
fu-berlin.de!fub46.fddi1.fu-berlin.DE!not-for-mail
contacts)
X-Access: 16 17 19
  Questions  (and their answers) about Mongolia, Mon-
  golians   and  the  areas  where Mongolian-speaking
  people live.


Archive-name: mongolia-faq
URL: gopher://gate1.zedat.fu-berlin.de/00/mongolei/mongfaq.unx




          Anyone  wishing  to  contribute  to or improve this document
          should  not  hesitate to send the edited part(s) to me, i.e.
          Oliver Corff,   corff@zedat.fu-berlin.de
                  or      infomong@zedat.fu-berlin.de


          Thanks  to  Christopher  Kaplonski,  Peter  Crandall, Mingan
          Choct,  Ariunaa,  Peter Lofting, Ken Beesley, Wolfgang Lipp,
          Noreen Palazzo, Solongowa Borzigin, Purevdorj and all others
          who  have  contributed  by  submitting facts, corrections or
          suggestions on what to include.


          soc.culture.mongolian FAQ Version 1.4 (July, 1995)
          ========================================================

          Table of Contents:
          ==================

          INTRODUCTORY NOTES

            1) How can I get a copy of this Frequently Asked Questions
              list?
            2)  Are there any other sources of information on Mongolia
              in the Internet?
           3) Is there an Internet or e-mail link to Mongolia?
           4) Is there an IDD (International Direct Dialing) telephone
              link to Mongolia?


          MONGOLIA - LAND & PEOPLE

           5) Where do Mongolians live?
           6) Who speaks Mongolian?
           7) What kind of a language is Mongolian?
           8) Is Mongolian easy to learn?


          MONGOLIA - ADMINISTRATIVE

            9)  I want to study in Mongolia. Where do I establish con-
              tact?
            10)  I  wan  to  work  in  Mongolia,  e.g. teach a foreign
              language. Where do I establish first contact?
           11) I want to study in Inner Mongolia. Where do I establish
              contact?
          12)  I  want to work in Inner Mongolia, e.g. teach a foreign
              language. Where do I establish contact?
          13)  I  want  to  travel  to  Mongolia.  What kind of travel
              documentation do I need?
          14)  I want to travel to Inner Mongolia. What kind of travel
              documentation do I need?
          15)  I  want  to  travel  to  Buryatia.  What kind of travel
              documentation do I need?
          16)  I  want  to  travel  to  Kalmykia.  What kind of travel
              documentation do I need?
          17) Where is the nearest embassy/consulate of Mongolia?


          MONGOLIA - TOURISM

          18) How to travel to Mongolia?
          19) What kind of accommodation is available in Mongolia?
          20) What kind of transport is available in Mongolia?
          21) Which season is recommended for travelling?


          INNER MONGOLIA - TOURISM

          22) How to travel to Inner Mongolia?
          23)   What  kind  of  accommodation  is  available  in Inner
              Mongolia?
          24) What kind of transport is available in Inner Mongolia?
          25) Which season is recommended for travelling?


          MONGOLIA - MISCELLANEOUS

          26)  Are  there  computer  programs for processing Mongolian
              language documents?


          MONGOLIA - SUGGESTED READINGS

          27) Which book do you recommend as a start?



          INTRODUCTORY NOTES

            1) How can I get a copy of this Frequently Asked Questions
              list?

               You are holding a copy of this document in your working
              memory!  Save  it now. A copy of this document is always
              kept in Infosystem Mongolei (see below).


            2)  Are there any other sources of information on Mongolia
              in the Internet?

                Yes and No. First the No. There is a number of miscel-
              laneous  documents (mainly U.S. government publications)
              on  Mongolia  available on the Internet. These documents
              (not  much  more  than a handful of files) are partially
              outdated,  difficult to find and frequently available on
              various mirrored sites increasing the confusion.

               Now the first Yes. In spring 1994, the USENET newsgroup
              soc.culture.mongolian  came  into existence. It enjoys a
              certain  popularity, not only among Mongolia specialists
              but  also among other interested persons. This newsgroup
              (which  is  not  moderated) offers lively discussions on
              all  sorts of topics ranging from food to religion, from
              history  to  modern politics. Many frequent contributors
              supply  soc.culture.mongolian  also with news about cur-
              rent events, exhibitions etc.

                  In  order to read the news of soc.culture.mongolian,
              start  any of the news readers available on your machine
              (this  may be tin, rn, nn, or any other favourite). Fol-
              lowing  the instructions, it should not be too difficult
              to  subscribe  to  soc.culture.mongolian since this is a
              mainstream USENET newsgroup which should be available at
              any Internet site featuring USENET services.

