How To Live In Mongolia (Without Looking Like A Tourist)

Sometimes living abroad is great. You are a foreigner, you attract a lot of attention. :-)


But there are lots of hassles to live abroad. I have had several foreigners who told me that even though they've lived in Mongolia for several years, they're still seen as tourists and are bothered a lot.

If you're like them, here is a flowchart to help you. Any feedback/comment is appreciated.

P.S: If you ARE a tourist, this flowchart will help you visit Mongolia inconspicuously and still get a great experience at the same time. (I'm talking about Pickpocket Risk Mitigation)

3 Mongolian Celebrities with Their Foreign Look-alikes (Twins?)

As much as people try to embrace individualism and try to look different from each other, we meet someone similar to ourselves at some point of our lives. For those who want to refute this theory, I'll ask these questions:

1. How would you feel If someone has worn a shirt exactly like yours gets in the same room as you?
2. Who did you hang out with in school/college and how did you relate to your friends?

The thing is, I have noticed similar resemblances between few Mongolian celebrities and some foreign celebrities. And what If they were twins, accidentally separated after their birth?
It's like those ridiculous Korean soap operas.
Mongol Angle would like to state that they appreciate Korean film industry very much.

1. Onon N = Joe Lo Truglio

The 5 Emergency Numbers In Mongolia (You Should Definitely Know)

Knowing the emergency telephone numbers in your residing area is always a good idea. For most countries, there's only one number to dial; USA and Canada have 911, the UK has 999, and Australia has 000.

BUT, in Mongolia, you have to know 5 different numbers for different emergencies. SO, Mongol Angle blog presents the easy way to memorize those -- as a story.

[Scenario 1] I'm Bored (109)

Once upon a time, there was a 20-something guy who lived in Ulaanbaatar. One day, he was home alone. The Internet was not working, and there was not much to do. [Damn, that has got to be borrinngg.] After staring at the wall for some time, he decided to see if there was any entertainment that evening.

It's also an emergency

Where did he call?
He called 109, the operator.

How To Celebrate Valentine's Day In Mongolia [PIC]

Valentine's Day is right around the corner. This can cause a lot of different expectations and anxiety around the world. Luckily, all is simple in Mongolia this year. Wondering why? Consult this flowchart.

Like this?

1. Share this on your Facebook!
2. Retweet about it!
3. Leave a comment! How do you feel about the incoming Valentine's?
4. Tell your friends about the imminent Valentine's/Tsagaan Sar remix. AWKWARD!

9 Superstitions in Mongolia (They Don't Tell You)

Superstitions, urban myths, whatever you call them, these are the unwritten rules that live in the mind of every Mongolian.

1. Shake hands if you’ve stepped on someone’s foot. 

Or Else What?
You and that person will be enemies.

What?! Why?
Because you've invaded their social space -- and that is no good. Little did the urbanized Europeans know that the Mongol conquest was started because of their small social zone. By the way, this is the most surefire way to identify a Mongolian: if you inconspicuously touch their foot with yours, they will automatically reach out their hand for a shake. I cannot overstate the fact that the underlying reason that Mongolians have a very large personal space.

6 Mongolian Mythical Creatures

Next time you visit Mongolia, be sure to spot these creatures! (Many thanks to Sukhee, for drawing the monsters! If you want to hire his artistic talent, you can check out his work here).


6. Нисдэг Морь (The Winged Horse)

Thanks to Sukhee for sketching. His site is here.

More mysterious than:
Pegasus from the Greek mythology.
It's better than the Disney's Pegasus because it's black -- and honestly, turquoise manes are gay!

LOL, How did they come up with that?
Enter the Morin Khuur, aka the horse fiddle.
According to a fable, this musical instrument was invented by Cuckoo Namjil, in memory of his Winged Horse.

Interested to hear more?

Letters to Genghis Khan #8

Recently, the staff of a paper recycling center in Ulaanbaatar city found a bundle of eccentrically neat envelopes from the waste. What they found were hilariously funny letters, apparently dedicated to Genghis Khan (or Chinggis Khaan). After many auctions and trade-offs I took them in my possessions and decided to post it here. Ladies and gentlemen, the eighth part of "Letters to Genghis Khan":

Letters to Genghis Khan #7

Recently, the staff of a paper recycling center in Ulaanbaatar city found a bundle of eccentrically neat envelopes from the waste. What they found were hilariously funny letters, apparently dedicated to Genghis Khan (or Chinggis Khaan). After many auctions and trade-offs I took them in my possessions and decided to post it here. Ladies and gentlemen, the seventh part of "Letters to Genghis Khan":

Letters to Genghis Khan #6

Recently, the staff of a paper recycling center in Ulaanbaatar city found a bundle of eccentrically neat envelopes from the waste. What they found were hilariously funny letters, apparently dedicated to Genghis Khan (or Chinggis Khaan). After many auctions and trade-offs I took them in my possessions and decided to post it here. Ladies and gentlemen, the sixth part of "Letters to Genghis Khan":

Letters to Genghis Khan #5

Recently, the staff of a paper recycling center in Ulaanbaatar city found a bundle of eccentrically neat envelopes from the waste. What they found were hilariously funny letters, apparently dedicated to Genghis Khan (or Chinggis Khaan). After many auctions and trade-offs I took them in my possessions and decided to post it here. Ladies and gentlemen, the fifth part of "Letters to Genghis Khan":