So this is a bit more like how I imagined Mongolia - vast plains covered in snow, surrounded by mountains and with the occasional frozen lake dotted about the place. I'm not going to start gushing about landscapes, but it is pretty spectacular. We're staying at a ger camp smack bang in the middle of it. A ger, or yurt, is basically a super insulated little round hut made from felt and other warm things, and is fitted out with a little wood/coal burner in the c...

We're leaving Russia, so its back to the train, and we seem to be the only people in the world making this journey today. Our delightfully decorated train carriage gets picked up and shunted along by various different engines during our two night trip over the Russia-Mongolia border, and having done our bit to destroy relations with Russia on our final night in Baikkal, it's a pretty quiet start to the journey. The highlight comes as we reach the border town on...