               Now the second Yes. The Mongolia Society in Bloomington
              established a WWW home page recently. Of course, the WWW
              homepage  gives  information  about the Mongolia Society
              and  its  activities  but  it  also  bundles a number of
              Mongolia-related  Internet  documents, namely references
              to  other  WWW  home  pages on Mongolia and Tuva, gopher
              servers and single documents. The pointers to other URLs
              are very up-to-date. The Mongolia Society URL is:

                  http://www.bluemarble.net/~mitch/monsoc.html


                Now the third Yes. There is one gopher server offering
              dedicated information on Mongolia. It is located at Free
              University, Berlin, Germany, and can be reached via:

                  gopher gopher.fu-berlin.de


                  This  gopher server offers the "Infosystem Mongolei"
              featuring  a  small  but growing collection of articles,
              maps,  legal documents and software related to Mongolia.
              It  contains  also  a list of pointers to other Internet
              documents   on  Mongolia  which  is  frequently updated.
              Browsing  these  pointers  is  much more convenient than
              running multiple VERONICA searches.

              If you encounter difficulties in connecting to
              "Infosystem Mongolei" you can e-mail to:

                  infomong@zedat.fu-berlin.de

                  or

                  corff@zedat.fu-berlin.de

              and request a description of the access procedure. A WWW
              (World Wide Web) address is in preparation and the docu-
              ments  of Infosystem Mongolei will be made available for
              WWW  browsers  like  Mosaic etc. The official opening of
              the  WWW home page for Infosystem Mongolei should not be
              expected before August 1995.



           3) Is there an Internet or e-mail link to Mongolia?

               Yes, there is now the first e-mail link to Mongolia. It
              came  into existence in January/February 1995 and is not
              yet  a continuous (i.e. 24 h/day) operation but it seems
              to   work.  It  is  organized  by  a  commercial service
              provider, Datacom Co., Ltd. Mongolia. The address is:

                  bataa@magicnet.mn

              and requests to this address will most certainly be ans-
              wered  by  Bataa, the system operator. There are various
              types  of service charges. First, one has to open an ac-
              count  which is between US$ 20.-- and US$ 100.-- depend-
              ing  on  whether  one  is  a private or an institutional
              user.  Then there is a monthly charge (starting with US$
              5.--  / month), and in addition there is a volume charge
              for  every  kB  of data which is 30 cents. Despite these
              various  charges, the operation via e-mail is by far the
              cheapest   because  fax  and  DX  telephone  costs  are
              tremendous.

              In addition, the Academy of Sciences has its own connec-
              tion now (UUCP) to the Internet via Dubna, Russia.

                  There  is no public e-mail link to Inner Mongolia at
              present.

               At present it is also not known whether Buryatia can be
              reached via e-mail.



           4) Is there an IDD (International Direct Dialing) telephone
              link to Mongolia?

                  Yes, there is the possibility to place IDD (Interna-
              tional  Direct Dialing) telephone calls to Mongolia. The
              country  code is ++976, the area code for Ulaanbaatar is
              1. At present the telephone system in Ulaanbaatar is un-
              der  reconstruction  which  implies that certain numbers
              are  changed. Ulaanbaatar used to have 5-digit telephone
              numbers  until 1992. Those numbers which then began with
              a 2 are usually converted by placing a 3 in front of the
              leading  digit.  Other  numbers were changed later. Some
              numbers still retain the 5-digit order.

                  Inner Mongolia can be reached via China. The country
              code is 86, the area code for Huhhot is (0)471 (skip the
              leading 0 when dialing from abroad).

               Buryatia can be reached via Russia. The country code is
              ++7  but there are two city codes for Ulan Ude: 3012 for
              6-digit  telephone  numbers, 30122 for 5-digit telephone
              numbers.


          MONGOLIA - LAND & PEOPLE

           5) Where do Mongolians live?

                  Mongolians live in:

                  1)  Mongolia  proper,  the huge, land-locked country
              between  China  and  the  Siberian  part  of the Russian
              Federation

                  2)  Southern  Mongolia,  or  Inner Mongol Autonomous
              Region which politically belongs to China.

                  3)  Buryatia, direct north of Mongolia proper, south
              and south-east of Lake Baikal.

                  5)  An  important number of Mongols who are known as
              Kalmycks live in Russia.

                  6) A significant number of Mongolians live dispersed
              in  other Chinese provinces. Some of them form their own
              nationalities, e.g. the Dagurs.

                  7)  Small  communities of Mongols named Moghols live
              in Afghanistan.

