Trans-Mongolian Express
Trip Start
Aug 28, 2005
1
68
Trip End
Dec 31, 2005
The Trans-Mongloian train left Beijing station at 7:40 am heading north and west for Ulan Bator in Mongolia. It's a 30 hour train ride to UB with long stops at both the Chinese and then Mongloian borders. Somehow, I have a cabin all to myself, which is a bit boring but kinda nice, and it's also much more comfortable than I expected, but I imagine less so if you put three other people and their belongings in here! You get nice pillows and sheets and a heavy blanket in case you get cold. All the cabins have AC and ample storage space. Each railcar has an attendant who can try to help you or lock up your cabin for you while you walk around or go to the dining car. The dining car isn't the greatest as the tablecloths aren't changed and were pretty dirty with spills and earlier diners food. I had a beef dish with garlic roots, which was like 85% garlic roots and some rice for lunch. Then I went back to my nice quiet cabin for a long bout of reading (currently Gulag Archipelagio by Solzhenitsyn). There's some nice scenery as you fly by, but with no one else in the cabin it is a bit boring, but it seems to be going by fairly quickly. At the Chinese border we have a 2.5 hour stop as the Mongolians and Russians use different tracks than anyone else in the world, so the bogies (wheels) have to be changed to a wider track. While waiting I met a fellow Texan, Dave from Dallas, who just came the way I am going, from Eastern Europe...so we have a good chat and decide to head to the same guesthouse in UB. Back on the train, we had another one hour stop for the Mongolian border and then I crashed hard from lack of sleep in Beijing!
Comments
My first visit to your site
Hello Trent,
This was my first visit to your site and I am thoroughly impressed. You must write a book. Keep writing your entries so you will have your records written in order. I am continuing my reading now. I enjoyed talking to you unforunitly at a funeral but it
was nice seeing all of you guys. Be safe and keep in
touch.
Mary (Tony's mother)