Planning: Beijing to Moscow

Now, I do like to travel as independently as I can and I like the challenge of finding my way from A to E (bad sense of direction...), however, travelling through China is not the easiest of options. This is where the people at Monkeyshrine come into the equation (www.monkeyshrine.com). The deal is that they will organise train tickets, visas and side tours from the train route. It is NOT cheap. In fact it is expensive. The reasons that we went for this option are:

1. Recommendations from friends who have done it and said it was worth every penny and was a remarkable experience.
2. Ease. I am dealing with Matt in the Hong Kong office and the whole process is smooth. These people have been doing this since 1988 and they can answer any query.
3. Time. We will be racing forwards at all points in this journey and won't have the time to make the most of Mongolia, the Steppes, the Gobi desert and Lake Baikal unless we do something pre organised.
4. Flexibility. Have a look at their website and download their tour guide. They tailor trips to everyone's specs but I would be surprised if you couldn't find an option that suited you.

Now for the painful news. To get from Beijing to Moscow will cost €1969  for adults and €1383 for children. I left it a couple of days before putting the numbers through a currency convertor (living in SE Asia for the past eight years and I have no clue about how much a Euro is worth...). 5,700 Quid!

Yes it is a lot, but for that you get 17 days of touring, all the trains and other transport, 3 days each in the Gobi desert, Mongolian Steppes and Lake Baikal, as well as accommodation in Beijing, Ulan Bator and Moscow.