General Impormation
Area: 1,564,115 km².
Capital: Ulaan Baatar
Country Code: 976
Country Population: 3,000,000
Currency: CAD$1 = 900 Mongolian Tugriks (MNT) and US$1 = 1135 Mongolian Tugriks approximately.
Departure Tax: A tax of $12USD is required for international departures.
Drives on the: Right
Electricity: 230 volts Ac, 50Hz.
Ethnic Groups: 95.35% Mongols
3.86% Kazakhs
0.8% other
Location: Mongolia is sandwiched between Russia to the north and China to the south.
Official Language(s): Khalkh Mongolian is the official language. Kazakh is spoken by 5 % of the population. There are also many Mongolian dialects.
Religion: Buddhist Lamaism.
Time Zone: 13 hours ahead of Toronto/New York and 16 hours ahead of Vancouver/Los Angeles.
Tipping: Tipping is common in Mongolia at restaurants; 5-10% of your service fee is recommended. Travellers should recognise that menu prices often are often subject to a 13% sales tax that will be added to the final bill. If on top of this, you wish to leave a generous tip, then the ‘international rate’ of 10% is a very reasonable starting place. As a guide, the following rates are what you may like to consider per person for good service: For tour guides and drivers, we suggest the following:
Driver: MNT 500 per person per day
Guide: MNT 1000 per person per day