Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TRAIN
Departure times here are based on the summer schedule (May to September), and are
subject to slight variations each year.
UB to Sainshand
Train 286; departs 9.35am daily; arrives 8.15pm
Sainshand to UB
Train 285; departs 9pm daily; arrives 8.05am
UB to Zamyn-Üüd
Train 276; departs UB 4.30pm daily; arrives in Sainshand 1.38am.
Zamyn-Üüd to UB
Train 275; departs Sainshand 11pm daily; arrives in UB 9.25am
Tickets from Ulaanbaatar cost T7400/13,200/ 21,500 for hard seat/hard sleeper/soft
sleeper. If you book your ticket more than a day ahead there is a T800 to T1200 fee, al-
though we found it fairly easy to buy same-day tickets to Ulaanbaatar from here.
The Trans-Mongolian Railway and the trains between Ulaanbaatar and Èrlián (Ereen;
just over the Chinese border) and Hohhot (in Inner Mongolia) stop at Sainshand, but you
cannot use these services just to get to Sainshand unless you buy a ticket all the way to
China.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Around Sainshand
Although the desert in this part of the Gobi is typically flat and featureless, it is worth
hiring a vehicle for a day to explore the attractions outside of town. Negotiate a trip with
the drivers at Sainshand's jeep stand.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
RITUALS AT SHAMBHALA
There are several rituals to observe when you enter the Shambhala site. Try to do
them in the following order.
»
Write a bad thought on a piece of paper and burn it in the rocks to the left.
»
Write down a wish, read it, throw some vodka in the air and drop some rice in the
stone circles on the ground (representing the past, present and future).
»
Take a white pebble from the ground, place it on the pile of other white pebbles
and announce your family name.
»
Take off your shoes and lie down on the ground, absorbing the energy of this sac-
red site.
