You would love the Namibia tour - I did it in May last year and absolutely loved everything about it, one of my best holidays ever!

Cheers,

Bob

Hi Jim

Thank you for all the information regarding Chinese visas and the amusing comments about Mongolian mossies.

At this stage I am only thinking of Mongolia as a back up if my February Namibia tour gets cancelled.

Have you got your Chinese visa then for Tibet and the Search for Shangri La in October? Presumably then as  it is for two years, you can use it for The Roof of the World next September if you do book it, but see you have asked Julia to confirm!  Look forward to meeting you again in Tibet next year, all things being equal.

Kind regards

Di

Hello Di

Yes, I have my visa for the TS 'Shangri La' tour (with the HKG add-on) departing in a few weeks - it came much more quickly than I had expected. China is such a large place that the itinerary for the JY 'Roof of the World' tour is sufficiently different, and I plan to book this for September 2017 if the high altitude in Tibet does not cause any serious health problems, so I hope to see you there next year!

I rather fancy the Namibia tour as well, but that will have to wait until 2018: too many places to visit, too little time!

Jim

I am going to wait for a review  on Mongolia once the first travellers have been!  I am interested in this trip but have never been a fan of camping so if and when I do this trip, it will be a unique experience.  But I personally believe that you can't have it all your way and have to learn to put up with things and cope with whatever is thrown at you.  I see this trip as a big adventure!

Jaya

I quite agree with you Jaya, I think this holiday could be described as an adventure by a lot of us, I think that is what is attracting me to it.  We could probably all gain something by pushing ourselves beyond our comfort zone at some time in our lives.

All the best

Avocet

Hi Avocet

When I was querying visas I had been wondering, if I did the Mongolia trip with the add-on to China, would I be able to get one visa that would cover the add-on and  my China visit on the Roof of the World tour in September Uhm! can't remember exactly what I asked.

It was good to read all the replies to your questions.

I have been googling Mongolia and TGC s (tourist ger camps apparently) There are so many gers in a camp and there are separate shower and toilet blocks which you share. Electricity is usually only available about 7 til 11pm or 8 til 12pm. Torches obviously needed. So presumably if you need the toilet in the night you have to find your way by yourself from your own ger to the shower/toilet block. Think camping not hotels!

Sides of gers can be rolled up during the day, so if they are still rolled up when you have a light on the mozzies flock in. One person on Trip adviser suggested taking your own mozzie net.

Yep, I am still interested despite Mongolia now being well out of my comfort zone. It would be SO interesting.

All the best Di

Hi Di

Like you I would be out of my full comfort zone, but hey, think of adventure! The only camping I have ever done is weekends in the Peak District in a 2 man tent, sleeping on an air bed and cooking on a gas camping stove, that's three things that would be an improvement for starters. I think we should be thinking "posh" camping.

The lack of electricity doesn't really bother me as long as there is time to charge up any batteries that would need charging, it's a similar situation to the Amazon add-on, I was happy enough there with the hurricane lanterns we had.

I agree with Jonah that there shouldn't be any risk of malaria, but I guess if someone usually gets eaten alive by mozzies,  or there are swarms of them, then a  sleeping mosquito net would be a good idea.

I see you are doing the Roof of the World tour next year, great choice,  and this is the right time to go I think, Tibet is changing,  but you can still see some of the old traditions.  I went there last year and if you are like me you will love it, that's one place I would like  to re-visit before too long. Any questions in the future just ask, can't guarantee I will be able to answer them but at least I will try.

All the best

Avocet

Thank you for all the information regarding Chinese visas and the amusing comments about Mongolian mossies.

At this stage I am only thinking of Mongolia as a back up if my February Namibia tour gets cancelled.

Have you got your Chinese visa then for Tibet and the Search for Shangri La in October? Presumably then as it is for two years, you can use it for The Roof of the World next September if you do book it, but see you have asked Julia to confirm! Look forward to meeting you again in Tibet next year, all things being equal.

Kind regards

Di

I haven't looked at the fitfortravel malaria map yet, but when I read this particular review regarding Mongolia and mosquitos I didn't take much notice of it because although my knowledge of Mongolia is very limited I wouldn't have thought that the climate and landscape were suitable for mosquitos and malaria. The reviewer may have just meant any sort of flying creatures. As I think Bob said, we sometimes have to take reviews with a pinch of salt.

