Mongolia 2015

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Yep my first thought was that china is going to be a pain, we may go via russia if that makes it easier although china would be preety cool :)

We kinda want to do it our own way at our own pace, hence not going with a tour company, but partly cost is to this aswell.

It helps that we're planning so far in advance so we can get visas and stuff sorted in plenty of time and I plan a test expedition to europe to prove the vehicle :)

Cant wait !! :D

From my experience of driving in China it was very expensive as you have to hire a guide to take with you and that western part of china is not very interesting ( thats my opinion).
All the stan are good but I did not go through Iran but heardn that was awsome and i hope to go there this year.
Mongolia on the other hand is awsome and the people are friendly.
As for taking a crap car and leaving it there get one that is under 10 yrs old as the import duty on one over 10 yrs old is at least 10000 us dollars no matter the value of the car.
If you want spares for cars over 10 yrs old they are also not available as the are no old wrecks and dealers do not keep spares for cars that age as i found out to my expense.
However you can get spares sent by dhl but you have to pay 15% import duty not only on the value of the spares but also the freight.
also I got fined for having a cracked windscreen as soon as i crossed the boarder.Insurance can be bought at the boarder as in Russia.
I have been to Mongolia twice now and spent a total of 3 months there.
Try and get there when Nadam festival is on as all the villages put on there own little festival including horse racing wrestling archery with lots of local food and drink stalls ( beware of the fermented mares milk )
The place to stay in Ulan Baatar is the Oasis guest house.
The roads are either bloody awful of super highways so you wont be dissapointed.

You can get your Visas before you leave the UK but they are quite expensive and if you want to extend them beyond a month that is also easy when in the country but if you are going in via Russia get a multiple entry 6 month visa as when you are in Mongolia the only visa you can get is a 10 day transit visa and crossing russia in 10 days can be done but not recommended but having said that i have done it twice.
I recomend the Russia route as you will find it one of the most friendly countries as long as the EU and the USA dosent stuff it up
if you want to read our blog on the travels i will send you a link by request.
 
From my experience of driving in China it was very expensive as you have to hire a guide to take with you and that western part of china is not very interesting ( thats my opinion).
All the stan are good but I did not go through Iran but heardn that was awsome and i hope to go there this year.
Mongolia on the other hand is awsome and the people are friendly.
As for taking a crap car and leaving it there get one that is under 10 yrs old as the import duty on one over 10 yrs old is at least 10000 us dollars no matter the value of the car.
If you want spares for cars over 10 yrs old they are also not available as the are no old wrecks and dealers do not keep spares for cars that age as i found out to my expense.
However you can get spares sent by dhl but you have to pay 15% import duty not only on the value of the spares but also the freight.
also I got fined for having a cracked windscreen as soon as i crossed the boarder.Insurance can be bought at the boarder as in Russia.
I have been to Mongolia twice now and spent a total of 3 months there.
Try and get there when Nadam festival is on as all the villages put on there own little festival including horse racing wrestling archery with lots of local food and drink stalls ( beware of the fermented mares milk )
The place to stay in Ulan Baatar is the Oasis guest house.
The roads are either bloody awful of super highways so you wont be dissapointed.

You can get your Visas before you leave the UK but they are quite expensive and if you want to extend them beyond a month that is also easy when in the country but if you are going in via Russia get a multiple entry 6 month visa as when you are in Mongolia the only visa you can get is a 10 day transit visa and crossing russia in 10 days can be done but not recommended but having said that i have done it twice.
I recomend the Russia route as you will find it one of the most friendly countries as long as the EU and the USA dosent stuff it up
if you want to read our blog on the travels i will send you a link by request.

Brilliant info thanks :)

Yeah its looking more and more like russia will be the go :)

A link to your blog would be great thanks, probably bring up a list of 100 things I havent thought about yet :eek:
 
All the best on that! I done the Mongol rally in 998 Mini. It was brilliant. We went Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, up back into Russia then down into Mongolia finishing in Ulaanbaatar. Was 8500 miles and took 3 weeks. It was pretty much the same route as the long way round boys. We were going to go through Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan but were advised not to as there was a lot of problems with bandits etc.

