Mongolia, anyone ?

Z

zag

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Does anyone have any experience of holidays in Mongolia ? I am considering a trip there as part of a bigger trip, but (and this is the key) it doesn't involve arriving by train on the trans-siberian or trans-mongolian trains. Almost everything I have found out there in terms of guides talks about passing through Mongolia (admittedly while seeing some bits) rather than arriving there.

It does involve leaving by train, but I am still looking for experiences of Mongolia, particularly the bit from Ulaanbaatar south towards China. I have an idea of some of the things to be done there (staying in a yurt, drinking yaks milk tea - eeeew, visiting monsateries, viewing wide open plains and huge mountains) but I am trying to move from the generic to the particular.

I have been on to the relevant airline - MIAT - but they haven't responded and ditto for the tourism board. Most of the tours that I have seen are just that - tours originating in somewhere like London (I'm not there) and going to Beijing (don't want to go there) followed by getting the train back to Mongolia (I don't want to go that direction).

Any experiences welcomed.

z
 
I travelled to Mongolia independently, you will have to go to UB to organise trips etc. There is very little outside of there and I wouldn't advise finding out the hard way.
I arrived by plane from Beijing, there are flights from Moscow too, you will need to have your visa organised in advance - the embassy in China will oblige. I am not sure what the situation with transit visas in Russia or China is. My friend arrived without visa and was pretty lucky to be allowed in.

You will find all your travel involving returning to UB - the most popular trip is to get a 4x4, stay overnight in a yurt and travel through very desolate landscape such as Gobi desert. It's a huge country so you would need a lot of time to travel far. You can arrange the whole trip with a tour operator once in UB. There is only one main street so it isn't hard to find them.
You could fly via Russia but then will need a visa for Russia. This requires a letter of invitation from a Russian tour operator.
Try [broken link removed] for info.
 
Re: Mongolian & Russian Visas

Hi,

Does anyone know the easiest way to get a Mongolian Visa before you set off? As the don't appear to have any Irish embassy, would a postal application to the London embassy be simplest? Would it be necessary to post of my passport or would a photocopy suffice?

Also, does anyone have any experience of getting a Russian Visa in the Dublin embassy? Is it true the queues are really long? (I will have the necessary visa support)
 
The department of Foreign Affairs could advise on how to comply with entry requirements to any country, regardless of whether they have an embassy there.
 
I'm mad jealous. I'd love to visit Mongolia. I moderate a military history site and have been keenly interested in Mongolian history for years.
 
Inner Mongolia is part of China so its a Chinese visa you need to go there - you can fly to Hohhot or Baotou from any of the big cities in China if you really dont want to go to Beijing and then you can join an independent tour from there - plenty of them.
Its a fabulous place, wide open spaces and totally different to the rest of China but you'll see poverty there you won't see elsewhere in more developed China either.
Enjoy!
 
It's actually the State of Mongolia (Outer Mongolia) I was looking at. I've tried emailing there embassy in London but haven't got any response.

I might try contacting the Department of Foreign Affairs here...
 
I painted the whole house Mongolia. It was nice but a bit bland and conservative. :)
 
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