Word of the day: сварливый: Grumpy Highlight: Dog Sledding Lowlight: "Please don't flush toilet paper" signs. Meaning used TP was held in a lid-less waste basket and stunk out the entire bathroom. Made for unpleasant smelling showers. Weather: -20 °C, windy As per the theme of the Trans-Siberian Railway, my first impression of Russia was on the train. "Krissy turn the camera off" - we were at the Mongolia/Russia border and a serious group of peopl...

Mongolia to Irkutsk The train we boarded in Ulaanbaatar was a Russian train and differed greatly to the older Chinese train that had brought us here. The carriages were far newer, and whilst some how smaller in size, were more comfortable. We thought we had hit the jackpot as there were only three of us in the four berth cabin, an English fellow from our tour group, Krissy and me. This meant we could forgo the usual game of Tetris, trying to fit in all of our...

MONGOLIA Word of the day: эрхэмсэг - (him-lic): Gracious Highlight: never-ending, spectacular winter landscape. Lowlight: Realising we're part of a tour group, and having to push back at every chance when the guide uses every opportunity to spend everyone elses money. Basically coming off looking rather tight fisted. Weather: - 30°C, balmy. My first impressions of Mongolia were through a train window. Watching the vast snow covered landscape gradual...

Train trip to Mongolia: The next leg of out trip would see us travel from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia. This is the first leg of our multistage train journey on the trans-Siberian railway from China to Russia. Sunrisesaw us boarding train K23 on a snowy platform in Beijing's Central Train Station. Krissy and I shared a four berth cabin with two young Australian lads, for this 28 hour passage to Mongolia. Space was certainly at a premium in these cabi...

Train trip to Mongolia: The next leg of out trip would see us travel from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia. This is the first leg of our multistage train journey on the trans-Siberian railway from China to Russia. Sunrisesaw us boarding train K23 on a snowy platform in Beijing's Central Train Station. Krissy and I shared a four berth cabin with two young Australian lads, for this 28 hour passage to Mongolia. Space was certainly at a premium in these cabi...