                  8)  There  is  also  a  worldwide somewhat scattered
              community of Mongol scholars, students and professionals
              living   in  many  countries  from  [A]merica  to  New
              [Z]ealand.  About  500  or more Mongols live in Germany.
              Many of them came to Germany during the existence of the
              German  Democratic Republic which is now united with the
              Federal Republic of Germany.


           6) Who speaks Mongolian?

                Virtually all citizens of Mongolia proper speak Mongo-
              lian.  Some  do not because they are either of Kazakh or
              other  ethnic origin. Not all ethnic Mongols in Southern
              Mongolia  do speak Mongol, many of them have switched to
              Chinese.  Similar  phenomena can be observed in Buryatia
              where  many  inhabitants  speak  Russian. The minor com-
              munities scattered over China and Afghanistan speak some
              very  old  varieties  of  Mongolian which have developed
              into  proper languages in their own right. Some of these
              languages  are not well documented. The Kalmycks speak a
              form  of Mongolian known as Kalmyck which even developed
              its own modified form of writing.


           7) What kind of a language is Mongolian?

                  Mongolian  belongs to the Altaic family of languages
              showing  structural (and partially lexical) similarities
              with  languages  of  the  Tungusic  group of this family
              (e.g.  Manju)  and the Turkic group of this family (e.g.
              Turkish). Mongolian has strong vowel harmony: all vowels
              within  one word and even all grammatical particles must
              be  chosen from one of two vowel sets which are known as
              male and female or back and front vowels.

                Mongolian has a total of seven short vowels. There are
              also  seven  long  vowels. The distinction between short
              and  long  vowels is essential as it alters the meaning:
              [tos]  is  "grease, oil" while [toos] is "dust". Besides
              simple  short  and  long vowels there are also diphtongs
              which  have  duration values similar to long vowels. The
              stress is usually put on the first syllable if all syll-
              ables  of  a word are short; otherwise the stress is put
              on  the first syllable carrying a long vowel. The set of
              consonants  has  many  constraints: [r] may not occur at
              the  beginning  of  a  word.  [f] only occurs in foreign
              loans  and  is  frequently converted to [p]. [w] and [b]
              though  phonetically different do not form an opposition
              on  the  phonological level. The same holds true for [c]
              and  [q]  ([c] as [ts]ar, [q] as [ch]ill) as well as [j]
              (as  in  [j]eep)  and  [z] (best described as fairly un-
              voiced  [ds]). Both pairs are expressed by the same sym-
              bol  in  Classical  writing  and the development of dif-
              ferent  phonetical  realisations  is mainly due to vowel
              environment  and  dialect  situation. The consonants [k]
              and [g] are linked to vowel harmony. In words containing
              back  vowels,  [k] changes to [x] and [g] becomes [G] (a
              voiced  glottal affricate). Beginners frequently confuse
              the latter with something like a French [r].

               The grammar is fairly simple: all predicates are put at
              the end of the sentence resulting in a S.O.P. (subject -
              object  - predicate) structure. There are no subordinate
              clauses  in  the  sense  of Indo-European languages. At-
              tributes  are placed in front of the denominated entity.
              Indo-European  style  subordinate  clauses (Relativsatz,
              etc.) are resolved as attribute constructions. Verbs can
              be  collated to form new meanings or expand or intensify
              the  meaning  of  the main verb. Verbs occur in two dis-
              tinct  categories: 1) the "genuine" or finite verb forms
              finish  phrases, serve as predicates and can be compared
              to  ordinary  verbs  of  Indo-European languages; 2) all
              other  verb  forms, be they converbs (modifiers of other
              verbs),  verbal  nouns  (usually translated as verbs but
              with the complete behaviour of nouns like the ability to
              form  oblique  cases)  or the equivalents to participles
              and gerundial forms cannot be used to finish phrases. As
              a rule of thumb, a Mongolian phrase usually has numerous
              occurrences  of  verbs  of the second class but only one
              finite verb at the end of the phrase. As an exception to
              this  rule of thumb, under certain circumstances phrases
              may  also end with a verbal noun as predicate. All gram-
              matical  functions  and  relations are expressed by suf-
              fixes  which are "glued" to the end of a root be it noun
              or  verb  hence  the term "agglutinative language". More
              than  one suffix can be attached to a word: e.g. [teesh]
              "bag"; [teeshees] "out of the bag"; [teesheesee] "out of
              his/her  bag");  [bolgoomj]  "care"; [bolgoomjtoi] "with
              care"  -> careful (as adjective); [bolgoomjtoigoor] "ac-
              ting  with  care"  ->  doing something carefully (as ad-
              verb).

