Mongolia is a landlocked country located between China and Russia. It is a vast emptiness that links land and sky, and is one of the last few places on the planet where nomadic life is still a living tradition.

Some western-style accommodations are available in Ulaanbaatar, but they go for western prices. There are a few nice guest houses in UB for less than $US10 per night (even as cheap as 3,000 tugrik if you’re willing to share a room), but they are crowded during the tourist season and hard to get into.

Out in the countryside, most of the hotels are rundown leftovers from the Soviet era. A better option is tourist ger, set up by various entrepreneurial locals. Staying at one of these costs about 2500 tugrik per person per night. They often include breakfast and dinner as well. When staying in one of these guest ger, the usual gift-giving customs can be skipped.

Finally, there are also ger-camps. Set up by tour-companies, they do occasional rent out space to independent travellers. Unfortunately, they tend to be both expensive and out of the way.

Except for the cities and larger towns, all of the land is publicly owned. This means you can pitch a tent pretty much anywhere. Courtesy dictates that you keep your distance from existing nomad encampments. Common-sense dictates that you don’t pitch a tent in the middle of a road.