How to travel from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar for 44USD
It is 11th April 2017 and my last day in china. Two days later I'll be in Mongolia. And instead of paying 185USD for the train between Beijing and Ulan Bator I will travel by bus and train and spend no more than 44 USD including free breakfast in Erlian and unlimited hot tea on the mongolian Train. Yes, I missed the first leg of the Trans Mongolian Ralway jurney and yes I did not experience how they change the bogies of the train. However I believe that it is not important to tick things of your budget list but just to travel for the travel itself. Do not chase things but experiences.
Muxiyuan Long-Distance Bus Sation Bus station
Step by Step guide:
Step 1: Go in the morning to Muxiyuan Long-Distance Bus Sation Bus station (木樨园客运站) in Beijing. Find the night bus to Erlian.I would advise you to have all your questions already translated sinde there in nobody, and I really mean nobody, that speaks english. Also ask the bus driver if the bus ends in Erlian (chinese border town) or if it crosses the border and takes all the way to the Zamyd Uud (Mongolian border town) railway station. Most buses do so which is really convenient because it spares you finding a jeep in Erlian that brings you across the border since you are not allowed to walk across it. The buses depart between 2:30pm and 5pm. And for the tiket going to Zamyd Uud you pay 220 CNY or 30 USD.
Step 2: You will arrive in Erlian early in the morning and be sent to a restaurant to get some free breakfast (Dumblings and eggs). Be sure to ask the bus driver when and where the bus departs again because they most likely do not pick you up where they dropped you! Use your time to get some last cheap pineapple and other fruits in the supermarket. In Mongolia the prices and variety is not as good as it is in China.
Step 3: Around noon you will be back in the bus and drive to the border. Once there follow the other passengers. However it is a simple process. At the Chinese border post you have to fill out the departure card. At the Mongolian border post you will get your stamp. And you are officially in Mongolia.
Step 4: Once through the border you will get back into the bus which will bring you to the train station in Zamyd Uud. At the train station find the ticket office where you get your ticket. I booked without knowing a soft sleeper and payed only 33950 MNT which is only 14 USD. In the same building you can exchange your Chinese Yuan for a far better rate than at the border itself.
Step 7: After booking the ticket you might go to a restaurant, relax, wait for the train to depart at 5pm and drink your first Mongolian traditional salty milk tea namely Suutei Tsai (сүүтэй цай).
Once on the train I found my bunk, prepared my bed with the sheets, got some tea and gazed out of the window. The train passes through the endless flat terrain of the Gobi Desert. In the distance you can see some camels and sometimes the train stops in tiny towns with no more than 10 houses. The next morning the train curves through hills and slowly makes it's way to the Capital Ulaanbaatar. Once out f the train you will be swarmed by people shouting 'taxi, taxi'. I walked strait past them and decided to walk to the Golden Gobi Hostel where I have had a booking for two nights. Why take a taxi if everything you want after two days of siting is to stretch your legs?
