Horse and camel riding
The most interesting regions of Mongolia are visited on the back of a horse or a camel. The horse can be hired or bought - the prices start from 250 USD. After the completed journey the horse can be sold. For those craving extreme sports we propose sightseeing on the back of the camel. Riding a camel is more onerous, though. Visitors who have never tried such transport before shouldn't plan too long routes - maximum 20-30 km a day.
Moscow and Russian delicacies:
Bread kvas - a traditional drink of Slovaks, great for quenching thirst, the best kvas you can find among street sellers straight from big or beige barrels;
Kefir - it is said that the best kefirs can be bought today only in Russia. In the shops search for Russian products in thick, plastic packaging;
Russian beer - in Russia the beer is drunk in the streets or the metro, it is a commonly accepted custom. There are many kinds of beer and the most popular are: Baltika, staryj mielnik, niewskoje swietloje i sibirskaja korona;
Morozenoje - is delicious Russian ice-cream. Russians love their ice-cream which they eat even in ice-cold winters. We recommend traditional flavours, such as cream and vanilla with raisins;
Sloika - croquet with various sorts of filling, from meat, cabbage or eggs to raspberries, cherries, apples, lemons, peaches and strawberries. Sloikas are delicious. You can buy them in little shops, very often next to the metro, where they are baked and sold hot;
Goriachije pirozhki - are the fried in hot oil warm buns with potato, meat or cabbage filling. The best are sold in the street from big, warm thermos flasks because they are fresh and home-made.
Tieriemki/bliny - these are pancakes with many kinds of filling, for example with caviar and fresh and thick cream, cheese, honey, etc.
Marshrutkas
Marshrutkas are private buses which run on the routes of normal buses or trams but they travel faster, more often and are a little bit more expensive that ordinary means of transportation. They stop at stops and in every location designated by the passenger.
Unofficial taxi cars - hitch-hiking
Travelling by unofficial taxi cars, that is the so-called hitch-hiking, is very popular way of transportation in Russia. You can hitch-hike any time of night and day. When we "catch" a car it is best to talk about the price of the transportation, you can also haggle.
Bania
Bania is a Russian sauna. The most important part of bania is a steam bath. Some of the participants of bania are switching their bodies with birch twigs because during this procedure the body is cleansed of toxins. From bania you also run outside, rub your body with snow or walk into cold water, and then you come back inside to bania. It is a very pleasant relaxation.
Trans-Siberian customs
During the decades of travelling by the Trans-Siberian Railway there were formed certain rules and customs which are good to know, before you set off on a journey:
Compartments are coeducational and due to this fact men leave the compartment for 20-30 minutes in the following situations: straight after the motion of the train and unpacking of things, just before the final station, before going to sleep and immediately after waking up;
Sometimes a family that has got separate places can ask you for a favour. Then it is worth checking the conditions that are in other compartment and agree on the separated family's favour;
Very often someone will ask you for lending them luggage space. If we have place, we should agree on such a request;
Russian people are at the beginning reserved towards foreigners but if we show that we are "normal", nice and kind, then Russian people start to be open, treat us to a meal, tell interesting anecdotes and give advice on many issues. It is good to pay back and have some treat in your luggage for your fellow passenger.
Before arriving at the station we should settle the debt at the ticket inspector's. If we had earlier bought food or drinks on his behalf, leaving a tip is a norm.
Mongolian delicacies
Mongolian cuisine is a meat-milk one. To traditional delicacies you can include: borc - dried stripes of meat, chuuszuury - wheat flour pancakes, fried in hot oil with meat filling, mostly lamb, buudze -steamed dumplings with meat, cujwan - a meal with pasta, pieces of meat and vegetables. Mongolian delicacy is dried milky "coat", ÖRÖM. It is worth to try delicious curdled milk - aaruul. Süütej caj is everyday Mongolian drink which is green tea decoction with the addition of fat milk and a pinch of salt. When we are invited to yurt, we can be treated to kumys, it is an alcoholic drink (3-4%) on the basis of mare's milk. Another strong drink which the Mongols enjoy drinking is archi - the so-called Mongolian vodka. It contains about 10-12% of alcohol and is obtained from a distilled kumys.
