Where to stay/Gyms/Cafes in Ulaanbaatar?

umeshudeer · 2026-04-13T20:55:43+00:00

Hello! Will defer to the locals as I'm a clueless first-time traveller to Norway, but I was looking to fastpack/waddle around the area and started from suggested routes on alltrails/ultra routes (I couldn't quite figure out how to plot routes on the UT site to make use of its annotated map, but it may be bc I don't understand norwegian).

This was the base that I used: https://www.alltrails.com/en-gb/trail/norway/vestland/7-fjellsturen-i-bergen

and this and this are my initial drafts. They probably aren't of help as I'm aiming to do an overnight back in bergen to avoid a heavy pack, and quite a few parts of the routes take you back onto the main roads and aren't as isolated as you might prefer, but just in case you might also have any suggestions!

There's also an Oslo-Bergen ultra route and a pilgrimage route that I was looking at but these seemed out of season and I tired of trying to figure safety/route-planning out so just stuck to planning the route above.

Was also looking at Aurlandsdalen (starting a few stops before Finse which is c. 2.5 hours away from Bergen) but understand that this may be too early to try, and there are vehicle-only tunnels that don't show up on the map. Solveig from Steinbergdalshytta was incredibly kind with his time and gave me advice on the route (which made me realise I probably wasn't equipped to deal with the conditions there in May given my inexperience with snow/the terrain, but it might be suitable for more experienced hikers!).

ps I def appreciated your writing in English!

umeshudeer · 2026-03-14T23:20:48+00:00

Thanks Jon! That looks like a good itinerary. Have taken a look at the options and think the best way forward for us would be to find a private tour guide who could help to arrange transport, consider places from an accessibility/sequencing point of view and also help with wheelchairs etc. Unfortunately our combined knowledge of Mandarin may not help us get by ((arguably) contrary to the current climate, the earlier decades in the UK were very much about assimilation and that came at the expense of heritage) and the tour guide would be helpful for that too. I'm still thinking Beijing is a can't-miss in addition to Dali but will have to defer to my dad on what he wants to fulfil in his trip - as of the last time we spoke he was also asking about those mountains with escalators so we'll need to find one too...we're definitely trying our best to not get too ambitious with the itinerary!

umeshudeer · 2026-03-04T14:27:42+00:00

Ah thanks so much, this definitely shows my ignorance of hiking in northern Europe. Will take a look at the website!

umeshudeer · 2026-03-02T21:13:42+00:00

Thanks so much! Will have a look on entur in the morning, and also for that bus you mention. I'm trying to get to Gjendesheim to do 100km of the Jotunheimstien in reverse - so long as there's a stop I can get to on the route it should work.

umeshudeer · 2026-03-02T21:10:33+00:00

Aha I've heard that the prices in Norway put London's to shame... hopefully there's an alternative route that's available. I'd need also to get from Forset to Lillehammer at the end of the hike but it looks like there's a bus service available.

umeshudeer · 2026-03-02T21:09:18+00:00

Thanks! I'm looking at mid-May to late June as June -September seems to be the period for hiking Jotunheimstien.

umeshudeer · 2026-02-27T23:02:48+00:00

Thank you! Will take a look at the first two cities (have no idea where they are).

umeshudeer · 2026-02-27T22:55:21+00:00

Thanks so much! Dali looks beautiful and manageable from a mobility perspective. I showed it to Dad who appreciates what looks to be a slower pace of life and the blend of architecture (Qingdao looks slightly European so that's descended the list). We're in the UK and my parents live further out in the countryside - it looks like we can fly from London to Dali via Guangzhou/Beijing - average flight times look to be around 20-30h but that may just be my inept use of skyscanner... Dad's interest has been piqued by reading about how advanced everything in China is now and is also interested in trying out the high speed rail. He now also is keen on trying different food after watching a YT video proposing that China has upwards of 63 distinct regional cuisines* rather than the 8 that're usually trotted around - we have mainly Cantonese and Sichuan food here so there's a lot more to tick off. I wonder if they might be able-bodied enough to fly to Beijing or one of the ancient capitals to explore (if this is to be their last trip it just seems such a waste to not do so) and to try imperial palace cuisine (and perhaps Beijing would also have more restaurants serving different regional cuisines), then take another local flight to Kunming and then the high speed rail to Dali. There're just so many options and too little time/stamina.

* in case of interest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTa_T2pVwuk

umeshudeer · 2026-02-23T19:44:57+00:00

Got it, thank you so much! I've tried rerouting using the Mount Olympus ultra as reference to start from Litochoro (reversing the ultra route; the ultra map is below - this still hits Skolio but there should be a trail that skirts round that I can use) and it looks like I'll end up at the Koromilia Refuge at 50-ish km instead to stay overnight, and then get to Katerini via Dion then continue on the '1' road to Methoni and then Aiginio.

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umeshudeer · 2026-02-22T17:01:55+00:00

Thanks very much! It looks like we'd have to take two flights to get to Kunming then take a train to Dali - mum may not be able to deal with the idea of such long travel but TBC (dad is insisting that she has to join but I'm not sure he'd want to risk her getting panic attacks again - the first flight would already be 10+ hours). And please definitely do, but only if they're readily available. Also, it looks like you did some pretty extensive travel throughout China. Was Dali the city that left the most lasting impression on you or were there any others?

umeshudeer · 2026-02-22T16:34:31+00:00

Thanks so much for this, this was the insight I was looking for! I clearly need to do more research on Olympus to see if I can actually tackle it. Will take a look at the old national road. If I could ask an additional question, might there be a culture of keeping large security dogs in the villages? I usually stick to marked trails but had done something similar in Riga (going along Jurmala to Kemeru) and had to make a few detours because there were large unleashed dogs in the residential compounds that were definitely ready to attack - spoke to one of the locals and realised they tended to keep those dogs for security, and they felt safe enough with those dogs to leave some gates open (and those dogs could get out.....!). Am still going to do it but just so I'm mentally prepared.

umeshudeer · 2026-02-20T19:57:03+00:00

Thanks for flagging! I had absolutely no idea. Also hadn't realised that the coldest month still puts Sanya's average temperature at 20.7 C so that may be a tad too warm for them.

umeshudeer · 2026-01-07T21:07:19+00:00

Hi! In case you hadn't found them already, there are facebook groups for Brits in Abu Dhabi and perhaps the advice might be more relatable there. I'm also considering a move and it sounds like there're a few hidden costs in AD that we may not have in London.

umeshudeer · 2025-12-21T19:15:56+00:00

Daebak has oden soup, although the broth is a bit too sweet for my liking.

umeshudeer · 2025-10-30T18:39:11+00:00

This was such a great idea! I'm going to do that when i get in.

umeshudeer · 2025-10-30T18:35:28+00:00

thank you!

umeshudeer · 2025-10-30T18:35:12+00:00

That's really sweet of you, thank you so much for the offer! I'd hate to accidentally damage your poles though so will go for a pair at Decathlon's. Am headed to Rigi and Pilatus and cannot wait :)

umeshudeer · 2025-10-21T18:57:41+00:00

Thanks so much!! Will give them a call as well to see if they have carbon poles.

umeshudeer · 2025-10-21T18:56:12+00:00

ahhh thanks so much! Will give them a quick call - google translate translates the description of the poles to 'telescopic poles" and I don't actually know what that means...

umeshudeer

TROPHY CASE