               Mongolian writing is a fairly complex topic. The tradi-
              tional  Mongolian  script  is  written in vertical lines
              from  left  to right, very much like an Arab page turned
              counter-clockwise  by  90  degrees.  Though  this script
              (called  Uighur  script  because the Uighurs had used it
              first) has been the main vehicle of written Mongolian, a
              number  of other writing systems have been and are being
              employed.  In 1940, The then Mongolian People's Republic
              started  using a modified Cyrillic alphabet (extended by
              two  vowel  symbols,  [_o] and [_u], the female counter-
              parts  of  [o]  and [u]. In the beginning of the 1990's,
              Mongolia  was  considering  the  return to the Classical
              script  despite the heavy financial and social cost: New
              schoolbooks  had to be compiled and many adults who were
              born  after  1940  must now learn a completely different
              writing  system  which  does not only look different but
              which also represents a different historical development
              stage of the Mongolian language. A law was passed to the
              effect  that  from 1994 on Mongolian Classical script be
              the  official  writing  of  Mongolia  again but one year
              after  this  magic  date nothing really changed substan-
              tially.

_
                                                                 


                 The repetitive nature of similar endings has strongly
              influenced  traditional lyrics which uses line allitera-
              tions  and line-internal alliterations as a main element
              for structuring versed speech. The emphasized beginnings
              of  words  thus form a healthy offset to the grammatical
              suffices.


           8) Is Mongolian easy to learn?

                 From the introduction about the Mongolian language we
              can  draw the following conclusions on whether Mongolian
              is or is not easy to learn.

                  Since  it  is  an  SOP language its grammar may pose
              problems  to  speakers  of  most  European languages and
              Chinese.  It  should however be much easier for learners
              with  a  background in Japanese, Korean, Turkish, Manchu
              or similar languages.

                  Since  the  assumptions  on  word classes ('parts of
              speech')  sometimes  differs  thoroughly from most Indo-
              European  languages,  problems  may  arise in this field
              (When  does an "adjective" need declension? Is it really
              what we call an adjective?).

              The pronounciation does not pose enourmous difficulties.
              Although  there  are no completely unfamiliar sounds for
              speakers  of  most  other languages tutoring is strongly
              recommended   during  the  initial  phase  of  acquiring
              phonetics and phonology.

                The Classical writing system should be learned under a
              teacher's  or  tutor's  guidance - it is sometimes a bit
              tricky to master it on one's own.

                The number of language training materials is not over-
              whelming,  dictionaries  are  only  available  for a few
              languages  (notably  Russian,  Chinese  and English; but
              also   German  and  Japanese.  See  the  document  by
              Christopher  Kaplonski  and Oliver Corff: SROMDIC - Sug-
              gested Readings on Mongolia - Dictionaries in Infosystem
              Mongolei)

                 The final key to success is practice, practice, prac-
              tice.  Expose  yourself  to  as  much  printed and audio
              material as possible.


          MONGOLIA - ADMINISTRATIVE

            9)  I want to study in Mongolia. Where do I establish con-
              tact?

                 Contact your university. They may already have an ex-
              change  program with Mongolia without your knowledge. If
              this fails, contact your national academic exchange ser-
              vice (e.g. the DAAD in Germany or the JFPS in Japan).


            10)  I  want  to  work  in  Mongolia, e.g. teach a foreign
              language. Where do I establish first contact?

                 Here as above it is recommended to contact your univ-
              ersity or your national academic exchange service.


           11) I want to study in Inner Mongolia. Where do I establish
              contact?

                  The  answer here is the same as above. Only one dif-
              ference  must  be  observed: Politically being a part of
              China,  all  programs  dealing  with  Inner Mongolia are
              usually in the Chinese section or department.


          12)  I  want to work in Inner Mongolia, e.g. teach a foreign
              language. Where do I establish contact?

                  The  answer here is the same as above. Only one dif-
              ference  must  be  observed: Politically being a part of
              China,  all  programs  dealing  with  Inner Mongolia are
              usually kept in the Chinese section or department of the
              exchange organization or university.


          13)  I  want  to  travel  to  Mongolia.  What kind of travel
              documentation do I need?

               You must obtain a visa at a Mongolian embassy or consu-
              late.  (See below for a list of embassies / consulates).
              In order to obtain a visa you must produce an invitation
              issued  by  a) a Mongolian private person or b) a Mongo-
              lian  institution.  This  may  be a university. Once you
              have entered Mongolia various regulations on registering
              with police may apply depending on the length and nature
              of  your stay. Ask your Mongolian embassy when receiving
              the visa.


