The Mongolian dream

picture from volmongol.org

My Mongolian dream stems from a book called Wolf Totem I read about 10 years ago. Though it was about inner Mongolia the picture of endless grass steppe and stand alone mongolian ger were deeply embedded in my mind. I have decided to go once at least in my lifetime and although not expected to be so soon, it is now.

And since it is a must go I do not mind postponing it til a perfect time (no idea when). The only travel friendly months are July and August and being so close to Hong Kong it would be a pretty good starting point of world travel. So why not now?

My plan is totally flexible:
First from HK to Beijing by plane
Beijing to Ulaanbaatar by overnight train
2-3 weeks nomad life in Mongolia (Gobi desert and horse riding a must!!)
Mongolia to Irkutsk, Russia by overnight train
Irkutsk to Moscow by Trans-Siberian railway for 5 days!
Moscow to Iceland, France and generally Europe
Turkey and Nepal on the return leg
if I am more ambitious to do a RTW in 6 months, South America!!

In between I am going to do eco-farming and volunteering for some weeks. Very likely I won't be able to take showers for a couple of days on the trains and in Mongolia. Can I make it? I just think it would be a good experience and nothing more.