Chinggis Khaan Hotel Ulan Bator

... was some serious juddering at times but overall this was OK. I probably would not recommend the Russian dining car but the Mongolian and Chinese ones were OK. Unless you are desperate to eat in them I would recommend taking some tea, soups, cous cous and some water. At every stop there is a chance to stock up on fresh water and bread and a chance to stretch the legs. <br><br>Obviously the scenery that rolled past every day kept the ...

... know if the train was late etc<br><br>The train arrives, we all go out to the platform, everyone's handing over their tickets as they step onto the train. I reach for my envelope full of tickets and can't find my f******* Mongolia to Beijing ticket!!!<br><br>I'm amazed and thinking "oh ****" at the same time. This is so far from good. <br><br>The lady who ran my hostel was on the platform and runs over to ask what's wrong. I tell her ...

... descendre notre décilitre de Chivas à 5 euros puis on est allé dans une autre boîte moins malsaine ou des gros porcs d'allemands tout imbibés fricotaient avec des mongoliennes. On y a également rencontré un mongolien qui sert depuis 8 ans dans la légion étrangère à Castelnaudary. Et moi qui ai même pas fait mon service militaire !<br><br>En conclusion, ce voyage était une formidable expérience et restera également celui des records :<br>- Record de randonnée : 11h (13h ...

My passport's only gone and filled itself up without my noticing. No problem an American girl tells me, just go to your embassy and they'll stitch more pages in for free. Great I think, what a wonderful, helpful and considerate service and off to the embassy I skip.<br><br>But no...good old blighty doesn't offer such a thing. Instead, Gordon and the Queen insist I have to order a new passport ...

... times now, Mongolian ladies have taken my arm and we have walked trembling into the traffic to arrive at the other side, cackling triumphantly! <br><br>I thought I'd Died and Gone to Heaven: Elstei Ger Camp<br><br>You soon get out into the steppe, in fact it's visible from Ulanbataar - the rackety buildings fall away and all you can see are individual gers - round felt tents - and animals roaming free as there are no fences. The land is for free for all to ...

... as our props and do a strong dance moving around the chairs and dancing around them. The second was a traditional Mongolian inspired dance to "1001 Nights", and finally the last was to "Poker Face" where we used canes, that were actually broomsticks painted black. It turned out really well and we got praise from the directors saying it was one of the best dances. I was very glad to hear this because we stayed up until about 3 a.m. for a few ...

... out from one boy here who prefers English, that he lived in Virgina for 5 years and during that time forgot Mongolian, but he has been living in UB and going to ASU for 2 years now and he understands but is not good at responding. He is a sweet kid though, he is 12, loves classic rock, and is as tall or not taller than me. He is not the only kid I have met like that though. There seems to be more and more kids that I talk to who have lived in ...

... and we chat in a weird mix of Russian and English. <br><br>The night of Day 2-Morning of Day 3<br><br>This is where things get hairy. I wake up at 2 in the morning, only to hear a man's voice saying "sorry, sorry" in our ger. The light is on. Bleary-eyed and half-asleep, my first thought is that our driver got roaring drunk, and, feeling emotional, came to apologize for the early mishap. This, I thought, was totally out of cahracter for him, but ...

... us into our rather pleasant rooms, took us out for dinner, and thru Alexi, the son who spoke English, asked us if we would like to drive their Russian tank! Well, of course we jumped at the chance, and all had a go in the drivers seat, which was excellent fun. Rick wanted to fire the gun, but thankfully we managed to dissuade him. Off for a walk to the shops now, partly to clear my head of the fog from thee ...