Budgeting Bolsheviks.

Arrived in bustling Beijing after our twelve day, six thousand miles train journmey across two continents and seven time zones. The Trans Mongolian adventure was AMAZING, we will attempt to put this incredible journey into words, here goes...

In Moscow we meet up with our tour group and Honcho Marina, who took us out for a traditional Russian feast, the next few days meals would be a combination of noodles and porridge.

As the title of this blog suggested we were in third class, the ONLY way to travel! Once on board we made friends with many Russians and as suspected when a bottle of vodka is opened it must be finished. Using different gestures we managed limited communications with our Russian counterparts most of which revolved around alcohol. The set up on thir class is very compact with 4 people sleeping in a 2 square metre compartment, this allowed us to get to know the others on the tour much better! The 5 day train ride went surprisingly quickly with trips to the buffet cart (where Paul meet a Russian fire breather/clown), playing ring of fire, reading, failed tiger watch and eating anything that you can add hot water too, food never tasted so good!

Arriving in a snowy Irkutsk, it was reminsicant of an alpine village, we drove into the countryside to lake Baikal. The lake is the worlds biggest and holds 20% of the worlds fresh water, a fact Paul enjoyed sharing with others. We were straight out and up into the hills for a hike, reaching an incredible vantage point. Watching the sunset over lake Baikal was one of the most breath taking sights we have ever seen.

Back at the accomodation we had a Russian sauna, which involvd being hit with birch leaves by a naked Russian. this was an experience to say the least. As it was 5th November we had our own bonfire and sat up drinking straight vodka, Russian style!

It seemed only fitting that we go on this incredible lake and so the next day we took a boat trip to the next village. On the boat, sat in the sun, drinking beer, bliss. Returned to a very cold Irkutsk to get back on the train for 2 more nights. This seemed like it would be a breeze now we were in second class, but we could not have been more wrong! The provinsta (who are renowned for being unfriendly) had a thing for heat, at one point the carriage was an unbearable 31 degrees C. Needless to say we didn't get much sleep and yearned for the overcrowded third class.

An early arrival in UlaanBaatar, had us from the train, to the cash point out of the city, to the gur camp in Mongolia's national park. The scenary was astounding and it felt like a truely serene place. You could see for miles around as the vast plains ascended to form mountains. The sky was the biggest we have ever seen it, this was great for star gazing.

One of the highlights of our visit to Mongolia was meeting a local nomadic family. Their hospitality was heartwarming and we were able to converse through our honcho Ockta. Visiting a local family allowed us to try a Mongolian traditional drink made of milk, water and salt, with a bit of tea. Another highlight was a horse riding trip to turtle rock. Amy's horse 'Snowball' didn't want to go fast and as a result Amy was at the back of the pack throughout the trek.

After a night in a Gur we headed back to UlaanBaatar via a gigantic statue of Chinngis Khan on horseback (the biggest horse statue in the world!). Back in UlaanBataar, we had a quick peruse around the natural history museum. Considering that Mongolia is one of the biggest fossil beds in the world this was not the dinosaur treasure trove that we (Paul) had hoped. Final meal in the worlds coldest capital at Mongolian BBQ, an all you can eat carnivore fest, then off to bed for the early train to Beijing.

The train was no where near as hot as the previous one, so a lot of sleeping was enjoyed, mainly by Amy. Pulling into Beijing the Vodkatrain group got together for some final vodka shots. A fitting end to a fabulous trip.

So that's that. We're off to explore Beijing and China.

P.s. The pictures of Russia we promised have been lost due to a faulty memory card and much to our dissapointment (a good excuse to go back)