goods | food | personal services | Electrical Goods | News Service |

GENERAL SERVICES

Shopping in Ulaanbaatar

Goods

The State Department Store, Mongolia's largest, contains a varied selection of goods. This store retails cashmere goods, leather and fur coats and hats, machine and hand woven rugs, silver and copper items, watercolor and oil paintings, Mongolian vodka, jewelry, illustrated books, and music instruments. There is also a grocery store located on the first floor.

Some of the more popular stores include the Sky Center (Chinggis Khan Hotel), Shim Market, Naran Shop, Nomin, Tushig, Prestige, Good Price, and Magda Center.

Business hours are generally 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Ulaanbaatar has many outlets for cashmere from Mongolia's key producers: Gobi and Buyan. There is a cashmere store at the Gobi Factory, one by the Yalalt Cinema, one in the Third Micro District and another in the East Center. Many other stores have small sections of cashmere clothing as well.

Ulaanbaatar's 'black market', named the Narantuul Market, is located in the 13th Micro district. It is marked by a bright blue roof and is open every day except Tuesday. You can find many imported (Chinese and Russian) and domestic goods.

Food

You can buy American, Asian, and European foodstuffs in all the markets. There are several large food markets in Ulaanbaatar: Mercury, Dalai Eedzh, Shim, Tushig, Good Price, Nomin, the State Department Store, and Sky Center. Mongolia grows basic vegetables, such as cabbage, potatoes, carrots, turnips, onions, tomatoes and cucumbers. Many varieties of fresh green vegetables (usually imported from China) are available year-round. There is a good German butcher shop, Passage, located next to the Dalai Eedzh market.

Personal Services

Barber and hairdresser services are available all over town. The Ulaanbaatar Hotel, International Trade Center, and a shop behind the Cuban Embassy are well-known. The hairdressers know western hairstyles for women and also cut men's hair. They know the latest trends and easily compete with their colleagues' abroad--for a much lower price.
The Ulaanbaatar Hotel's beautician does facials, manicures, and pedicures for guests Monday through Friday, from 9:00-12:30 and 14:00-17:30. Barber and hairdresser services are also available at the Diplomatic Service Center (located behind the Foreign Affairs Ministry) and in several private shops. A good place for facials and related care for face, hands and neck is Yves Rocher, left of the State Department Store.

Routine automotive care (oil change, filter replacement, tire repair) is becoming widely available. However, parts are not always in stock. Gasoline supplies are regular at most stations in Ulaanbaatar, but not in the countryside.

Most dry cleaning facilities offer good service and are located throughout the city. Many are
owned and operated by Koreans. Domestic help is readily available. Cleaning and cooking staff typically receive approximately $1 per hour and can be paid in dollars.

Electrical Goods
Electric current is 220-240V, 50 cycles. Electrical items made for use in the U.S. must be operated with European (round) plugs or adapters and with converters or transformers. Adapters are generally available locally, but converters and transformers are not. Flashlights and batteries are available. Electric service may be erratic and power outages are not uncommon. A surge protector is critical for expensive equipment. An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) is essential for computers.

English Language News Service
Newspapers The Mongolian News Agency, MONTSAME, publishes The English-language weekly Mongol Messenger. The paper usually appears on newsstands each Wednesday and is also available at major hotels.
The Mongol News Group publishes the English-language U.B. Post weekly. It may be purchased at newsstands or at major hotels. The paper usually appears on newsstands on Tuesdays.

Internet / Fax News Services

Internet
E-Mail Daily News is an independently published English-language review of the local press and can be delivered by e-mail or faxed to subscribers.
MONTSAME reports are posted in English and Russian on the wire service's web site: www.mongoliaonline.mn/montsame.

Radio
Voice of America (VOA) broadcasts on 106.6, 24 hours a day.
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) broadcasts on FM 103.1, 24 hours a day.

Television
There are several cable companies in Ulaanbaatar that offer channels with English language programming. Most offer a variety of 24-hour international satellite channels including HBO, Cinemax, Star Movie, BBC, and CNBC. Without a cable connection, only Mongolian, Russian and Inner Mongolian channels are available. Eagle TV, a part-American owned station, carries CNN News. Eagle TV's signal can be picked up in some parts of Ulaanbaatar. Local cable companies also carry the Eagle TV signal. The television system in Mongolia is the SECAM (Russian) system, and it is advisable to get a multi-system TV & VCR for home or business use. These are available locally at a very reasonable cost.