Mongolia

If you like endless green, undulating hills (the steppe) with sporadic white dots (gers, the nomad tents), horses and sheep, and rough husks with white kernels (the Mongols) then you have 3 good reasons to visit Mongolia .

And if you also like to pitch your tent where and when it suits you, and you like quiet unpaved roads, undulating but not too steep, then you have two bonus reasons to make your next cycling trip in this country.

People rarely speak another language but are very curious and nice. People come up to you to shake your hand and take a look. Usually we were able to make clear what we meant quite easily. Despite the language barrier, we were invited a few times to a ger where we were offered food and drinks. We bought some useful things at the market in the capital (shampoo, sachets of washing powder, needles, matches, …) to distribute on these occasions but found that cigarettes, sweets and a little bit of money were more appreciated.

Mongolia is definitely a safe country, also the capital, but don't be reckless. Stay away from intoxicated individuals, the vodka flows freely. Don't camp too close to the road, someone could get off and accidentally run over your tent.

Cooking fuel

Gasoline at the gas pump.

Markets

Container markets in the larger towns, a good source to stock up on food.

Supermarkets

In every village of significance there is a supermarket...or what passes for it. Note the sun-drenched billboards with vegetables and a bottle of coke. You will then enter a booth with a long counter. And you don't see everything you want, but is at the bottom on the other side of the counter. (onions, carrots and potatoes) It is therefore best to look carefully over it. What you do see are all the sweets that the Mongolians are so fond of. And they also sell long-life yoghurts, ideal as a spread. This is mainly because the bread is always old.

Stalls on the street

There are no real stalls on the street, but there are small shops where stocks for preparing your own jar are limited to a kind of pasta, garlic, onions with a bit of luck, a few peppers, a tube of tomato concentrate and so on.

Restaurants

In the capital there are countless eateries, outside you will often find small restaurants at the intersection of roads. Usually there are trucks parked there. The classic food consists of noodles with some vegetables and pieces of mutton, whether or not processed as soup. You should not expect culinary delights. Vegetarians will also have a hard time getting their money's worth. Buuz (meat in a dough package) and a fried larger version of Buuz is great.

"I am normally vegetarian, but I had resolved to eat meat if there really was no other option. I see no objection to meat in Mongolia. In my opinion, the animals are treated well there. It is very good in UB possible vegetarian food I have even seen a vegetarian restaurant there but many other restaurants have vegetarian food on the menu however it is more difficult outside UB The problem already arises because I can not read Cyrillic I was sorry that I It is then difficult to order food (even if you are not vegetarian) We usually looked at other people's plates and indicated what we wanted to eat. What I noticed is that most restaurants do have fries have on their menu and salad (the sweet and sour from a jar), sometimes fried egg. We also cooked a lot ourselves, then it is no problem to eat vegetarian. Also in Harhorin I found a restaurant that etarian food, Morin Jim. Was a nice restaurant too, just like a saloon."

Drinkable water

Mineral water is readily available in bottles but the distances at which you can find it are often large so you should take a supply and replenish it when you can. A water filter can be useful if ... there is water in the rivers you cross. Often cattle are trampling in the remains of water in such dense throngs that it is an unappealing alternative. Tap water is not completely reliable. One solution is to purify with micropur or chlorine drops. Where there is a ger there is also a water source not very far. The water tastes very metallic, even after filtering.

Buying bottled water is a shame - all those plastic bottles. So bring a water filter with you. Each pitch has a water house with a pump. We drank this water untreated. The people who live in a ger often know where the source of the source is. We also often drank from a stream of water that we purified with a filter. Keep in mind that some parts are very dry, so always take water with you for more than a day.

It is recommended that you get vaccinated against rabies and tick-borne encephalitis.

Fun tracks

The route Bayanhongor to Tstetserleg was very tough, but very beautiful.

**Best time to cycle
**

Because of the harsh climate, you can only travel in a 'normal' way in July and August and even then you can expect very variable weather conditions. Plenty of sun and 40° and hail and thunderstorms and barely 10°. I cycled there in August and September. In August to Dalandzadgad (south) with temperatures above 50 degrees. And in September to Tsetserleg (west) and back to Ulaan Bator with long cycling shorts and around freezing point in the night.

The wind is usually from the north or northwest. Don't worry about the prevailing wind direction because during our round we encountered it almost everywhere.

Spare parts

You may be able to find some simple parts at the large market in UB. It is best to bring your own spare.

Tips

• Eat fresh cottage cheese with a little sugar, stir and enjoy!
• When you get a menu in a restaurant, immediately ask what is there.....
• Eat steaks and baked potatoes at Bert in Terelj National Park. You do have to stay in his eco (primitive) gerkamp, but that is not a punishment. You have to love his hum about Mongolians, but luckily you can also enjoy cycling with his two sons. Horseback riding with his brother-in-law is also an absolute must.
• Ikh Nart National park: beautiful nature reserve where you can still spot ibix and argali sheep. But also snakes and vultures and other wild animals.