Who's been and which camp can you recommend?
We'd rather have an authentic experience than a "made for tv" experience with a paved parking lot and a swimming pool, if at all possible.
ALSO...if anyone has taken the K23 trans-mongolian train to get there, can you comment on how much better the 2-berth "soft sleeper" really is than the 4-berth "hard sleeper"? If the latter is pretty much like a 4-berth European train that's fine, unless the top-range option is really super cool and worth it.
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It was about 8 years ago, but I stayed at the Three Camel Lodge which was amazing. Some gers have private bathrooms.
Wow Michael, 273?!? That's incredible. You should check out the tour to Wake Island coming up in December. I think there is still space.
As for North Korea, Lana and I are hoping to get there in the next couple years. We may try to fly in on Air Koryo (I'd be totally geeked up, too) and then take the train out. We will look into that travel agency you recommend.
Thanks!
Hi CRAIG
YES I REMEMBER YOU SOUNDS LIKE YOU ARE HAVING A great time traveling ,I am thinking of going on V OF D again early next year,the only country in the Americas I have not been to is el Salvador the ship is going there via panama canal if I go it will be my 6th cruise with them they go to very small places hard to get to.how do you fancy IRAQ IRAN in october overland ?
Anthony ''Tony'' Jackson I recall that we met back in March 2011 on the Voyages of Discovery Cruise. It was a Cruise that I caught in Barbados then went to St.Vincent, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Montserrat, Tortola & Dominican Republic. I remember we we're trying to get passport stamps on that cruise, managed to get a couple. We talked about this club for quite a while you had mentioned you were heading to Armenia,Georgia & Azerbaijan. as that was the year I went to Caucasus Mountains as well.
The cruise was about 600 people much smaller then a Carnival or Princess Norwegian
Anthony (Tony) Michael Jackson said:
Hi Scot
The sad thing for us was there was a great guy from the us he could not come with us on the train and he missed our friendship and the journey through the county side of NK but we picked him up again in PY. funny thing was when you go in and out on the train they check every thing on your camera for pornography,i had a photo of the trapeze girls knickers it was ok i guess he had seen them before along with the jugglers balls.Good tips we got from Dylan was to take small thing like 200 cigs and when you get off the bus give the army guy a pack of 20 he will gladly be in all your photos then on leaving NK they will see you had permision for the photo and so you kill 2 birds with 1 stone you want him on there any way..Anyone needs any sensible questions world wide please ask,good night scott TTFN
Scot McKay said:
Scot, I swear some of the Mongolian acrobats should've been drafted by the ''Theatro Zinanni'' . They're both quite a ''Freak Show'' that you've got to admire. I stayed at a place called ''Hotel Seoul'' in Ulan Bator (Soviet Era Spelling of the Capital) it is right next to Zaya's Guest House off Peace Avenue. Before a night in a neighborhood Yurt, I stayed a couple nights there it was originally Korean Owned/Operated just after the Communist Era. It has six floors in which the second floor hasn't any rooms.You must request the manager to let you into that floor. The manager was Mongolian didn't speak English so you gave him the ''Peace Sign'' meaning two in their minds to let you into the Second Floor. Why you might ask would you ask to go into a floor without rooms?? It was an undercover all night strip joint for guests with Korean, Chinese & Mongolian Gals.It wasn't a brothel I might add yet an actual hotel with ''night action.''
Right on. We actually went to China and DPRK on that same trip also. We didn't get to do the train into North Korea because they prohibit USA citizens from doing so, but that's okay because I was really geeked up over flying Air Koryo.
The circus was pretty good, right? I liked the chicks playing basketball with their feet. [laughs]
I hope this is of interest
We have just completed a fantastic journey on the trans mongolian railway with 4day stop off in lrkutsk with tours and stay on (lake Baikal) 4day stop off in Ulaan Batar with tour out and stay in Gurs you wear there national dress and go horse riding,on to Beijing 4days,then linked up with second part of journey by train up to Dang Dong over night then train into North Korea to Pyong Yang for liberation day celebrations 15 aug 2015,we had to be with tour guides,no prob they were great they took us everywhere from 8am to 10pm (state circus museums DMZ overlooks south korea.our hotel was on an island in river and on the 47 floor was a revolving restaurantand bar,meals included in N K,we were in 4birth on train but had great fun chating and drinking,we were all stangers but in the end like a family it was sad when we returned home but will all keep in contact.
The tour company was UK based LUPIN TRAVEL the cost was so low i dont know how they do it,DYLAN HARRIS is the guy who runs it tell him michael jackson recomended him, just check out his web site all places he sends tours to are off the rails,i am traveling though eastern Turkey,IRAQ and IRAN in october with him.
That will take me to 273 on TCC list,have great travels (MICHAEL JACKSON)
No worries...still an interesting post.
FWIW, we also stayed at Zaya's Guest House in UB. Great experience for the most part, especially watching the NBA playoffs live in the morning on local TV! The dudes who ran the place were big fans, which was cool.
If we had it all to do over again I'd have spend just a day in UB and perhaps hired a day trip out of town the other day, as I was expecting a much more interesting/exotic city place. The caveat there is that we'd spent time in Soviet-ish cities before, so other people's mileage may vary. Food was pretty rough, although the beer was pretty good.
The Trans-Mongolian train was big fun. We really enjoyed staying onboard when they changed the bogeys. We did the cheap "hard sleeper" option and never looked back. It was fun getting to know others around us, who were mostly backpackers. Perhaps because the of the timing (first week of May) we had the whole room to ourselves until the next morning when a guy got on somewhere in Outer Mongolia.
Serves me right for writing when I'm tired... Yep... February post, just traveled... Well... maybe the above info can help others.
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