          14)  I want to travel to Inner Mongolia. What kind of travel
              documentation do I need?

                  You  need  a  visa  issued by the authorities of the
              People's  Republic  of  China.  Once in China (and Inner
              Mongolia)  you'll  be  requested  to register at a hotel
              etc.  by  using the forms available there. Various other
              procedures  may  apply depending on length and nature of
              your stay.


          15)  I  want  to  travel  to  Buryatia.  What kind of travel
              documentation do I need?

              You need a visa issued by the authorities of the Russian
              Federation. Contact your local (former USSR) embassy.


          16)  I  want  to  travel  to  Kalmykia.  What kind of travel
              documentation do I need?

              You need a visa issued by the authorities of the Russian
              Federation. See above.


          17) Where is the nearest embassy / consulate of Mongolia?

                  There are not so many Mongolian embassies and consu-
              lates.   Most  of  them  are  accredited  for  several
              countries.  The  following  list  is very incomplete and
              remains to be completed with the readers' help.

                 Since it is helpful to use a travel agency's services
              when  applying  for  a visa this list contains also some
              information about travel agents.


                  * Embassies and Honorary Consuls by country *


                  Mongolian Embassy in Australia
                  There is no embassy in Australia. Australia is
                  covered by the Mongolian Embassy in China, Beijing.


                  Honorary Consul in Austria
                  Mr. Johannes Stiedl
                  Anhofstr. 65-67
                  A-1130 Wien
                  Tel.: ++ 43 1 877 3353
                                    1724
                                    5661


                  Mongolian Embassy in China
                  No. 2 Xiu Shui Bei Jie
                  Jian Guo Men Wai District
                  Beijing
                  Tel.: 1 532 1203
                  Fax : 1 532 5045


                  Mongolian Embassy in France
                  5, Av. R. Schuman
                  Boulogne



                  Mongolian Embassy in Germany
                  Siebengebirgsblick 4
                  53844 Troisdorf
                  Tel.: 02241-402727

                  Aussenstelle der Mongolischen Botschaft in Berlin
                  Gotlandstr. 12
                  10439 Berlin
                  Tel.: 030-4469320
                                 21


                  Honorary Consul in Hong Kong
                  Mr. Kwok Shiu Ming
                  4 Sommerset Toad, Kowloon
                  Hong Kong
                  Tel.: ++ 852 338 9034
                  Fax : ++ 852 338 0633


                  Honorary Consul in Italy
                  Mr. Aldo Colleoni
                  viale XX Settembre, 37
                  34126 Trieste
                  Tel.:  040-362241
                  Fax    040-363494
                  telex  461138 CONMON1.


                  Mongolian Embassy in Japan
                  Pine Crest Mansion
                  21-4, Kamiyamacho
                  Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150
                  Tel.: 03-3469-2088


                  Mongolian Embassy in New Zealand
                  New Zealand Embassy and Ambassador in Beijing are
                  credited for NZ foreign affairs to Mongolia, while
                  Mongolian embassies in Tokyo or Beijing handle
                  matters between Mongolia and NZ. See China.


                  Mongolian Embassy in the United Kingdom
                  7 Kensington Court
                  LONDON
                  W8 5DL
                  Tel: (0171) 937 5238
                  Tel: (0171) 937 0150


                  Mongolian Embassy in the USA
                  2833 M Street, NW
                  Washington, DC
                  Tel: 202-333-7117


                  Honorary Consul in Switzerland:
                  Stephan Bischofberger
                  P.O.Box 173
                  Limmatstr. 35
                  8005 Zuerich
                  Fax : ++ 1 272 7924
                  Tel.: ++ 1 272 4005

                  According to the Swiss telephone directory ETV,
                  Mr. Bischofberger seems to be in charge of a travel
                  agency named 'Discovery Tours'.




                  * Travel Agents *

                  'Mongolian Tourism Corporation of America'
                  A joint venture between Zhuulchin
                  and an American travel agency.
                  Princeton Corporate Plaza
                  1 Deer Park Drive, Suite M
                  Monmouth Junction, NJ 08852
                  Tel.: ++ 1 908-274-0088



                  NOMADIC EXPEDITIONS
                  (This one seems to have contact with Zhuulchin, too)
                  Princeton Corporate Center
                  5 Independence Way, Suite 300
                  Princeton, NJ 08540


                  BOOJUM Expeditions
                  14543 Kelly Canyon Road
                  Bozeman, MT 59715 USA
                  Tel.: 406-587-0124
                  Fax : 406-585-3474
                  Boojum@delphi.com



                  Beyond the range of the official state travel agency
              Zhuulchin   there  are  now  numerous  private  agencies
              operating  in Mongolia. Their addresses are occasionally
              hard  to  come  by but it is hoped that this list can be
              enlarged  during  winter  as  to  leave  enough  time to
              prepare next summer's travel to Mongolia.



