Mongolia--Getting There and Away

"Getting there and away": the first of many rip-offs from my Lonely Planet Guide on Mongolia. I also picked up the Trans-Siberian Railway Guide while I was at it, since I've always had this Dr. Zhivago-like fantasy of riding the rails through Siberia into the land of Genghis Khan. (Mind you, I don't think that Dr. Zhivago actually ever did this, since I've never read the book and the 2nd part of the BBC mini series is still on top of the computer in its cozy little netflix envelope, but in my mind, I like to think he did) Terri points out that time keeps us from making the trek from Moscow to Ulaanbaatar via rail (4-5 days if there are no problems) but does like the Russia idea, so its time to start searching flights.....

At the risk of sounding simple-minded, I just first need to point out that Mongolia is really, really far way. Seriously, grab a globe, put your finger on Savannah, and then go up and around that bad boy until you hit Ulaanbaatar. Pretty much the exact opposite side. Well, at least I'll be in the same hemisphere.

So, in spite of the distance, I start to plan two potential routes. Thankfully the little search engine at kayak.com has been doing most of the research for me. I know that New York (JFK) and Atlanta (ATL) are going to be the places to leave and return from and that a straight shot into Mongolia (ULN) or having a 2 day pit stop in Moscow (SVO) are going to be the best options for us. (Flying to Beijing is also an option, but Terri would much rather see Russia and leaving Phil behind to go to Mongolia is bad enough, making a side trip into China would just be cruel)

After running some dates and times, I discover a few thing that I'm pretty sure I should have instinctively known without preliminary research:

1.) Mongolia is really, really, really, far away. (I know I mentioned this before, but have added an extra "really" to illustrate my new understanding of just how far it is)
2.) We will have to sit on a plane for a long time to get there (the "direct" route from ATL to ULN, with only one stop in Korea takes 3 fricking days!)
3.) A red-eye from Moscow is the only way to get into Mongolia. This make me wonder, what is it they don't want us to see?

So, after my research, search engines and spreadsheets, Terri and I come to two conclusions:

1.) via Moscow it is!
2.) uhh, we need to ask our respective places of employment for more time off......