Vodka, Noodles, Sleep, Repeat...

At one of our stops in Mongolia

Heading through the mountains in China

The trans-mongolian train was one of the coolest things I've ever done. It was uncomforatable at times but the people and scenery made it such a positive experience. We were on the train for a total of 7 days and went across 7 time zones. Our route took us from Moscow, just north of Kazakhstan, across siberia, through the Gobi Desert and ended in Bejing. John and I lucked out. We were the only people in our 4 bed cabin so we had extra space to lounge and store our stuff. The beds were wood with a thin layer of padding. My feet hung of the bed a few inches and if I was laying on my back, my feet pressed so hard against the wall that they would go numb. There were constant banging, creaking, and splashing noises coming from the train but it became a dull background noise after a few days and the ride was fairly smooth. Food on the train was pricey and the one time we went to the restaraunt car, the waitress was too drunk to take our order. As a result, we used the boiling water in our train car and ate noodles for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We also got bread, beer, and sausage from vendors at train stations. We generally had a few stops each day which lasted anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes. Water became a prized commodity because we often went for a long time without being able to buy any. There were no showers so we used cleansing wipes and washed our hair in the sinks. We also ended up doing laundry in the sinks and hanging clothes to dry in our room. The toilets have a pedal that opens the bottom of the bowl and dumps everything straight onto the tracks. For this reason, they lock the bathroom doors during all stops. This led to some painful waits while drinking at night, and on occasion empty water bottles had to be utilized.

          We met so many amazing people on the train. There were lots of families and older couples but also a big contingent of backpackers from all over the world. There were people from Britain, Holland, Spain, Sweeden, Australia, and Austria. We passed the time by drinking copious amounts of vodka (which was cheaper than water in many spots), playing mafia, crazy eights, drinking games, learning songs from other countries, reading, and seeing how many people we could cram into one cabin while singing Bohemian Rhapsody. 

Party time! Looking down from the top bunk

         The scenery was varied and stunning along the way. At first, we passed through dense forrest and large stretches of uninhabited land. Our sense of time was completely thrown off after a few days on the train. One night, we woke up at 2:30 am and the sun was already up. We looked out the window and we were just getting to Lake Baikal which is the largest fresh water lake in the world. The water is potable and it is supposedly so clear that snorkelers and divers often get vertigo when they look straight down in the water. Mongolia had small nomadic villages dotting a dry and harsh landscape. We then passed through a stretch of cool, rolling hills that looked like northern Colorado. 

Panorama at a quick stop in Mongolia

      The Gobi Desert was harsh and the temperature quickly became unbearable. It was 90 degrees on the train and much warmer outside. We spent our time there holding water bottles to our necks, chugging water, and then wishing to god we could get more water. The train ride through China took us through rural, shade farming areas, dramatic mountains, and finally through the high-rise apartments, crumbling houses, and ultra-modern megastructures of Beijing. Most of our fellow travelers got off at Ulan-Bator so the last two days of the trip we got packed up and researched for the rest of our trip. Pulling into the station and stepping of the train was a great feeling. The time had gone by quickly but we were ready for a shower and a normal meal.

Train station in Mongolia

Countryside near Beijing

-CG