          MONGOLIA - TOURISM

          18) How to travel to Mongolia?

               The principal ways to Mongolia are by train and by air.
              The  capital  of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, is connected via
              the  Transmongolian  Railway  to  China and Buryatia. In
              Ulan Ude, capital of Buryatia, the Transsiberian Railway
              (leading  to the Russian Far East, Khabaravosk, Nakhodka
              etc.)  connects to the Transmongolian Railway.

                 Trains from Moscow to Beijing run once a week in each
              direction  and  take about five days for the whole trip.
              There  are also 'local trains' between Irkutsk (Erkhuud)
              and  Ulaanbaatar  which  take  about  24  hours one way.
              Similar  local  trains  run between Ulaanbaatar and Bei-
              jing.  Since  the Transmongolian Railway sports only one
              track  this  is  a  bottleneck for railway traffic which
              results in these one train/week schedules.

                  Prices  for  train  tickets vary between US$ 200 and
              US$500.  It  is  not  possible to state any exact amount
              because  prices  fluctuate,  the currency exchange rates
              vary  daily  and pricing policies create different price
              tags depending on where the tickets are purchased.


              The second feasible way to enter Mongolia is by air. Air
              transport is available between Buyant Uxaa (the interna-
              tional  airport  of  Ulaanbaatar) and Beijing as well as
              Irkutsk, the latter with a weekly connect flight to Mos-
              cow  (or  should  I  say, it's a weekly flight to Moscow
              with  a  stop-over  in Irkutsk?). These lines are served
              throughout  the  whole  year. In summer, there are addi-
              tional  flights  to  Huhhot  (Inner Mongolia) and Japan.
              There are about four international passenger flights per
              week  connecting  Ulaanbaatar and the rest of the world.
              Links  to  other  Central  Asian  regions are under con-
              sideration  or  offered  on  a  seasonal basis such as a
              flight between Almaty / Kazakhstan and Mongolia.

                Only the prices on the Ulaanbaatar / Beijing route are
              fairly constant: around US$ 150.-- for a one-way ticket.
              For  all  other  destinations  there  are wildly varying
              ticket  prices  depending  on where the ticket is bought
              and whether the client is entitled to special reductions
              (like  being  an  official  student at the Mongolian Na-
              tional University).


          19) What kind of accommodation is available in Mongolia?

              In Ulaanbaatar there are some big hotels. One of them is
              a  monument  to  Soviet-style luxury and lavishness: The
              Ulaanbaatar  Zoqid  Buudal.  Located next to the central
              square,  it  is  ideal  for  travellers  with  a  not so
              restricted  budget. Price tags start at US$ 60.- (or so)
              and  the two dining rooms are frequenty used by external
              guests  when  every  other supply of food in Ulaanbaatar
              collapses. The next important hotel (near the Bogd Gegen
              Palace) is the Bayangol which was thoroughly revamped in
              1992.  Similar  standard.  The  Chinggis Khan Hotel near
              Sansar (a district name in Ulaanbaatar) has been "due to
              open  soon"  since 1991 but did apparently not manage to
              do   so.  It  is  still  "under  construction"  and  was
              temporarily  managed  by the Holiday Inn group, a Korean
              group  (Lotte,  I think) and will continue to strech its
              red  and  black granite facade into the blue sky for the
              next years to come ... ?

                Small hotels for the traveller with a tight budget in-
              clude   the  "Stroitel"  (Russian:  construction worker)
              which  is north of the Ix Toirog (Great Ring) Road close
              to the smaller monastery. A Mongolian-Chinese joint ven-
              ture   is  the  "Manduhai"  hotel  near  the  Ix Delguur
              (Department  Store).  Clean rooms, simple furniture, but
              nice  atmosphere and acceptable price tag. Other private
              hotels keep opening with the rise of the private sector.
              These  offer similar prices (sometimes starting with US$
              10.--  /  day for a complete little flat) but the situa-
              tions  keeps  changing  so it is difficult to give names
              and addresses here.

