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About Blue Bandana Expeditions |
The team at Blue Bandana has been developing and providing expeditions in the Mongolia region
since 1999. We are a foreign invested Mongolian registered company. We source all our employees locally and have built up a great team who work with us on both a full-time and seasonal basis. We have tried to focus our attention on six areas within Mongolia and have built up sustainable relationships with the communities and environment in those areas.
Our combined language skills cover Mongolian, Russian, German, Kazakh, Czech and English. The team are all experienced in what they do and bring with them the necessary technical and soft skills to assist the traveller and visitor with having the most memorable expedition to Mongolia.
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Blue Bandana Directors:
 Since
1998, Sylvia has been working in, and learning about, Mongolia and has gained a wide knowledge of its culture and people.
After seven years in the Royal Navy, Sylvia moved on to the University of Strathclyde
where she left with a degree in Outdoor Education. She brings experience gained from working with Scottish Local Education Authority Centers, The Prince’s Trust and Outward Bound, and comes with a wealth of knowledge and practice within the youth development world. Within Asia her experience is not just limited to Mongolia having worked with several youth development programs in Malaysia, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. Sylvia is responsible for Blue Bandana's educational
youth adventures as well as the day to day running of the office in Ulaanbaatar. You can contact Sylvia at sylvia@activemongolia.com.
 A native German, Peter speaks fluent English and German, with some Mongolian gained from his
11 years of working in Mongolia. His early working years were spent as an instructor on outdoor programs in Outward Bound Centers worldwide, with contracts in South Africa, Australia and Malaysia where he
also first started to guide visitors over his favorite jungle trails. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Outdoor Education from the University of Strathclyde in Scotland and has a
Masters of Tourism from the University of Otago, New Zealand. The latter was
based on a visitors survey which was financed by USAid and resulted in 4000
visitors to Mongolia being surveyed about their stay. Before starting Blue Bandana Expeditions, Peter worked for 3 years as a guide in Northern Mongolia, taking foreign visitors on horse back and
bikes through the Taiga and the steppes. Peter is responsible for the running
of Blue Bandana's expeditions which you can find on this website and can be contacted at
peter@activemongolia.com. In 2007
Peter was responsible for updating the Gobi chapters for the new Lonely Planet
Mongolia guide. When not guiding in Mongolia, Peter trains for his passion of multi day adventure racing, or recovering from then.
Office Manager:
 Gulmaira
(Maira)
is the office manager and is responsible for the day to day running of the company and its staff. Having studied overseas, Maira is a master of languages, she speaks five languages, and accompanied by her management experience both in the education and commercial sectors, Maira keeps the team together making sure we are all in the right place at the right time.
Having grown up in the far western province of Bayan Olgii, Maira is also
responsible for all our itineraries to this Kazach dominated part of Mongolia.
If you decide to visit the Eagle Hunters of the west, most likely Maira will be
guiding you. In 2007, together with Peter, Maira traveled a few thousand
miles through the Gobi dessert to update the new Lonely Planet guidebook. You
can contact Maira at
maira@activemongolia.com.
Translators/Guides:
Our staff come from various professional backgrounds, such as teachers, doctors,
university students and engineers. Predominately Mongolian, with some resident expats, they appreciate that not all foreign visitors can be dealt with as package tourists and facilitate expeditions to meet
individual needs.
Jeff has been a teacher in Mongolia for the last 7 years. Initially he came as a VSO volunteer and taught at schools in both Khentii and Renchinlum
Soum, Khovsgol Aimag. Now he is a resident of UB and teaches at the International School of Ulaanbaatar. During the summer months Jeff is based in Renchinlum and is our
Khovsgol co-ordinator. From there he co-ordinates our expeditions who pass through the area, helping with horses, herders, transport and deals with all emergency situations that come his way. Jeff has worked with us since the beginning.
Countryside staff:
Our countryside staff have years of experience in their geographical area not to mention with their animals. Their local knowledge never ceases to impress and can always be relied on. They have also now become accustomed to the different needs of foreign visitors.
 Gendengonchig (GG) has worked with us in
Khovsgol from the beginning. A herder all his life he has an immense knowledge of the Renchinlum /
Khovsgol lake area. A skilled horseman, he can put the most nervous rider at ease and assist with riding weaknesses as well as challenge the more hardy. With a genuine love of his work, he always has time to share his knowledge and experience.
Post/photos for GG and his family can be sent c/o Blue Bandana and we will see he gets it the next time we are in Hovsgul.
 Gambaa is GG's son and did his apprenticeship under the watchful eye of his father. Now a father himself he still lives and works in the
Khovsgol area. A first class horseman, he has been working with us since we started. Never to be caught short for entertainment, Gambaa is as well known with visitors for his singing as he is his horsemanship. When he's not found on a horse or singing, Gambaa will be following his other love - wrestling.
 Natsag - Yoom has worked with us since 2001. He is our Arkhangai co-ordinator and deals with all our expeditions who visit that area. A biology teacher by profession he is currently the school director at the Khan Ondor Brigade School. He has a fantastic knowledge of the area and being a keen local historian has written a book about Ikh Temir Soum.
In autumn 2003, Natsag-Yoom personally organised, funded, and with the help from his family, built the 8- Stupa monument which now stands proudly in Khan Ondor Brigade.
Click here to see a picture of the monument.
They are a replica of the original monument which stood there 90 years previously. On the site of Khan Ondor there was once a large and famous monastery where over 300 lamas (monks) lived and worked. It was through the work of these lamas that the first school was initiated (1918) and then the separate building of the school complex (where it stands today) was completed in 1922. During the Stalinistic purges of the 1930s though, the monastery was completely destroyed and the lamas who were unable to escape were rounded up, taken away and executed. The school complex survived the purges and continues to be used as a school, in its original form (with maintenance assistance and donations from our groups), to date.
 Nergui is an Expedition Guide in the Khan Ondor/Khukh Nuur Brigades area. He is responsible for accompanying the treks and assists Natsag-Yoom with the safe implementation of all our horse riding and hiking treks in his area. Nergui is a great ambassador for Mongolian hospitality and will have you in to both his and his family's gers to experience their kindness and culture.
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