Western Mongolia - Mongolia - page 522

Theft
Ulaanbaatar Petty theft is a fact of life in Ulaanbaatar and you need to stay vigilant of
bag-slashers and pickpockets, especially around Naadam time when muggers do a brisk
trade on all the starry-eyed tourists wandering about.
Countryside In the countryside, keep an eye on your gear and don't leave valuables lying
around your campsite if you wander off. Lock your kit inside your jeep or hotel whenever
possible (drivers do a good job of watching your stuff).
Horse trekking When horse trekking, be wary of Mongolians who seem to be following
you; they may be after your valuables or even your horses, which are easily stolen while
you sleep.
Other Annoyances
Heat Heating and hot-water shortages and electricity blackouts are common in aimag
capitals. Some villages go for days (or weeks) without any utility services at all.
Quarantine This sometimes affects travel in Mongolia. Foot-and-mouth disease, malig-
nant anthrax and the plague pop up all the time and may prevent you from travelling to
certain areas. Some regions that have been hit by foot-and-mouth disease require drivers
to decontaminate their cars when they enter and leave cities. This requires the spraying of
tyres (or the whole car) and can cost a few thousand tögrög.
Telephone
It's easy to make international or domestic calls in Ulaanbaatar and the aimag capitals.
Technology is still lagging in many sum centres; however, it's now possible to use mobile
(cell) phones in most of the country.
Phonecards Prepaid, international phonecards are available at the Central Post Office in
UB, starting from T2000. You can use these when calling from a landline or from the 'taxo-
phones' located on the wall in the lobby of the post office.
Online services These days, most travellers make international calls with Skype
( www.skype.com ) or a similar service. Calls to landlines are cheap, only around US$0.02
a minute to most Western countries (or free for computer-to-computer calls). You can do
this on your own device at a wi-fi hotspot or use an internet cafe.
Calling Mongolia To make a call to Mongolia, dial the international access code in your
country (normally 00) and then the Mongolian country code ( 976). Then, for a land-
line number, dial the local code (minus the '0' for Ulaanbaatar, but include the '0' for all
other areas) and then the number. If you are calling a mobile phone, dial the country code
( 976) without the area code. Be aware, though, that there are different requirements
for area codes if you're using a mobile phone.