant & Pub
MONGOLIAN, KOREAN$$$
(mains T5000-8000; 10am-10pm)
The smartest restaurant in town has the usual range of
Mongolian dishes plus some Korean hot-plate dishes (T15,000 to T18,000) that are big
enough for two to share if bumped up with rice. No English on the menu, but some pho-
tos. Beer from T2000.
Information
Bathhouse
(admission T2000;
9am-10pm)
In the basement of a four-storey pink build-
ing.
9am-10pm)
Inside the Telecom office, with the post office.
Internet Cafe
(per hr T500;
Khan Bank
(
9am-6pm Mon-Fri)
Currency exchange, an ATM (next door) and Western
Union.
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
THE ROAD TO BIGER
A remote back route takes you from Altai southeast to Biger, from where you can
continue to Chandmani, Bayangovi and Khongoryn Els in Ömnögov. The road cuts
through the stark mountain-lined scenery of the Biger Depression, and passes a
few rarely visited sights along the way. In Biger, a small town known for producing
yak-milk vodka, there's a good-value guesthouse above a shop with two cosy triple
rooms (per bed T10,000).
Khun Chuluu
(GPS: N 46°15.830', E 96°16.484')
About 8km west of the main road as you
head south from Altai to Biger (and about 10km southwest of Altai itself), this khun
chuluu, stone figures or balbal, is said to date back to the 13th century (possibly
earlier).
Biger Red Yabar
(GPS: N 45°51.306', E 96°52.677')
About 28km before you reach Biger
(74km from Altai), you'll see these striking, red-coloured cliffs off to your right
(south). Their crenulated formation is accentuated in early-morning or late-after-
noon light, and the snow-capped backdrop completes a dramatic scene.