              In the countryside the situation looks different. In the
              tourist  spots  there  are ger camps with a complete in-
              frastructure  (restaurant  gers, shower facilities etc.)
              and they are quite convenient because they ensure a min-
              imum  of reliability for the traveller. Once leaving the
              tourist paths the situation again looks different. It is
              possible  to  ask at people's homes (= gers) but one may
              be  turned away (already too many people staying there).
              Prepare for a long demarche to the "neighbour" (maybe 50
              or  100 kilometers (30 to 60 miles). Never, never forget
              to  bring  a  reasonably  useful and valuable gift. When
              staying  at  somebody's home then stick to the following
              minimal  rules regardless how friendly people may appear
              to you:
                  1) Check carefully whether your potential host is
                          capable at all of accommodating another
                          guest. In order to find out, you can check
                          for the number of family members, the
                          situation of the animals, etc.
                  2) Never stay longer than one day.
                  3) Never refuse ceremonial offerings of tea
                          even if it salty, etc.
                  4) Roll down the sleeves of your shirt/coat
                          no matter which temperature it is.
                          If it is summer and you (and Mongolians)
                          wear a t-shirt, then pretend to roll
                          down your sleeves symbolically when
                          being offered food and drink.
                  5) Never accept any offering of food, drink etc.
                          with your left hand. Both hands is best.
                  6) If there is only a well, not a river nearby,
                          never abuse it as a bathtub. Water in
                          general and wells in particular are precious
                          in this country.
                  7) When bringing your own food or drink never forget
                          to offer it to everybody. Never attempt to
                          munch your biscuits secretely. If you can't
                          resist eating your own biscuits then wait
                          until you are on the road again.
                  8) Perhaps last in this list, but not least:

_
                                                                                           

                          Show due respect to the dogs and animals
                          of your host. The dog will only respect
                          you if advised by his master to do so.
                          Mongolian dogs are no pets!


          20) What kind of transport is available in Mongolia?

                  "In  UB,  you can walk, ride the bus, or flag done a
              private  vehicle  and negotiate a price. No taxis. I was
              fairly  insulated from that, as my cousin has a car. But
              I  did  a  lot of walking anyway, because I like to walk
              and the city is a convenient one to walk in. Most of the
              hotels  are  near the center of the city, as are many of
              the  sights. The exception is the big market, which runs
              on  Wednesdays,  Saturdays and Sundays - it's a bit of a
              hike  from  downtown."  -  Quoted  from Peter Crandall's
              Mongolia Travelogue.

                  Besides that, Ulaanbaatar sports numerous public bus
              lines  which  are  usually  more  than crowded but offer
              about the cheapest rides in the world.

                 Travelling to the country requires going by MIAT, the
              national  air  line  carrier,  or  renting  a jeep. MIAT
              flights  are  fairly irregular (usually only once a week
              per  direction) and may be cancelled completely for lack
              of gasoline. It may happen that you take a flight to Uws
              and  cannot return for 8 weeks. Renting a jeep is fairly
              inexpensive  and usually includes a driver who is indis-
              pensable  because  this man usually knows the way in the
              endless steppe. He also has the technical skill to cross
              rivers,  sand  dunes etc. A "Camel Trophy" - commercial-
              like driving style may ruin vehicle and passengers.

                In the areas closer to Ulaanbaatar (within a 500-km or
              300  miles  range)  there  are  busses  available. Their
              departure  takes  place  in  front of the Museum of Fine
              Arts downtown Ulaanbaatar.


          21) Which season is recommended for travelling?

              Summer is beautiful but short. Winter is not recommended
              if  you  go  beyond Ulaanbaatar. Road conditions, living
              conditions, nutrition and everything becomes too scarce.
              A  good  start is in May. It is still cold but the over-
              whelming  beauty  of spring, the mild fragrance of blos-
              soms  and  the  fresh  smell  of water offer experiences
              which one will never forget.


          INNER MONGOLIA - TOURISM


          22) How to travel to Inner Mongolia?

               Inner Mongolia can be reached by train and by aircraft.
              The  Transmongolian Railway which leads from Beijing via
              Ulaanbaatar  to  Ulan  Ude crosses the Mongolian-Chinese
              border at Erenhot (Erlian[haote]) / China and Zamyn _Uud
              /  Mongolia.  North of Datong it connects to the Chinese
              Railway,  Inner  Mongolian  branch leading to Baotou and
              eventually  to  Ningxia and Gansu which implies that one
              can  also  travel  to  Inner  Mongolia  when coming from
              Lanzhou  and Yinchuan. It takes about 10 hours to travel
              from  Beijing to Huhhot and the night train which leaves
              Beijing in the evening is very convenient as one arrives
              at  Huhhot  early  in  the  next morning. Trains go on a
              regular basis (usually every day, sometimes every second
              day  depending  on  the  line)  and are fairly reliable.
              Prices  are  reliable, too, but the foreign traveller is
              forced  to  pay  about  twice  as  much  as  the Chinese
              citizen.  Due  to  frequent  depreciation of the Chinese
              Yuan  no  fixed  number  can be given here but a one-way
              trip  (second  class  sleeper)  from  Beijing  to Huhhot
              should be around US$ 40.--.