If I were to do it again, I would go a bit further and finish at the Great wall of China, Sounds better !
 
From my experience of driving in China it was very expensive as you have to hire a guide to take with you and that western part of china is not very interesting ( thats my opinion).
All the stan are good but I did not go through Iran but heardn that was awsome and i hope to go there this year.
Mongolia on the other hand is awsome and the people are friendly.
As for taking a crap car and leaving it there get one that is under 10 yrs old as the import duty on one over 10 yrs old is at least 10000 us dollars no matter the value of the car.
If you want spares for cars over 10 yrs old they are also not available as the are no old wrecks and dealers do not keep spares for cars that age as i found out to my expense.
However you can get spares sent by dhl but you have to pay 15% import duty not only on the value of the spares but also the freight.
also I got fined for having a cracked windscreen as soon as i crossed the boarder.Insurance can be bought at the boarder as in Russia.
I have been to Mongolia twice now and spent a total of 3 months there.
Try and get there when Nadam festival is on as all the villages put on there own little festival including horse racing wrestling archery with lots of local food and drink stalls ( beware of the fermented mares milk )
The place to stay in Ulan Baatar is the Oasis guest house.
The roads are either bloody awful of super highways so you wont be dissapointed.

You can get your Visas before you leave the UK but they are quite expensive and if you want to extend them beyond a month that is also easy when in the country but if you are going in via Russia get a multiple entry 6 month visa as when you are in Mongolia the only visa you can get is a 10 day transit visa and crossing russia in 10 days can be done but not recommended but having said that i have done it twice.
I recomend the Russia route as you will find it one of the most friendly countries as long as the EU and the USA dosent stuff it up
if you want to read our blog on the travels i will send you a link by request.

Hi, I would love to read the blog of your trip. I am just getting a few thoughts together about such a trip and I would like to see what's involved. I have worked out via Russian is probably the best route. How long did the trip take and where did you set off from.
 
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Hello. Have been to Mongolia twice - once in 2007 which was to Mongolia and leaving the vehicle there (Suzuki SJ 410) and once in 2014 (S2A 1963 SWB Petrol) where we also drove to China so we could get the car shipped back. Loved it both times.The RRC is a superb overland vehicle in my opinion - comfortable, capable and despite what many might say, if it has been looked after - reliable. The only issues we had (well, mum and step dad paired up with us in 2009 to Algeria) was the rear suspension getting very boingy. If you are going to load it up in my opinion you want good quality heavy duty springs and shocks (or twin shocks at the rear) - yes the ride not be as nice but at least they will not die. If I was to do it in a Rangie, and I had no intention on more than two people in the car, I'd take the rear seats out and put a guard behind the front seats to get more storage wise and also a way of spreading the load a bit.

We did the Europe-->Russia-->Kazakhstan-->Russia-->Mongolia route both times

2007 trip: http://rustyrhinos.com/mongolrally07/index.html
2014 trip: http://rustyrhinos.com/beijingrally2014/index.html
 
All the best on that! I done the Mongol rally in 998 Mini. It was brilliant. We went Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, up back into Russia then down into Mongolia finishing in Ulaanbaatar. Was 8500 miles and took 3 weeks. It was pretty much the same route as the long way round boys. We were going to go through Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan but were advised not to as there was a lot of problems with bandits etc.

If I were to do it again, I would go a bit further and finish at the Great wall of China, Sounds better !
I agree that China, for all the possible complications, should be the final stop.
Sure Mongolia is nice, but get into rural China for that real experience.

I am fortunate, I lived and worked in China, and also passed the Chinese driving licence.
Best thing ever, not easy, but do'able.

My Chinese wife, also did the "tour guide" thing in English, has her tour guide licence, so one day we will plan a UK to China trip.

Gra.
 
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