ABCs of Mongolia: 26 Things I Learned

Disclaimer: I spent a little over two weeks in Mongolia. I arrived knowing close to nothing about the country. To presume that any of the information in this post or in my Mongolia pictures is 100% error-free fact is simply ridiculous. If you have questions, feel free to ask knowing that I am by no means an expert in Mongolian history, society, or tradition.

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, here are 26 things I learned while in Mongolia!

Airag. Mongolians drink airag like there is no tomorrow. Airag is a fermented horse milk, typically served at room temperature. During fermentation, lactose is converted, making the milk accessible to everyone, even the majority of Mongolians who are lactose intolerant.

Boys. Boys and girls are nearly indistinguishable until a couple years old. Much of Mongolia is spiritually rooted in shamanism and the supernatural, so many peculiar beliefs pervade. One is that wishing for a baby boy when pregnant, or even openly showing that one has a baby boy, is bad luck and can bring harm. To ward off the evil spirits and ensure the safety and health of baby boys, they are dressed as girls for a couple years. Finally, when the time has come, a big party is held for the baby to publicly become a boy. His hair is cut and his clothes are changed.

Chicken. Crossing the street, in car or on foot, is one big game of chicken in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital. A car might come to an abrupt halt inches from trusting pedestrians. Other times, cars barrel through an intersection, and walkers seem to know not to chance it. Traffic lights, crosswalks, and traffic cops, though present, have nearly zero influence on traffic. My technique for crossing streets was to use Mongolians as human shields, putting them between cars and me, and trusting their judgment.

Drinkable water. Ulaanbaatar has over one million people and is growing. As an urban center and the only political, population, and tourism hub to Mongolia, the city desperately needs quality public facilities. For starters, readily accessible benches, trash cans, and bathrooms would be great. Sidewalks that are level and without rebar and other hazards would also help. Mongolia also needs to find some way to harness its enormous amount of available water from snowfall.

Expats. Expats enjoy low prices and huge opportunity in Mongolia. One American I met moved to Mongolia after losing big in US real estate a few years ago. He had enough of things, packed up his bags and moved to Mongolia to teach English. Paid only $700/month and provided an aprtment, he said a person could easily learn to live on $150-$200/month. He eventually moved on from teaching English and started his own restaurant and lounge for just a few thousand dollars. Other expats have enjoyed similar success. An Israeli family opened the first self-serve laundromat and is able to charge ridiculously high prices since they have a monopoly. A Canadian opened a sandwich shop, his fourth or fifth business there.

Feet. My favorite Mongolian custom is the feet-stomping-hand-holding combo. If a person steps on another’s foot, he must give a friendly squeeze or shake of the offended person’s hand.

Gers. Gers are traditional Mongolian dwellings, a style of yurt, made without a single nail. These houses are mobile, inexpensive, durable, and warm. It is not inconceivable that much of Native American religion and tepee building originated from Mongolians.

Humps. Camel humps are filled with fat, not water. When the fat storage is depleted (burned as energy), the humps go limp.

Independence. Mongolians are independent. Nearly all have nomadic roots. The few Mongolian women I met and spent time with were particularly assertive and strong, something that probably stems from the days of Chinggis Khan’s empowerment of women. Mongolia’s foreign policy mirrors this sentiment. They don’t seem to need, much less want, any help. Despite being strategically sandwiched between and regularly propositioned by Russia and China, Mongolia has no foreign-run military bases. Only in recent years has Mongolia started to accept larger partnerships with the United States, NATO, and even foreign mining companies. Somewhat disappointingly, I think this trend will continue and that the Mongolia of today will be long gone in 15 years. Hopefully, the countryside retains its beauty and nomadic traditions.

Jugular singing. If you don’t know what Throat Singing is or have never heard of it, watch it on Youtube. Do it now! In the video, the man is playing a symbolic Mongolian fiddle instrument called a morin khuur, which has two strings made of horse tail hair, and the top is carved into a horse head.

Khan. Chinggis Khan is mentioned and revered everywhere in Mongolia. He has near God-like status and is considered to be the greatest, fairest, and most progressive leader ever. He conquered Russia (the only empire to ever do so), developed the greatest empire in history, covering large amounts of Asia and Europe, accepted leaders of different religious and racial backgrounds, and even gave women significant powers, well before the concept of “feminism” ever came to be. Those he conquered enjoyed full political rights and were not treated as slaves. Somewhere along the way, foreigners started using “Ghengis” as the spelling and pronunciation, probably due to a simple communication error.

Leering eyeballs. Every single corner grocery store or shopping center has one or more people dedicated to watching shoppers. Every building has security guards. Mongolia must have serious shoplifting and trust issues. I have never felt my privacy invaded so much when selecting a 20 cent bottle of water. If all these hundreds of shopper watchers joined forces to build benches and repair sidewalks, Ulaanbaatar would be beautiful in a matter of weeks.

McDonald’s. Mongolia is one of the last remaining Asian countries without a McDonald’s. In fact, Ulaanbaatar, the capital, had very few American franchises of any sort. The only organically American restaurant chain I saw was Kenny Roger’s Roasters. I hope things stay this way. Mongolians, as unbalanced as their diets can be, are energetic, hardworking, and fitter than most Westerners. Junk food franchises will ruin that.

