Train to Mongolia

Today we are leaving the smog and polluted air of Beijing behind and have boarded a train up to Mongolia – feel like I should be penning a romantic novel or a ‘who did it’ murder mystery! Instead I think you’ll just have to make do with more of my waffle and randomness. 29 odd hours spent sitting in our little 4 berth cabin on this train could prove difficult and I will probably being pulling Shona off the ceiling come the end of it! We have some how managed to bag the cabin to ourselves which is a result because as cozy as it is, 4 people and lots of gear would have made for a very cramped journey! We’ve stocked up on noodles and soup so it’s time to sit back and relax!
The K23 trans-mongolian train departs from Beijing and makes it’s way north up to Mongolia and into the heart of the country to the capital Ulaan Baatar. We slowly leave Beijing behind, making our way through the poor suburbs and into the countryside, it takes about 3 hours before we finally get clear of the Beijing cloud and see the sky for the first time in China. We whizz through steep rock formations, past open farmlands, across flat plains and finally arrive at the last town in China before the border at around 8:30 in the evening – some 4 hours later, having waited on the platform for the wheels of the train to be changed as the gauge is different in Mongolia compared to China, we finally bordered the train again and departed desperately wanting to sleep but knowing full well that in an hour or so we’d be woke up by Mongolian Immigration Officers!
Heading into Mongolia I think we are both a little apprehensive about what’s to come especially when it comes to dining habits! Mongolians like mutton, lots of boiled mutton and yak, plus they are also partial to a glass of fermented yak’s milk…which for one vegetarian and a person with a dairy allergy could make life interesting! Also what do I actually know about Mongolia other than what’s for dinner….Khengis Khaan, Mad Baron von what’s his name, the Mongolian Death Worm, Gobi Desert, Gers….and that’s about it – oh and Charlie Boardman wrestled here in fetching purple pants during ‘The long way round’, I knew there was a reason I wanted to come here!
Finally got to sleep around 2am, chugging along on a train makes you sleep well (I’d only ever experienced that drunk on a train back from London before! Hope we don’t miss our stop). We awoke about 7 hours later and get our first glimpse of the expanse and openness that is Mongolia and then a few hours later rolled into Ulaan Baatar. 29 hours actually went by quite quick and Shona managed not to go stir crazy left in a small cabin for all that time with only me!