Some Interesting Facts About Mongolia

Public Holidays

Date 2005 Occasion
January 1 New Year's Day  
February 9 - 11 Lunar New Year
March 8 International Women's Day
June 1 Children's Day
July 11-13 Naadam
November 26 Independence Day of the Proclamation of Mongolia

Weekend: Sunday

Weights & Measures

Mongolia follows the Metric System - litres, metres, kilometres amd kilograms instead of the Imperial pints, yards, miles
and pounds.

Electricity

Power is supplied at 220 Volts, 50 Hz. If electrical appliances are not compatible, carry along an adaptor or converter. It would also make practical sense to carry along a battery charger and use only battery operated appliances.

Customs & Duties

As a tourist entering Mongolia, you’re allowed to bring in a litre of spirits, 2 litres of wine, 3 litres of beer, 200 cigarettes and 250 gm of tobacco free of customs duty. All narcotics, pornographic or inflammatory material, arms and ammunition, and any living organisms without a veterinary certificate are prohibited. Furthermore, if you want to bring in (or take out) any historical/cultural items, plants or animals, radioactive materials, semi precious metals, etc, you’ll need proper authorisation. For anything out of the ordinary, it’s best to contact the nearest Mongolian embassy (or check with the MNTC in Ulaanbaatar - they’ll be able to help) before you try getting anything past Customs.

Embassies and Consulates

Mongolia has diplomatic ties with over 50 countries, and these are amply represented in Ulaanbaatar. Most countries have embassies or consulates in the Mongolian capital, but some also have permanent missions, trade missions, or honorary consulates. For addresses and telephone numbers of diplomatic missions in Mongolia, you could consult the local telephone directory in Ulaanbaatarr.

Post & Communications

The postal service in Mongolia isn’t the best in the world- letters and parcels to and from the country can take anywhere between a week and several months to complete the journey. Within the country, it’s obviously faster, but not appreciably so. Furthermore, postage is usually fairly expensive. Basic postal services are available both at most post offices as well as large hotels; for getting mail registered and for sending international letters or parcels you might need to go to the major post offices, such as the Central Post Office in Ulaanbaatar at Sukh Baatar Square.

Telephones are easily available throughout the cities and in larger towns, and you’ll be able to make calls, both local and long distance, from hotels. For other telecommunications facilities, like fax and telex, Ulaanbaatar is the place: Sukh Baatar Square has a modern telephone exchange from where faxes, telexes, e-mails and IDD calls can be made.

Tipping

Tipping isn’t the norm in Mongolia, but with the increasing tourist traffic in the country, more and more staff employed in the tourism and travel industry are coming to expect some sort of gratuity. If the service has been satisfactory, a tip of about 10% of the bill should be enough.