Your guide to the real Mongolia
You named it the top emerging destination in the Wanderlust Travel Awards 2014. Goyo Reston, tour operator and Mongolian native, explains how to get underneath her country’s skin.
Born and raised in the Gobi, Goyo Reston has forged a successful career in tourism, working first as a guide, and now with her own tour company, Goyo Travel, that she set up with her husband, Olly. Her enthusiasm and deep knowledge of Mongolia won her a Wanderlust World Guide Award in 2007.
Below she shares the secrets to really get to know her amazing homeland.
1. UB or not UB? That is the question.
Ulaanbaatar – or UB as it is affectionately known – divides opinion. A bustling cosmopolitan metropolis that combines the flash modern exuberance of the burgeoning economic boom, alongside aging Soviet infrastructure that struggles to cope with increased urban migration – almost half of Mongolia’s 2.8m population live here.
People stopping off in Mongolia off the Trans-Siberian tend to spend too much time in the city and not enough time in the countryside. But aside from the problems of traffic and pollution, UB does have a relaxed charm and contains hidden gems worth exploring for a day or two at the start or end of any Mongolia trip.
Start off by planning your time in UB to fall on a weekend if at all possible – it’s easier to get around and more pleasant when the roads are not chock-a-block. Secondly, make sure you are staying relatively close to Sukhbaatar Square, as most places of interest and good bars/restaurants are within walking distance from here. Avoid hotels out by, or beyond, the Eastern or Western crossroads, unless you have good walking legs or enjoy sitting in traffic.
Thirdly, by all means tick the worthwhile sightseeing boxes of Gandan Monastery, National History Museum, and Winter Palace of Bogd Khan, but make time to experience other cultural treasures too. Visit the Nicholas Roerich Residence, drop in at the tiny Ulaanbaatar City Museum, see a performance at the State Opera House, pop into antiques shops, art galleries, the workshop of a traditional bow-maker, local cafes, markets and explore the streets on foot during the day.
In the evening, pick from a whole host of great restaurants with local or foreign cuisine – we like to end a trip with a visit to Namaste, with some of the best Indian food you’ve ever tasted, and cocktails in the sky lounge at the top of the Central Tower.