                 Flights between Huhhot and Beijing go several times a
              week  and last less than one hour. The ticket prices are
              not  very  much  higher  than those of the railway (con-
              sidering  prices  for foreigners). Other destinations in
              Inner  Mongolia are also served from Beijing. Up-to-date
              information  on  schedules should be available at travel
              agencies dealing China Airlines tickets.


          23)   What  kind  of  accommodation  is  available  in Inner
              Mongolia?

              The traveller's situation is governed by more rules here
              than  in Mongolia. Basically, when staying in the cities
              (like  Huhhot  etc.)  the traveller has no choice but to
              stay in huge hotels. In the countryside the situation is
              similar to that in Mongolia but is more difficult to get
              to the countryside.


          24) What kind of transport is available in Inner Mongolia?

                  In addition to railway (from and to Beijing, Huhhot,
              Baotou,  Hailar  etc.) there are flights betwen regional
              centres and long-distance busses within the regions. For
              local excursions you can also rent cars with drivers.


          25) Which season is recommended for travelling?

              See No. 18) above.


          MONGOLIA - MISCELLANEOUS

          26)  Are  there  computer  programs for processing Mongolian
              language documents?

              Yes, there are. These programs can be roughly classified
              as follows:

               Layout software for Classical Mongolian produced at In-
              ner  Mongolia  University  for MSDOS and UNIX platforms.
              Maybe this is the most complete package one can dream of
              since  it  supports  everything  from  different writing
              styles  (Ulaanbaatar  vs. Inner Mongol typeface) to dif-
              ferent   alphabets  (including  Oirat,  Phags-ba  etc.)
              Availability:  Yes,  but  with  a  high price tag in the
              four-digit US$ range.

              Windows Software by American and German producers. These
              are usually only font sets which are sold in combination
              with  some exotic text processing software. Does not of-
              fer  full  support  for correct conversion of text data,
              etc.

                "Cyrillic only" products for enhancing MSDOS platforms
              are  available  at  little or no cost in Mongolia. These
              include  printer drivers, screen fonts and keyboard map-
              pers for the extended Cyrillic alphabet. Around three or
              four  different  encodings are known under the following
              program  names:  NCC,  MOSLAST,  SUNCHIR and MONKEGA. No
              commercial  code  converters  available,  no support for
              Classical Mongolian.

               Research-type programs for MacIntosh machines, produced
              by  the  Universit'e de Nanterre but never made publicly
              available.

               One classical font is offered by Ecological Linguistics
              for Mac systems.

                  A  commercial font package is available for extended
              Cyrillic  by Linguist's Software for both the Mac and PC
              worlds.

               MLS - Mongolian Language Support. Originallly developed
              for  IBM compatible PCs, now extended to the Unix world.
              Availability:  free.  See  the  software  section of In-
              fosystem  Mongolei. MLS is a MSDOS enhancement featuring
              support  for  both  Classical and Cyrillic Mongolian. It
              offers conversion modules, a viewer for text with verti-
              cal  lines  and  allows the continued use of (text mode)
              applications  like dBASE, spreadsheets and text process-
              ing   packages.  Windows  support  is  currently  under
              development. Besides the MLS package itself there is the
              above-mentioned  Mongolian  text viewer (MVIEW) with on-
              line  conversion  from  transliteration to Mongol script
              and  a  converter from Mongol text to graphics (MLS2PCX)
              which generates graphics files out of Mongolian language
              texts. The free packages do not yet contain printer sup-
              port  which is overly due and can be expected soon (says
              the author of MLS).



          MONGOLIA - SUGGESTED READINGS

          27) Which book do you recommend as a start?

                A dedicated document by Christopher Kaplonski - SROM -
              Suggested  Readings  on Mongolia -  is available at "In-
              fosystem  Mongolei".  This  document is occasionally up-
              dated   and  gets  posted  to  the  USENET  newsgroup
              soc.culture.mongolian. A second document (SROMDIC - Sug-
              gested   Readings  on  Mongolia  -  Dictionaries)  by
              Christopher Kaplonski and Oliver Corff at the same loca-
              tion   reveals  information  about  commonly  used  dic-
              tionaries.

--
Dr. Oliver Corff              e-mail:    corff@zedat.fu-berlin.de
Heinrich-Roller-Str. 26       telephone:   ++ 49 - 30 - 312 34 54
10405 Berlin  GERMANY 

                                                                                                     
