Safety Tips in Omnogovi Aymag

The Gher Camp where we stayed for two nights in the Gobi was listed in the Bradt or the Lonely Planet Guide as good. In fact, when the night came, most people from our group realised that mice were running around inside the gher floors, all night. Our Mongolian tour guide told us that it was breeding season for the mice at that place at that time and this is why there was all this mouse traffic. Also she explained that they had tried poison with the mice before but it doesn't work well because the mice die in various places and ways and it is unpleasant to witness that. Also they probably lay dead behind a bed or a cupboard and start to stink. Apparently all Gher Camps in Mongolia have these problems. One may have too many cockroaches, another one spiders, another mice, another frogs and you name it. They are never dangerous. They don't bite. But it is unpleasant and it's best to come prepared for these experiences.It is not possible to avoid these things, because it is part of the experience of living in touch with nature. Some Gher Camps don't even provide electricity inside individual ghers. Our camp did not have lights outside the Ghers, so if you wanted to go to the toilet at night, you had to have a torch or hopefully navigate your way with the help of moonlight.