点评:My wife & I did an 8 day custom tour with Travel Buddies in early September as part of a 6 week trip to Mongolia. It was a variation of their Northern Horizons tour. We had an amazing time. Our travel planner, Nasaa, guide Mishka and driver Bataa were all great. We would happily recommend them and work with any of them and Travel Buddies again.
Mongolia has lots of spectacular countryside and wide open spaces. I know Montana uses the phrase "Big Sky Country", but it really applies to Mongolia.
One thing to know about travel in Mongolia is the word "road" is often a concept, not a reality. There are 2 lane paved highways; and more being built, but to get to many places there are often just tracks across the steppes, not even a dirt road. So normally buses are not used, it's usually a Land Cruiser (max 2+3) or a Russian UAZ van (max 2+3+3). Depending on your tour size you might have a small caravan of vehicles to carry your group, guides, drivers, gear, cooks, etc. With just the 4 of us we and our gear fit comfortably in Bataa's Land Cruiser.
Depending on your itinerary there can also be some long days in the car. On our tour we had a couple of really long days (7 & 9 hours), but it was easy to stop for a break and take photos as we passed family gers, herds of horses, goats, sheep and yaks dotted across an amazing landscape. Mongolia is a big place and while long, these drives really gave us a feel for the vastness and beauty of the Mongolian countryside.
Outside of city stays you'll most likely stay in a ger (yurt) . Tourist ger camps usually have anywhere from 10-40 gers with a common dining area, prepared food and usually a common toilet/shower building. They come in various levels of fanciness.
The other option is a "home stay" where a family will have a small number of gers that they rent out to travelers. Simpler accommodations, home cooked food and a chance to interact with a family as they go about their day. We did horseback riding, archery, cooked dumplings, etc during our home-stays. You'll maybe have a shower and a sink and probably an outhouse (they are nomadic after all). We did a combination of the two, which I recommend as long as you're comfortable with more basic accommodations.
Bataa's Land Cruiser was clean and comfortable. Besides being an experienced driver and navigator he's a nice guy and very helpful. There was plenty of room with just the two of us in the back seat and our gear in the back.
Mishka was a wonderful guide and translator. He added a lot to our trip and was always looking out for our happiness and comfort.
The food was tasty at all the tourist ger camps, our home-stay and at the restaurants Mishka selected along the way.
Because it was a custom trip there are many options for itinerary, lodging, pacing and activities. We had lots of email and WhatsApp conversations and calls with our planner, Nasaa. It was good to have a consistent contact to work with throughout the process.
We've been home a week and we're still buzzing about the trip and going through way too many photos.
翻译:九月初,作为我们为期六周的蒙古之旅的一部分,我和妻子参加了由Travel Buddies安排的为期8天的定制旅行。这是他们“北方地平线”旅游线路的一个变体。我们度过了一段美妙的时光。我们的行程规划师Nasaa、导游Mishka以及司机Bataa都非常出色。我们很乐意推荐他们,也愿意再次与他们以及Travel Buddies合作。
蒙古拥有众多绝美的自然风光和辽阔无垠的天地。我知道蒙大拿州用“大天空之州”来形容当地。不过这一点其实也适用于蒙古。
关于在蒙古旅行,需要了解的一点是:“公路”往往只是个概念,并非实际存在的道路。虽然有双车道的铺装公路,而且还在不断修建中,但要前往很多地方时,常见的只有穿越草原的土路痕迹,甚至连土路都没有。因此通常不使用巴士,而是使用兰德酷路泽(最多可载2名乘客+3名随行人员)或俄罗斯的UAZ面包车(最多可载2名乘客+3名随行人员)。根据旅行团的规模,可能会有几辆车组成车队来运送游客和导游。司机、装备、厨师等等。我们四个人加上所有装备都能轻松塞进巴塔的陆地巡洋舰里。
根据行程安排,也可能会有需要长时间坐车的情况。在我们的旅途中就有几天车程特别长(分别为7小时和9小时),不过途中经过牧民的蒙古包、成群的马匹、山羊、绵羊以及牦牛时,我们随时可以停车休息并拍照。蒙古国土辽阔,虽然车程漫长……这些行程真的让我们深切体会到了蒙古草原的辽阔与美丽。
除了在城市中停留外,你很可能会住在蒙古包里。旅游用蒙古包营地通常设有10到40个蒙古包,并配有公共用餐区、现成食物,一般还有共用的厕所和淋浴设施。这些营地的豪华程度也各有不同。
另一种选择是“家庭寄宿”,即当地家庭会准备少量蒙古包出租给游客。这种住宿方式则更为简朴。可以品尝到家常菜,还能有机会与一家人互动,观察他们日常的生活。我们在寄宿期间还进行了骑马、射箭、包饺子等活动。你可能会使用到淋浴设施和洗手池,也许还会用到户外厕所(毕竟他们是游牧民族)。我们两种体验都尝试了,只要你能接受较为简朴的住宿条件,我推荐这种方式。
巴塔的陆巡车既干净又舒适。他不仅是一名经验丰富的司机兼领航员,为人也很友善且乐于助人。只有我们两人坐在后座,行李也都放在后面,空间依然十分宽敞。
米什卡是一位出色的向导兼翻译。他为我们的旅程增色不少,还时刻关心着我们的快乐与舒适。
所有旅游蒙古包营地、我们的寄宿家庭,以及米什卡沿途挑选的餐馆,提供的食物都十分美味。
由于这是一次定制之旅,行程安排上有很多可选方案。住宿、行程安排以及各种活动。我们与策划人Nasaa通过电子邮件、WhatsApp进行了大量沟通,还通了好几次电话。在整个过程中有个固定联系人来负责协调,这真的非常不错。
我们回家已经一周了,仍然对这次旅行津津乐道,还一直在翻看数不胜数的照片呢。