Miscellaneous

These are very unique custom trips. You are with a grassland Mongolian who speak fluent Chinese and good English. Not people who speak no Mongolian.

Dress casually. Jeans and a T-Shirt is fine. I wear green nylon travelling pants and a T-Shirt.

If you knew the "Red Tape" getting to some places, you would be amazed. We will stay some places where government officials love to come and sing Karaoke. Nara sings Mongolian songs, and red tape melts away.

We will insulate you from many of the hardships of coming here, but if you want to go elsewhere in China or Inner Mongolia, just ask and be prepared for a totally independent trip. Usually you will have a very comfortable room with hot water. Only in the deep country will you possibly have a small room with cold water. The food maybe different, but you will still LOVE it. There is no Western food. If the hotels do not give toilet paper, ask, ask. ask. If you do not have a hot pot to make hot water, ask, ask, ask.

You will need to wash your clothes several times on a trip. We will try to stay two days in a place, so wash soon so clothes have time to dry. If you ask, ask, ask, someone will wash your clothes.

If you want to teach some English, fine. We will pass through a small town where friends have an English school. If you just want to visit, OK. No problem. China, Mongolia, and similar places have been isolated for a long time, so English schools abound. You will find that you will provide needed pronunciation and can meet Han and Mongolian kids.

China is changing with blinding speed. The old is going. If you came to these places five years ago, they were very different. For example, in ManZhouLi we will eat at our favorite Russian restaurant. Five years ago there was a rickety bridge leading to it. Now the bridge is solid. Five years ago there were only streets with cars. Now, there are walking streets.

Chinese hotels are much noisier than Western hotels. Be prepared. Talking is often yelling. Doors are often open. Ear plugs are highly recommended. You cannot get ear plugs in China.

With enough notice we can usually get a 4 or 5 star hotel, but understand you will be isolated. In Hailar the hotel has Mongolians. The 4 or 5 star hotel does not. There is a surcharge of US$50.00 for a 4 star hotel and US$75.00 for a 5 star hotel. The differences include nicer rooms, more quiet, elevators, room service, INTERNET cables, and isolation from the city. If you want the guide to stay in the same hotel, you will have a double surcharge. The rooms we have chosen are nice, but not 4 or 5 star.

The same is with meals. We or the hotel will provide breakfast. We will provide dinner, usually something Western people will like. For lunch, you pay. We may go to a "hole in the wall" Mongolian noodle restaurant, but in larger cities you can bring chicken hamburgers. In smaller towns, there is bread, jam, cream, corn, tea, Coke, as well as a plethora of Chinese and Mongolian food. You will never go hungry.

One thing I hate is meeting a guide in a city, then flying to another city and meeting another guide. Then taking a bus to another city and meeting a third guide. You never feel comfortable with a guide. People do this to save cost, but there is a big negative. On these trips, you meet Nara in Beijing and she takes you herself to all these places, and back to Beijing. She definitely knows more than "local" guides, as she has been to all these places many times only to find the "good" places.
One thing you will find out about China guides is that they sometimes do not know the "good" places, and definitely do not know what Western tourists like. The official Chinese guidebooks for guides to these places are dismal. They commonly list "tourist" places.

Beijing is different. The guidebooks are good.

Be wary of guide costs. Many guides are a "loss leader'. You can fairly easily get English speaking guides for Rmb 200 to 300 per day, but these guides will arrange cars at Rmb 1,000 per day. Horse riding at Rmb 1,000 per day. "Cheap" hotels at Rmb 500 per day. Such guides will not take a bus, stay in cheap Rmb 50 cubicles without water, private toilet or shower, not eat country food, and not speak Mongolian. Unless the guide speaks FLUENT Mongolian, horse riding will be in a tourist compound and prices are fixed. You take it or leave it. The same with hotels. Take a Rmb 500 cheap hotel room or have no room. No bargaining. You may think you can bargain with guide arranged services, but don't count on it. If you do it yourself, yes. Maybe you will be luckier.

You are better off getting a knowledgable guide who knows costs, the "good" places, and where to ride horses on the vast grasslands, not in a tourist compound.

On "average", costs are about:
US$300.00 per day for one person, US$250.00 per person per day for two persons, and
US$200.00 per person per day for 3 to 6 persons. Six maximum. Contact us for an exact quote. These prices are only general guides.
This price includes breakfast, dinner, a Mongolian/Chinese/English speaking guide every day 24/7, a nice car with driver, road tolls, standard hotels (3 star) in simple hotels (best hotel in smaller cities), and water. Not included is lunch, drinks other than water, (tea, coffee), entrance fees to places not mentioned, incidentals such as alcoholic drinks and snacks, curios, any shopping, items such as umbrellas and ponchos, passport and governmental fees related to visas and entry to China, tips or gratuities, or any health related costs. A surcharge will apply for 4 or 5 star hotels, meals in restaurants other than comparable restaurants we select,

Please compare costs. You will find the guides quite cheap. Beware of going on a bus with many people and not seeing the real Inner Mongolia. Contact us and we will answer any questions you have. Please read books and look on the INTERNET.

Updated 6/26/2008