How do you tell the difference between expats and tourists?

The first thing that will help you is to know that is a limited expat community in UB which appears to fall into two very distinct categories:

1. The young people. This group of people, of which I am one, range in age from about 23-32. They are here because they are in the Peace Corps, working for a non-profit, on a fellowship, or some other job that likely pays them Mongolian-style wages.

2. The old people. This group seems to consist almost entirely of men. They are usually at least 50 and they are here for business. They work for banks, as consultants, for oil companies, for real estate companies. They almost all make American salaries and have drivers and do not need to or try to speak Mongolian. Still, many of them have Mongolian girlfriends, almost all of whom are much younger. They live in places like the Star Apartments, which is where all the embassy folk live, and where rents are at Western rates. They speak in loud voices in restaurants and always order in English.

Tourists tend to travel in packs, and to be fairly young. Most of them look like they are here to go camping. Pants that have many pockets and photographer style vests are popular. So are restaurants that are in the Lonely Planet guidebook. Millie's Cafe, which is in the guidebook, is mainly older expats who can afford the high prices (the equivalent of $7 for a salad) but some tourists do make their way to it. Expats hang out at the cheap dvd store where they build up their dvd collections with $2 movies from China. And those are the major differences between expats and tourists.