Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Whistle.
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Lean against the support column.
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Touch a child's (or anyone else's) head.
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Open drawers (or look at personal items).
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Serve yourself (wait for the host to serve you).
Staying Overnight
If you are particularly fortunate you may be invited to spend a night or two out on the
steppes in a genuine ger, rather than a tourist ger camp. This is a wonderful chance to ex-
perience the 'real' Mongolia.
If you are invited to stay in a family ger, only in very rare cases will you be expected
to pay for this accommodation. Leaving a gift is strongly recommended. While cash pay-
ment is usually OK as a gift, it's far better to provide worthwhile gifts for the whole fam-
ily, including the women (who look after the guests). Cigarettes, vodka and candy are
customary gifts, but with some creativity you can offer more useful items. Welcome gifts
include sewing kits, multi-tools, fleece sweaters, T-shirts, toothbrushes/toothpaste,
Mongolian-language books and newspapers, and hand-powered torches and radios. Chil-
dren will enjoy colouring books, pens, paper, puzzles and postcards from your home
country.
Gers are growing in popularity in the US and Europe, where they often serve as accom-
modation at national parks. In the US, they are produced by Oregon-based Pacific Yurts
(
www.pacificyurts.com
).
Your host may offer to cook for you; it is polite for you to offer to supply some food,
such as biscuits, bread, fruit, salt, rice and pasta. Pack out any garbage or packaging left
over from these items. Mongolians love being photographed. If you take pictures of your
host family, remember to take down their name and mail them a copy. For address pur-
poses, you'll need their name,
sum
(district) and aimag.
The easiest way to organise such a visit is through a tour company, which can find you
a homestay (for a fee). If travelling independently, don't take advantage of nomad hospit-
ality by expecting a free night in a ger. Always have a tent handy in order to sleep separ-
ately from families you encounter.
