Plan Your Trip Trans-Mongolian Railway - Mongolia - page 77

train then pulls into a large shed about 1km from the station. You can watch from
the window of your train car.
Tickets
For info on prices and schedules, Click here .
Breaking the journey The only practical way to break a journey is to buy separate tick-
ets. If you're travelling Moscow-Bĕijīng and want to stop in Irkutsk and Ulaanbaatar, it's
best to take a Russian domestic train to Irkutsk and then pick up the twice-weekly K23/24
between Ulaanbaatar and Bĕijīng.
Book early The international trains, especially the Trans-Mongolian Railway, are popular,
so it's often hard to book this trip except during winter. Try to plan ahead and book as
early as possible.
Leaving from UB If you are in Ulaanbaatar and want to go to Irkutsk, Bĕijīng or Moscow,
avoid going on the Bĕijīng-Moscow or Moscow-Bĕijīng trains; use trains which originate
in UB. In UB, you cannot buy tickets in advance for the Bĕijīng-Moscow or Mo-
scow-Bĕijīng trains, because staff won't know how many people are already on the train.
For these trains, you can only buy a ticket the day before departure. Get to the ticket of-
fice early and join the Mongolian scramble for tickets.
Booking Agents
Overseas branches of China International Travel Service ( Click here ) or China Travel
Service (CTS; www.chinatravelservice.com ) can often book train tickets from Bĕijīng to
Ulaanbaatar. However, the best company to deal with Trans-Siberia rail tickets is
Bĕijīng-based Monkey Business Shrine ( Click here ) . Or try the following places:
Gateway Travel ( 02-9745 3333; www.russian-gateway.com.au ; Australia)
Intourist ( 020-7538 8600; www.intourist.com ; UK)
Lernidee Reisen ( 030-786 0000; www.lernidee-reisen.de ; Germany)
Mir Corporation ( 206-624 7289; www.mircorp.com ; USA)
Regent Holidays ( 0845-277 3317; www.regent-holidays.co.uk ; UK)
The Russia Experience Ltd ( 020-8566 8846; www.trans-siberian.co.uk ; UK)
Trek Escapes ( 866-338 8735; www.trekescapes.com ; Canada)