The grasslands, horse riding
 hiking and living there


The best way to experience the grasslands and horse riding is to take this option.

With this option you can ride horses all day, any day, relax, hike, make cheese, etc.

You will go to UlanHot by airplane (2 hour flight from Beijing) or train (18 hour ride from Beijing).  Then a car will meet you and take to a supermarket to buy supplies. We will buy the basics, but is your only chance to buy snacks, drinks, wine, etc. Then you will drive to the grassland, about 3 hours away by car.

The towns will get smaller and smaller. Farms will soon give way to the grasslands.

You will say "Where are we going?" This is a very remote area.

Finally you will arrive. Here the grasslands have some small mountains. Not big mountains, but beautiful and rolling.

The place is a family homestead where they raise sheep, cows, and horses. There will be a Mongolian tent for you to stay in.

You will stay in a Mongolian tent. There is a Western toilet set into the grasslands for your use, but remember that you can always just find an isolated spot and "let it go", either a small one or a big one.  The Westerner who stayed here for a month had no toilet at all. The Western toilet in the grassland is actually overkill for Western people only. In small towns there is an outhouse, but on the grassland there is only the grassland. Not even a hole.

But there is no running water, no electricity except a usually working wind turbine that can charge cell phones and digital camera batteries. Be sure to bring your chargers.

Cooking will be done for you using forest wood as a fuel. It is like luxurious camping.

There is no shower. If you want a shower, they will heat a pot of water for you.

Drinking water will be bottled water I will buy for you.

The area is wonderful. You can hike and trek for a day in virgin forests. You can play Frisbee or soccer on the grasslands. You can make cheese, yoghurt, or cream.

Here there are no fences.

You can mingle with and photograph the animals and homestead.

You can ride a horse all day if you want, or rest, or just soak up the scenery, or hike, or trek, or make cheese, or make cream, or make yoghurt, or play soccer , or play Frisbee, or photograph. It is up to you.

It is the kind of place you will remember forever. One Westerner stayed here for a month and was fine. A week is fine, two weeks OK, but over two weeks will get a little boring. There is nothing but nature here. No shops, no restaurants, no hotels, no nothing. One day is not enough. Two or three days is minimum. It will work for a long weekend from Beijing arriving Friday and leaving Sunday. Two nights (the minimum suggested)

Horse riding in Mongolia is different than horse riding in the West.

Mongolian saddles are configured differently. Whereas Western saddles have a horn to hold on to, Mongolian saddles do not. There is something to hold onto, but it is not a horn.

Westerners find the biggest change is in the stirrups. Mongolian stirrups are significantly shorter and cannot be easily made longer. The reason they are shorter is that in ancient times it allowed Mongolian horse riders to stand higher in the saddle to shoot arrows.

So this means that your legs may be uncomfortable.

Easily the most dangerous animal on the grasslands are the horses. Be careful. They can bite and hurt you with a swift kick. Never approach an animal from the rear. Never.

Always carefully inspect the saddle. Make sure it is secure and safe. Do not ride a horse with frayed or badly secured ropes. Mongolians may assume things you do not. Be your own boss.

Please remember you are going to a very remote area. I have no control over cars getting stuck, rain, mud, cold weather, dust, and so on. I will bring all basic supplies for you such as bottled water, toilet paper, food, and so on. Water will also be available for the toilet, showers, etc. This water comes from a tube well. The Mongolians use this water for everything.

I STRONGLY suggest you bring basic medicines, a good flashlight for each person, a good camera with extra fully charged batteries, take care of dangers, rain protection (a poncho is best), and good shoes. You should be able to charge rechargeable batteries, assuming that the wind generator is working. My friend used a solar panel.

Remember that this will be like very, very luxurious camping.

Don't plan on taking a bath or shower for the duration of your stay if you only stay a few days. Every four to six days is enough to bathe. Men will find an electric shaver very helpful.

Your stools may loosen with the new diet, but it is probably not an intestinal infection. Shoes should be flexible boots, not stiff boots. You will be fine in sneakers, but you may slip when climbing up a hill.

A very small store is about an hours drive away, but you will never get medicines, or special things.

It will take about 3 or so hours to drive from the UlanHot airport to the grasslands. So don't book an arrival flight late or a departure flight early. Ideally, arrive in UlanHot early to midday and leave UlanHot midday to late.

If you are confident with horses, fine. If not TELL PEOPLE. They will lead the horse. REMEMBER TO TELL PEOPLE IF YOU WANT SOMETHING. MONGOLIANS HAVE NEVER HEARD OF OSMOSIS.

If I go to the grasslands near UlanHot to ride horses, what is a typical day like?

When you arrive you will go to the Mongolian Ger. It is clean, spacious, dry, and decorated. It has three beds. More can be added. You can unpack and rest. The Ger looks out unto the grasslands.

There is an adjacent stone structure where the people (my family) live to raise animals. Usually 500 to 1,000 sheep, horses and cattle.

You will arise with the light. Mongolian people live by the sun. In the summer, it starts to get light about 4 am. Everyone is up by 5 am. You can sleep as long as you want, but starting around 5 am your will hear sheep "baaing", cattle "mooing" and so on. People will shout. Motorcycles may come. Tractors may come. But there is only one car on the vast grassland, ours.

Breakfast will come when you are up. If it is raining you can eat either in the stone house or in the Ger. If it is not raining you can eat anyplace. Outside is best. Hot water will come earlier IF YOU TELL PEOPLE THE NIGHT BEFORE. If you want to drink instant coffee or tea, be sure to get it in UlanHot.

After breakfast you are on your own. You can ride horses. Cook? Milk cows? Hike? Trek? Visit families? Sleep? Just sit and watch the grassland? Photograph the sheep? Frisbees? Soccer? Walk to the river? Gather firewood for cooking?

For lunch if you are at the Ger, lunch will come about 1 pm. If you want to hike and eat lunch on the grassland, take something with you. If you think it may rain, take rain protection.

After lunch you are still on your own.

Dinner will be at the Ger about 7 pm.

After dinner you can look at the stars, marvel at the scenery in the moonlight, or if you must have a fire, it can be made. It turns out that a fire will take you away from the culture.

Sleep time is between 9 pm and 10 pm.

There will always be beer and whiskey (You may need to pay extra, but it is very cheap. You will pay the local store price),  drinking water (included). Beer is about US$0.50 per big bottle. You may want beer for breakfast, lunch, and dinner as the locals do.

There is no running water. No shower or bath. The toilet is a nice outhouse with a Western toilet set in it. You can wash clothes by hand if you want.

So the grassland Ger is only a place to sleep, be comfortable, eat, and soak up the culture. The rest is up to you. Nothing is set.

Bring rain protection.


Updated 08/06/2011