If you think this would be your only opportunity, I would go for it, but make sure you see Irkutsk as well as Lake Baikal. It would be an opportunity to ride the Trans-Mongolian train, too. For my now somewhat dated trip see http://wilhelmswords.com/rtw2004/index.html - Sunny Siberia.

Great writing. I can't say it inspired a huge need to travel in your footsteps! Haha, I am soft and only like to read about true adventures not live them. But it was very interesting - homestays and traveling by train, etc. Yes, I would go to Irkutsk. I would try to limit the amount of time we're in Ulanbattar - it sounds like you would agree with that.

This is very preliminary planning but it's sort of gotten under my skin and that usually means I'll end up there. I had read a few trip reports by chance recently and a day later someone I met told me her favorite trip was to Mongolia so I took that as a sign from the travel gods that I should look further into it

Hi Leslie - I remember "meeting" you on my Morocco TR. Looks like you've been busy traveling since then! If you go, make sure you ride the "tourist train" on the old route, I saw recently that the train has been cleaned up since I was there. And I would certainly recommend hotels, not homestays - did you read my homestay rant on the Russia piece?

I wasn't that inspired by Ulaan Baator, but it was 2004. I've read some recent reports that suggest it's improved, but I would definitely recommend getting out into the country.

Haha, I did read about your homestays in Russia - further proof of your bravery as a traveler! I also read on tripadvisor about some other people's experiences doing homestays in Mongolia that sounded NOT GOOD. As I said, I'm a softy and the nicest hotel (or ger) that my money can afford is my preferred modus operandi.

I'm looking at a company, Nomadic Expeditions, to use and if one of their scheduled expeditions will suit I would do that I think and therefore rely on their choices of accommodations. From what I gather so far in my limited research, they can customize elements and/or do a private trip just for us so there's the ability to make sure we see everything we feel is a must. Tourist train advice duly noted.

UB sounds like someplace I don't need to spend much time from recent trip reports (I can only imagine in 2004) and I would definitely want to be out in the country as much as possible.

I'm happy to have been traveling a lot since Morocco but that's by my definition - I think you have set the bar very high for frequent traveling!

I can't help you with Lake Baikal (although I remember reading about it in my Russian Geography class a long time ago), but a good friend of ours spent 2 weeks in Mongolia and just loved it--even Ulan Bator. She especially enjoyed a trip out into the country and visiting some nomadic people who lived in gers (not yurts!).