Which would you choose to spend four months in and why? (universities, costs)

[biggspc]

Mongolia or Bhutan? I'm looking to study abroad somewhere that is completely different from n experience that I could get anywhere else in the world. I prefer low population density and low levels of industrialization. But I also want somewhere thats culturally unique and interesting.

[azoria]

Sometimes it is not a matter of your choice.

Bhutan is an exceedingly difficult country to get into under any circumstance. Visas are carefully controlled and issued in very low numbers with lots of oversight and caveats. The ruling monarchy of Bhutan does not entertain the idea of random visitors. I have never heard of a student visa to Bhutan.

If you want to study abroad better to do research in advance, of countries which offer student programs for foreigners. Work upwards from there.

[swisswife]

I think there is a 'minimum spend' per night in Bhutan, You have to give your itinerary to the embassy to show you are spending money before you get a visa...Its an effective way of keeping tourist levels low...My friend has been twice and is going again in November and had no trouble getting in or the visa....

what are you studying... maybe go somewhere that is relevant to that ??
India, China, Myanmar, Japan would all be very different from the US and interesting places to study.....

[azoria]

^^^
The OP is talking about studying abroad, not just visiting for a few days.

This is a whole different can of worms than a few days stay and some $$$ for a 'guided' tourist visa.

Bhutan is one of the most difficult countries in the world for foreigners to get into.

They like it to keep it that way.

[swisswife]

Sorry - I agree with you about the difficulty and think getting a student visa will be just as difficult.... won't getting a study visa for only 4 months be difficult in a lot of countries if its not related to the OP degree.... which was why I asked what the OP was studying....
My friend goes for a month to meditate but is still tied to the itinerary thing...

This is from the Lonely Planet website.....

Courses
There are no formal courses offered in Bhutan but your tour operator may be able to arrange programs (meditation, Buddhism, cooking etc) to meet your particular interest. Given sufficient notice, the Dzongkha Development Commission can arrange brief courses and lectures on language and music.

With prior arrangement through your tour operator, WWF (WWF BHUTAN) and RSPN (Rspn bhutan) can arrange lectures and discussion groups on wildlife and environmental issues, and the Folk Heritage Museum can provide courses in Bhutanese cooking and paper making.

[azoria]

I will on the input of Lonely Planet.







(no respect--nada, nichivo, nyet, nincompoops and morons-- doesn't begin to describe my sentiments for Lonely Planet posters.......)

[Tiger Beer]

I spent a week in Mongolia. Mongolia is AT ITS BEST in the countryside...far, far away from the city of UlaanBaatar. You can't go wrong with Mongolia outside of UlaanBaatar.

However, if the choice is studying, as someone mentioned, then I'd probably go with Bhutan. Not that I've been there, but UlaanBaatar is a real ugly city and cold as cold can be most of the year. The Mongolian countryside is amazing, but you'd really only want to go during the summer months.

[biggspc]

Thanks for the great response everyone. The programs would be with a third party provider which would split time between rural and urban areas. They have a relationship with the national universities of each country so a student visa would be no problem. The costs of both programs would be equal. The programs also include a month long independent study where I coul go anywhere in the country I wanted and do a project on anywhere I wanted. Both the programs would run from January through April.

My main fear about Bhutan is that it is so small that no region of the country would be very far removed from the central government. I really want to do my independent study on an extremely remote people.

I'm an anthropology major btw.