The internet here will not allow me to edit the last blog entry, so I will continue here.

Leg 2 Irkutsk-Ulaan Bataar (Mongolia)

We had elected to travel 2nd class for this leg of our journey and were most pleased to discover that we had a 4 bed cabin to ourselves, at least to begin with. We also found ourselves in a carriage with a few other english speakers, and even some genuine English people. Perhaps this kills some of the point of travelling through distant lands, but it was nice to compare our experiences so far and our future plans. So we sat back and relaxed feeling pleased with ourselves for having negotiated Irkutsk and having even managed to purchase a few large bottles of water, some bread and cheese, a few plump tomatoes, some snacks, and some cheap beer. We even managed to open the window!!! We were set :-)

Late that evening we were joined by a mother and daughter from Germany, much to our quiet dissappointment (after days sharing a fairly small area, it is nice to have a bit of space to spread out. A cabin to ourselves felt like a palace). However, they were ever so polite, and the daughter spoke excellent English and was friendly.

The next day we were due to cross the border out of Russian and then into Mongolia. We stopped at a small dusty town and were let off to wander about for a few hours. We tucked into a picnic of smoked fish, apples, and chocolate. The fish, Smoked Omul, which we had taken with us from Listvyanka, is a speciality of Baikal, and it was very tasty. The other passengers look at us enviously. We also found a bank to change our last rubles into dollars.

Returning to the train in anticipation of passport control, we found all the other passengers huddled in the shade by from the carriage. The next who knows how many hours involved getting on the train for passports, getting off, getting on for cabin checks, getting off etc etc. It took ages and the temperature in the train was almost unbearable. Nobody knew what was happening. I guess you could argue that it adds to the mystery that seems to follow the train. Odd things happen. For example, we woke up one morning and went to look for the buffet car, only to find that most of the train had dissapeared during the night, we were now at the back of the train and one of only 3 carriages left! When we eventually set off to Mongolia, they made us shut the windows, presumably in case we wanted to jump out, or smuggle someone in. Either way, it was cruel.

We had to repeat a similar process once into Mongolia, though thankfully the day was cooling as evening approached. Again nobody had a clue what was going on. The train would set of then change tracks and come back again. At one point when there was a set of tracks between us and the platform, Steffi was allowed to get off, cross the tracks and then the attendent just waved, 'bye'. Another train came between the station and us and trapped her. She spent a good while trying to get back round to us, and was clearly a bit shaken, having feared our train leaving before she could get back on!

Anyway, we made it to Ulaan Bataar safely, very early the next morning. We had booked a hostel and had a lift waiting for us at the station. The hostel was basic, but good. It was based in a block of flats behind the main street and was spread over a few floors. Our room was small and not exactly pretty, but had a tv with Korean channels! and even a little fridge. We had also tried to book a day tour, as we were leaving early the next day! The hostel were very vague about the tour to begin with, but after a few broken hours of sleep we managed to sort it out and set off at 10.00 to visit the Manushir Monastery. Mongolia has around 3 million people, 1 million of which live in the capitol. It is a big, dusty and dirty place, and even after only a few hours, I was glad to escape.

The monastery was about an hour and a half drive out of the city through stunning landscape. There was a laughably lame little museum and then the ruins themselves. The view from the old monastery was fantasic and I could quite imagine living there myself. We stopped for lunch on the way back. Tasy mutton soup. Then a short visit to a nomad family who gave us fermented mare`s milk, which is probably the most vile thing I have ever tasted! After that an even shorter horse ride (led around in a circle!!) and back to the city.

We spent the evening drinking with the english people from the last train and then got up at 5.30 the next morning to go for the next train.

Leg 3 Ulaan Bataar - Beijing

Our final train was the number 04, popular with westerners as it goes all the way from Moscow and also has deluxe first class (2 berth cabins, wood pannelled, with air con, a sofa, and a shower!). Our cabin was very plastic, and the window would not open. Thankfully it had a fan, which helped give the impression of cool air even though it really just circulated the warm. We were accompanied by a couple, Peter (Danish) and Lena (Russian). They were friendly enough, but liked to keep themselves very much a seperate entity. Oddly, they didnt seem so bothered by the heat, perhaps because they had been in Moscow during the fires, neither did they seem interested in the scenery. A friend from the last train was in our carriage and had a cabin to himself. Wee spent much of our time with him, learning backgammon and playing cards.

The first day we were travelling through Mongolia. We began by passing through hills, with dramatic wide turns rising and falling and cutting through the rock. Eventually the terrain flattened more and more and began to dry out. For hours and hours then we passed though the gobi desert. Interesting for its barren quality but soon becoming monotonous. Time for more cards.

That evening we came to the border and embarked on the somewhat surreal changing of the undercarriage. The rails in China have a different gauge to those in Mongolia, so it is necessary to remove remove all the wheels/bogies and replace them. We stopped, already at night, and spent ages moving back and forth. There was a buzz of curiosity as we slowly made our way into a huge warehouse, brightly floodlit. We could already see alongside us other carriages jacked up in the air with no wheels. It really felt very strange, as if part of some secret operation. It was all very efficient. Each carriage moved into position, raised, and the bogies released and slid away. Then the new ones slid in together and a man would reach out and stop each set in order. Our multinational cabin companions didnt think this interesting enough to come and look!

We made it to the station, handed over passports etc, and were released to the platform and to the toilets and shop. I bought some much needed liquid supplies and some funny little buns. We laughed as other passengers did their best `funny walks` along the platform to stretch their legs. Then back on the train to sleep, content to have made it to China.

The next day brought lots of stunning views. The train passed down a valley, through tunnels every few minutes or seconds. Each time a new scene would greet us as we burst out of a tunnel and you would reach quickly for the camera, hoping to steady yourself and get the pic before the next one. There were little villages, huge mountains, and crops planted in any flat space. Awesome!

We arrived at Beijing on time, just past 14.00 in baking heat. This marks the end of the Trans-Siberian section of my trip.