The deel is an item of Mongolian traditional clothing and remains an integral part of Mongolian culture. You can find plain and practical ‘working’ deels and then more ornate versions worn at ceremonial occasions such as Mongolian Tsagaan Sar (Mongolian Lunar New Year). The deels worn by Mongolian herders are an all-purpose garment. They are usually a long overcoat often with long…
A recent addition to our Mongolian reading list has been Young Mongols, Forging Democracy In The Wild, Wild East, by Aubrey Menard. This powerful, inclusive book introduces readers to modern Mongolia through the stories of young leaders fighting to make their country a better, more democratic place – https://www.youngmongols.com/ ‘Its intersectional perspective explores the complexity of Mongolia today: the urban planning…
Last year, I wrote a post about how we need to have a rubbish revolution in tourism. This was as a result of our annual two-day rubbish clean-up of Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur National Park in Mongolia where we noticed an increase in discarded wet wipes, sanitary items and hygiene products. Our wilderness areas (and our wilderness experiences) are being spoilt…
Meet our Zumbee … Zumbee is a dedicated and long-term member of our EL family – one of our team of female Mongolian trip assistants. Zumbee is from a herding family in Dungobi Aimag in Mongolia’s Middle Gobi although she is currently based in Ulaanbaatar (UB – Mongolia’s capital city) where she moved to start university. Zumbee came to us…
Toilets. Always high on the list of travel stories and experiences – especially the ones involving a dropped passport out of the back pocket into a long-drop pit toilet (I sense a nodding of heads). In health and safety terms, long-drop toilets should have a risk assessment heading all of their own. What if there are no toilets? Just hundreds…
Let me introduce you to a place. It is called Erdenedalai in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert in Dundgobi Province – also known as the middle Gobi. It’s where the open steppe starts to turn into the desert steppe. Where grass meets gravel plains. The views are expansive. Is it considered a highlight? A must-see destination? No. Not by guidebooks or tour…
Let me introduce you to Dakhar. Dakhar makes his home within the Tsambagarav Uul National Park – standing high above the provincial borders of Khovd and Bayan-Olgii Aimag in western Mongolia and forming part of the Mongol Altai Mountain Range. The 4208m peak that the national park is named after is a snow-capped mountain surrounded by wild open valleys. Dakhar…
Mongolia. This month (May 2020) is the 15th year anniversary of my first arrival into Mongolia. And I’m reminiscing – especially as I should be there now but I’m not as the borders are shut due to Covid-19. I initially got sent to Mongolia by my then boss. To be honest, Mongolia was not a country that I ever thought of…
The coronavirus is a crisis for many industries including the travel and tourism industry. The tourism industry has always been resilient – recovering from the Eyjafjallajökull ash cloud, the Boxing Day tsunami and multiple terror attacks – but the coronavirus and its impact on travel and tourism is something bigger, something more wide-sweeping and something unknown. Prior to the pandemic,…
Up until 2019, we offered dog sledding itineraries as part of our series of Mongolia winter experiences. However, even though often the dog sledding was often the highlight of their trip for our guests, in early 2019 we decided to stop offering dog sledding options. The main reason is cultural – we describe our winter experiences as being a celebration of…