I have just read Jim's post and the interesting comments about mosquitos though.

Kind regards

Di

Jaya

Hi Avocet

When I was querying visas I had been wondering, if I did the Mongolia trip with the add-on to China, would I be able to get one visa that would cover the add-on and  my China visit on the Roof of the World tour in September Uhm! can't remember exactly what I asked.

It was good to read all the replies to your questions.

I have been googling Mongolia and TGC s (tourist ger camps apparently) There are so many gers in a camp and there are separate shower and toilet blocks which you share. Electricity is usually only available about 7 til 11pm or 8 til 12pm. Torches obviously needed. So presumably if you need the toilet in the night you have to find your way by yourself from your own ger to the shower/toilet block. Think camping not hotels!

Sides of gers can be rolled up during the day, so if they are still rolled up when you have a light on the mozzies flock in. One person on Trip adviser suggested taking your own mozzie net.

Yep, I am still interested despite Mongolia now being well out of my comfort zone. It would be SO interesting.

All the best Di

Hi Dina

I have just obtained a Chinese visa for a trip with TS later this month: it appears to be a two-year multi-entry visa, and this interpretation seems to be confirmed by a statement on the Chinese Embassy website:

"Chinese Embassy and Consulates in the UK to Issue Two-year Multi-entry Visas to British Nationals

2016/01/09

As of Monday, 11 January 2016, in line with the reciprocal visa arrangement between China and the UK, the Chinese Embassy and Consulates in the UK will issue two-year multi-entry visas to eligible British nationals who intend to go to China for commercial/trade activities, as a tourist and to visit family members/relatives. Five-year and ten-year visas will be issued to eligible British nationals. "

http://www.chinese-embassy.org.uk/eng/visa/notice/t1330627.htm )

I am also thinking about going on the "Roof of the World" tour in September 2017, and I am assuming that my new visa (issued August 2016) will cover this trip as well -

*** Julia, could JY please confirm this?***

As far as the Beijing area add-on to the Mongolia trip is concerned, this appears to be for 48 hours, so I wonder whether this is covered by the "no visas for 72-hour stopover" provision - assuming that the visited part of the Great Wall is in the "Beijing administrative region" (not sure about Mutianyu, although Badaling is very close so could be)?

http://www.chinese-embassy.org.uk/eng/visa/notice/t1003320.htm )

Jim

PS - re Mongolian mozzies, there is an amusing thread about this on the Lonely Planet forum, eg:

"In most cases mosquitoes will not find you, if they do it will be for one day, they tend to come and go, and as a tourist you will be moving on to the next location in any case.

It really depends on where you go (marsh land) and on local weather conditions.

If you can't stand mosquitoes bombing and zooming, you may want to bring your mossie coils with you.

The problem with mossie coils is that when Mongolian mosquitoes attack they come in clouds and no chemical repellent will help, not even a good mossie coil.

No use smashing them with a pillow, because all you get are more mosquitoes coming to their friends funeral.

I prefer a mosquito net. You can use a small net that covers your head, to prevent them zooming around your ears at night.

Enjoy quiet nights in Mongolia."

There are useful short guides to Mongolia on the Lonely Planet and Audley Travel websites. Although mosquitoes may be an issue (and presumably only in low-lying areas), I didn't notice anything that implied malaria or dengue fever were  problems anywhere.

Good Morning Avocet,

I apologise for the misunderstanding. I am saying that Mongolia is increasingly becoming a very popular tour and we would have to discuss with the capacity team to figure out whether we can increase capacity of travellers for this tour.

I hope this helps.

Kind Regards,

Mildred.

Many thanks Mildred, I had a slight brain malfunction there sending me off on the wrong track,  it's now back to full working order, think I need a holiday!!

Out of interest has anyone booked this holiday yet?

Kind regards

Avocet

Good Morning Avocet,

I agree you definitely need a holiday to get you back on track.

There are 2 travellers currently booked on this holiday.

Kind Regards,

Mildred.

I have booked on this tour for June and am really looking forward to it. However the malaria map on fitfortravel website shows Mongolia as low risk and does not advise that any precautions are needed so I am a bit surprised at the comment you found on trip Advisor.