Living Like a Local: 12 Day Tour Through Central Mongolia

Although I could go on and on about Mongolia and write about it for HOURS, I have decided to make it a little easier on myself (and my readers) and created a video showcasing some of the best moments caught on film along with a day-by-day breakdown of the highlights of my (and my friend Hannah’s) 12-day tour through Mongolia (plus a few clips from our first few days in Ulaanbaatar). I realize it is still a pretty long post, but it would be MUCH longer if I really went into the details of every single day. Enjoy!

And if you want to learn more about how we got from China to Mongolia, click here!

P.S.-The tour company we went with was AMAZING and they have tours all over Mongolia. We went with Sunpath Mongolia. Check them out if you’re ever in Mongolia!

Our 40+ Hour Journey from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar

Once again, I’ve decided to rejoin the blogosphere after a long hiatus. I was fortunate enough to travel to a lot of destinations over the past year and a half, but I am going to start with one of my all-time favorite destinations—Mongolia.

Before I can talk about the incredibleness that is Mongolia, I need to tell you about how my travel companion/BFF, Hannah, and I got there. At the time, I was living and teaching abroad in Chongqing, China (as you may already know if you’ve been following my blog), so the voyage to Mongolia wouldn’t be too long, or so one would think. Most sane people would take a 2.5-hour flight from Beijing, China to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, or the Trans Siberian Railway from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar, which takes about 26 hours. But for those of you that know me well, you know that I’m not one of those sane people. Instead, Hannah and I decided to travel on a tighter budget. Rather than paying roughly $250 for a one-way rail ticket or plane ticket, we spent approximately $54 to travel from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar using three different modes of transportation and 40+ hours: an overnight bus, a jeep, and an overnight train.

The Beautiful Island of Ko Samui

The FINAL leg of our two-week journey was Ko Samui—an island in the Gulf of Thailand. We thought this would be the perfect way to end our adventure through Asia, as Ko Samui fosters many relaxing activities such as beach chilling, massages, and cocktails by the pool. After over a week of going nonstop through China and Hong Kong, we were due for a break. However, being the adventurous people that we are, we managed to do a bit more than just relax.

Buying Train Tickets in China

OPTION 1: BUY ONLINE

When buying train tickets in China, the easiest/most convenient way to do so would be online. Before I buy my ticket, I usually go to Travel China Guide first to check train routes and schedules. A lot of the larger cities will have connecting train routes, but sometimes you have to transfer trains when going to certain cities, all dependent on your departure and arrival locations. Travel China Guide is great because it will show you options for connecting trains to take if there isn’t a direct train available for your journey.

That Time I Ate a Tarantula

On Tuesday, June 20th, I made my way to Beijing to begin my summer holiday. This was my fourth visit to Beijing, but this time was like no other—I was meeting my friends who flew all the way from the US to travel around Asia with me. My childhood/SG (SG stands for Girl Scouts…it’s a long story) friends—Megan, Kaitlyn, and Lauren—decided to use up practically all of their vacation time to visit me. Last year, my mom joined me in Southeast Asia, but this was the first time I would be able to show people from back home what my daily life is like in China, as we would also be heading to Chongqing, the city I live in. I was excited to act as “tour guide” and humbly show off my Chinese language skills.

Advice for the Leshan Giant Buddha

Travel tips for  the Leshan Giant Buddha…