Andy, on Mongolia

What a bonus! My friend Andy and his wife spent time in Mongolia a couple of years back. So he has been able to offer some advice. Some of it has been mint, so I'm sure he'll be happy if I share.

(Thin skinned folk from Huntly should switch off round about now. Or, if folks from Huntly choose to stay, consider this an insider joke. Andy's brother's wife is from Huntly...)

Snuffit: Here we go (sorry)
Andy: Don’t be

Snuffit: Did you take USD?
Andy: Yes, lots of it – but they had banks/ATMs that worked with our UK cards easily enough to get local and then change to USD.

Snuffit: Do they accept credit cards?
Andy: In some places.

Snuffit:What time of year were you there?
Andy: July / August

Snuffit: Would you recommend backpack or some other type of luggage? (thinking duffle)
Andy: Def backpack, don’t know how far you’ll be lugging things.

Snuffit: Is UB modern/decrepit/like Huntly?
Andy: A real mix, not like Huntly. Huntly is all decrepit, UB is probably 3/5 decrepit.

Snuffit: How far around the country did you guys go?
Andy: We were on the road for 5 days in Mongolia. Looking at our route on the map showed we covered and incredibly small part of the country but it was 5 days hard travel.

Snuffit: How did you travel?
Andy: By train in and out and by “Russian jeep” in Mongolia. Russian jeep is like an overgrown combi wagon. About as comfortable as travelling on a spade towed behind a herd of goats.

Snuffit: Are the locals friendly/mean/aggro/like people from Huntly?
Andy: Like anywhere in the world. A mix but mostly nice. We rocked up to a group or Gers (round yak tents) and asked if we could stay. The whole family moved out into the cooking tent to let us have the big one for the night. It was awesome.

Snuffit: More to come...
Andy: Bring it on.

Later, as perhaps an afterthought to stop me hiring a "Russian jeep" and doing it myself, Andy offered this...

"Just thinking about Mongolia.  Outside of UB, it is total wild west.  Shanty towns in the middle of nowhere, dogs and pigs running free, most people living a nomadic life, huge grassy valleys and wooded mountains – with NO ONE anywhere in sight.  Most of the “roads” are just tracks across the grass that move as one gets cut up, muddy etc. and another becomes more friendly.  The ‘roads marked on google maps for example are just an idea of where you could drive and not where you should… see screenshot below…"

Adventure Time!!!!