Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
There's a Khan Bank ATM near the museum, and a Capital Bank ATM beside the Tele-
com Building. Both accept foreign cards. Golomt Bank, opposite the east side of the
square, may be able to change money.
9942 2200, 01422-21660)
Helps Mongol Rally
drivers with mechanical repairs.
Bathhouse
(shower T1500; 10am-10pm)
01422-22195, 9942 4338; Government House; 8am-noon & 1-5pm Mon-Sat)
Can register your
passport if you have just arrived from Russia and issue an exit visa (US$43) if you are
leaving and don't already have one. It cannot issue visa extensions. Minimal English-lan-
guage skills make dealing with staff tricky.
Mongol Altai Nuruu Protected Areas Administration Office
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
(Manspaa; 9942 9864, 01422-22111;
manspaa@mongol.net
; 9am-noon & 1.30-5pm Mon-Fri)
The office doubles as an information centre, although local tour agencies are more in-
formed.
Telecom Building
(per hr T600; 9am-7pm)
As with pretty much every town in Mongo-
lia, the Telecom Building here is a post office, a telephone centre and an internet cafe.
ONWARDS TO RUSSIA & KAZAKHSTAN
Jeeps and/or minivans leave daily each morning at around 10am for the Russian
border town of Kosh-Agach (T35,000 per person). From Kosh-Agach there should
be a morning bus to Gorno Altaysk, the region's capital.
For Kazakhstan, there is a long-distance bus/minivan which leaves Ölgii every 10
days bound for Astana. It goes through Russia's Altai region so you'll need a Russi-
an and a Kazahkstan visa to take it. It costs T130,000 per person. Kazakh Tour
(
Click here
) in Ölgii can help you buy the ticket for a T20,000 commission. They
can also give you the latest on what date the bus leaves. The bus (usually just a
minivan in fact) first heads to the Mongolian border at Tsagaannuur (three hours),
where you stay the night (a guesthouse here charges T10,000 per bed including
food). You then make the 36-hour trip to Astana from here on an actual bus.
Shared minivans make the same trip more regularly from Ölgii, although not ne-
cessarily every day.
For further information, head to
shop.lonelyplanet.com
to purchase download-
able PDFs of chapters from Lonely Planet's Chinaor Russiaguides.
