Hello fellow adventurers,
I'm in the early stages of planning a trip to Mongolia. My hopes are to be a volunteer for Stepperiders for roughly a month. I hear it is an eye-opening experience to go as a guest but I have yet to find any information from the point of view of a volunteer.
Has anybody worked with them before? If so, what was it like? Was it a difficult experience?
I've undertaken strenuous trips before - last summer I followed a 200 mile pilgrim route from Siena to Rome on foot in the height of summer and I'm quite competent on a horse too. I've also had experience camping in slightly adverse conditions but only for a few nights.
Another issue I have with this trip is the expense, it costs a HUGE amount of money to book flights to and from Ulaanbaatar even months in advance. So, I looked into flying to Moscow or Beijing and then travelling by train, which sounds a huge amount more exciting and may possibly end up slightly cheaper. BUT, I can't find any way of finding an estimate to how much a train ticket from either way will cost. I know it varies between different agencies and also the season etc but an approximate price range is all I'm really looking for, just so I have an idea of what I'm working with.
If anyone has taken this journey, could you please let me know how much it worked out roughly for you? Was is worth it? Which side of the world did you come from (i.e. Beijing or Moscow)? It would be a HUGE help.
Thanks a lot, xxx
