Western Mongolia - Mongolia - page 437

Bathhouse (shower T2000, sauna per hr T5000;

8am-8pm) In the Tavan Od Hotel com-

pound.
Internet Cafe (per hr T600;

8am-8pm Mon-Sat) At the Telecom office. The post office is

also here.
Khan Bank (

8am-5.30pm Mon-Fri) Will exchange US dollars. Has an ATM.

Getting There & Away

AIR
Ulaangom's new airport is 15km northwest of town. A taxi will cost T10,000-15,000 one
way.

EZ Nis ( 9904 9939, 7045 5252; 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm Sat) Flies to UB (from
T240,000) on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. English spoken. Cards accepted.

BUS
The bus ticket office MAP GOOGLE MAP ( 10am-4pm) , which is a kiosk inside the
white building at the bus stand, sells tickets for the bus to UB (daily except Tuesday;
T63,000; two days), via Tosontsengel, which tend to leave mid-afternoon.

JEEP & MINIVAN
If you are heading to Ölgii it is generally easier to catch a share jeep or minivan to
Khovd (T30,000, seven to eight hours, 238km) and make your way from there, as
vehicles heading directly to Ölgii are few and far between. Even rarer are vans heading
to Mörön (about 25 hours, 680km); if there is nothing available, consider riding a UB-
bound minivan as far as Tariat (T30,000, 26 hours, 700km) and then attempting to bum a
lift to Mörön from other backpackers at Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur.
Share minivans to Ulaanbaatar (T65,000, about 48 hours), via Tosontsengel, Tariat and
Tsetserleg, leave daily. If you want to get off at Tsetserleg or Tariat you may have to pay
the full UB fare.

TOP OF CHAPTER

Uvs Nuur
Uvs Nuur is a gigantic inland sea in the middle of the desert. The lake's surface occupies
3423 sq km, making it Mongolia's largest lake, though it's very shallow at an average
depth of 12m. (Still, legend has it that the lake is bottomless.)