A change in train timetable meant we left Mongolia late at night on the 22nd Dec. Not only are the weather gods looking after us, but also the train gods. We got the only Russian carriage on the train, while other passengers had to put up with lesser quality Mongolian carriages. We settled in for a good night's sleep and awakened at 7am to face the first stage of our border crossing. At 5 in the afternoon we finally were underway again. To quote Lonely Planet, if you haven't had a chance to finish War and Peace, this border crossing allows you plenty of time to do so. No joking, we spent a whole day waiting for formalities to be completed.

We got to stretch our legs and walk around and admire the locals dressed in their furs. Oh, the furs. They are to die for. We thought the Mongols were dressed in the finest furs we had ever seen, but now we are in Russia they are even more magnificent. The cars are ramshackle, but the furs are divine.

I'm not sure why, but most of our group somehow squashed into our cabin to toast our train getting underway and the going down of the sun. As time goes by the group has become closer and our evening was warm and fun. We eventually crawled into our beds and before we knew it were awakened at 6 am to prepare for de-embarkation. Irkutsk, here we come.