Ninja Miners. Mongolia is chock full of resources including tons of gold. Massive foreign mining companies such as Ivanhoe and Rio Tinto have been trying for years to secure a bigger piece of Mongolia’s resources, and have steadily made progress on that front. Due to the tremendous amount of potential wealth involved, this issue is very sensitive politically. Does Mongolia allow foreign companies with the right expertise and logistics to get the job done, or does Mongolia continue to push its own limited mining capabilities? While Mongolia delays, individuals called Ninja Miners–because they resemble Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with the big pans strapped to their backs–have taken the opportunity to mine what no corporations can or will. I can imagine that these individually mined parts of Mongolia are developing a lot like Northern California did in 1849.

Opportunities. Opportunities abound in Mongolia. Think of some product, and I will tell you that Mongolia could use it. Fly tape? Yep. Restaurants in the country side have some serious fly problems and could use some cheap sticky fly strips. Snowmobiles? I met Mongolians who didn’t know what snowmobiles are, even though Mongolia has snow for the majority of the year. Most nomads hunker down during the winter months. What else could Mongolia use? Everything from fishing equipment, dirt bikes, swimming lessons, windmill farms, hang gliders, timeshare gers, mechanics, hand sanitizers, and everything else under the sun. A large part of the beauty of Mongolia is that the countryside does not have all these modern products and services yet. With some regulation, I believe Mongolia can become a haven for extreme adventurists, more than it already is, while still offering some Westernized comforts.

Pricing system. Beware of Ulaanbaatar’s two-tier pricing system. Other countries like Costa Rica are notorious for this, as well. A product should have one price. If you happen upon a hotel or restaurant charging different rates depending on your home country, find a different hotel or restaurant. Paying a multiple of the true market rate encourages this practice and hurts other foreign travelers. Often times, it is more about racial discrimination than citizenship.

Quiche. I never saw a single quiche in Mongolia. I did, however, see a lot of fecal matter. In the country side, a person can’t walk more than two steps without crossing some cow dung or goat droppings. Mammal excrement goes a long way in nomadic Mongolia. Cow dung is used for fireplace fuel and to build small storage sheds to keep yet other cow pies dry. Many ger-tending country dogs are not fed what we consider “normal” food. Their diets often consist heavily of human feces. If you’re ever in Mongolia and someone asks you to “feed the dogs,” keep that in mind.

Religion. Mongolia is hugely rooted in Shamanism and ancient beliefs are still held today. For instance, it is bad luck to whistle in a ger, bad luck to touch somebody’s right shoulder, and bad luck to walk counterclockwise in a ger. Tibetan Buddhism found its way to Mongolia and is the primary religion today. Additionally, Mongolia is a hotbed for Christian missionaries.

Sheep tail. Mongolian sheep have a unique characteristic. Their tails are extra fatty, I suppose, for storing energy reserves. This tail fat is served with food and tastes delicious. Supposedly, it also has amazing brain-improving nutrients.

Teeth. Mongolian teeth are the best I’ve ever seen. It must be good genetics and eating lots of dairy.

Unified. Mongolians have a unique way of carrying large two-man loads that is far easier on the back. I wish I could have taken a picture of this, because my explanation will never be as clear. Imagine two people standing side by side, each with one hand on a heavy beer cooler between them. Rather than hunching over to carry the cooler, they stand upright, with one man bracing himself against the shoulder of the other man. This technique really boils down to simple physics, and I’m surprised I’ve never seen it before.

Vast sky. In Mongolia’s countryside, the sky is so incredibly big and bright. Air is clean, skies are blue, clouds are big and puffy, thunderstorms are ominous. On clear nights, every star visible to the naked eye is, well, visible. Cultural lighting and pollution are nonexistent. Mongolia really makes a person feel a part of nature and helps put all the nonsense of society in perspective.

Wild West. Mongolia has got to be as “Wild West” as any country on Earth. Even a foreigner could jump on a horse, set up a tent in the country, and live off the land for weeks or months without any bother. Need a ride or a bed for the night? Just ask. Have a business idea you want to try? People interested in starting any business can inexpensively take that chance here. Nothing is off limits. I met an American who set up a bar. With very little money and some bribing, he avoids taxes and had his business up and running in no time. Laws don’t really seem to hold much weight and police don’t seem to have much more authority than individual citizens. Mongolia really is the Wild West.

X-rays. Bones are visible with X-rays. Coincidentally, bones are also filled with bone marrow. Nomadic Mongolians crack open long bones of animals they eat to reach the bone marrow. I had the opportunity to try this one night. Bone marrow is delicious and, like sheep tail, is alleged to have cancer-curing type dietary benefits.

Youth. Mongolians have an average age of 25. For comparison’s sake, the average age in the United States is about 37. As modernization and technology continue to invade urban Mongolia and spread to the countryside, hopefully the traditions stay alive. Virtually all Mongolian children learn to ride horses, for example. All boys become skilled wrestlers. What a shame it would be to lose these traditions to modernization.

Zero dollars. Nomadic families occasionally rent gers for a few dollars a night, and sell airag or other meat and dairy products to earn some money here or there to pay for gasoline or new shoes. That in mind, they would be able to live totally off the land, with zero income, if necessary. Poverty rates in Mongolia, according to the CIA, are well over 30%. I think those statistics include nomadic families. Well, I’m here to tell you that these families are not impovershed. They are free, independent, and self reliant. What more could any government want from its citizens? Every single family I met seemed totally happy, and why shouldn’t they be? These folks live predictable, low stress lives, enjoy what they do, enjoy what they eat, enjoy where they live, love their familis, and spend quality time with each other. I think a better question might be to ask ourselves how we got where we are, needing constant internet feeds, checking email every two minutes, answering phones like Pavlov’s dogs, focused on political issues so unimportant that most of the world can’t even understand, being discontent with the exceptionally large relative wealth in our lives. Anyone have an answer? I’m all ears for this one…