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Mongolian Ger Trumps Tired Soviet Tower Hotel

Where: 5 Chinggis Khaan Ave., Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Condé Nast Traveler's Mark Schatzker is traveling around the world in 80 days and blogging it.

When we checked in, he was recounting day 32, a day where he traveled by Uzvee through Mongolia, picked up some horsemeat, and bought a cashmere robe.

The night before he spent at Hotel Bayangol:

Ulaan Bataar's Hotel Bayangol, a Soviet-style edifice notable for the fabulous neon sign hanging over its restaurant, but not much else. Byamba, my guide, picked me up at nine that morning and we piled into a funny-looking vehicle called an UVZ 3909 and drove west out of the city, headed towards a Mongolian ger camp.

While Mark comments very little on what sounds like a bland experience at Hotel Bayangol, he does rave about his night in a Ger, a traditional Mongolian hut type thing:

I headed into my ger, which Russians and Americans call yurts, but are nevertheless known as gers. There was a fire going, and through the skylight--which is just an open flap in the cotton roof so that the chimney has a place to exit--was a patch of blue sky. I lay down on the bed, listing to birds singing and the fire crackling, breathing in the clean Mongolian air. I fell away into unconsciousness. It was the deepest I've slept since departing New York on March 5th.

Let's see, tired Soviet-style hotel or a night out in a ger. No contest.

Mongolian Gerts Map

Related Stories:
· Ger Travel [SelenaTravel]
· Bayangol Hotel Comments [TripAdvisor]