Wake up call from the hotel was 5am. Headed to the Beijing Railway Station by cab. The cabbie told me the meter wasn’t working and asked for 25 yuan. I negotiated down to 20 yuan – in reality it probably costs 15-17 yuan. And It was pouring cats and dogs – the first time i got to use my rain cover to protect my backpack.
Beijing – Ulaanbaatar
I could see a lot of backpackers lining up at the main gate – didn’t really surprise me. It’s quite a popular route and only run twice a week. While waiting at the gate (after Sausage and McMuffin breaky at McDonald), i saw Polko and Stanka approaching. The Slovaks whom i met at the couchsurfer were bound for Erlian (a major border stop before Ulaanbaatar – UB). They gonna camped overnight at Erlian before crossing over the Mongolian border and make their way to UB.
Within minutes, K23 passengers were called to check in – the train was due to depart at 7:47. I got a second class carriage in a 4-sleeper cabin. They are about 7 or 8 cabins in a carriage. Only 5 were occupied. The first was occupied by the train attendants for our carriage. Mongolians were in the second carriage. Tuyet and I got the third whereas Gjore and Snezana were in the fourth. The fifth was a Chinese man and the remainders were empty. Our carriage has all the 4-sleeper cabin. But there were only a max of two of us on each cabin. It was rather ’spacious’ considering that 4 occupants is the standard.
Let me introduce you to my new friends:
Gjore and Snezana is a lovely Australian couple on their pilgrimage back to (FYR of) Macedonia. They are from Darwin, have two kids and three grandchildren. Gjore is easy going and Snezana loves to laugh, especially at Gjore’s jokes. They have this warmth making you very comfortable to be around them.
Snezana and I did the only exercise possible on the train – walking from our carriage to both ends of the train. To be honest, we wanted to check out two things: the restaurant and the first class.
This is a picture from the end of the train when we went through a tunnel
Whereas Tuyet (my cabin-mate) is a Londoner who has been travelling on her own for 6 months mainly in Asia (3 months in Japan as a ski instructor). She’s wrapping up her journey and the transiberian is the final leg before heading to London through Moscow (though i will still be on the train to St Petersburg from Moscow). We soon realised that we will have the same itinerary throughout – an amazing coincidence considering she booked it through London and I booked it in Melbourne.
Baida (?) is a big Mongolian dude – he’s on a business trip to Beijing. He sells fitness equipments in UB. He likes to hunt and proudly shows pictures of his hunting trip with dead wolf hanging on his left hand and a rifle on his right!
The journey will take us approximately 17.5 hours. There is an English timetable on the train
Whenever we make stops in a small train station, there will be sellers waiting to market their merchandise to the passengers.
I got this nice pic – a small boy waiting for his mum who was selling her products:
At around 9pm, we stopped at Erlian – the border between China and Mongolia. This was also my first experience of passport control and border formality on a train. The Chinese officials soon checked our paperworks. At one point, the Slovaks were knocking on our carriage window to bid farewell. As soon as i stepped out of my cabin trying to get near to the window, a Chinese official shouted at me – ‘Get back to your cabin!’. I relented.
We were then allowed to get off the train and head to the station. We stocked up on our food provisions – i don’t think we have never been that happy to see a minimarket! We then waited for another 3 hours for the famous wheel-changing exercise. They need to change the wheels of the train because the rail track in China and Mongolia are different. How do we kill time? We played ‘I Spy’!
Baida also offered me a double shot of Mongolian Cinggis khan vodka. It was the golden bottle – the expensive one. Apparently this is what you normally offer to others.
At around midnight – we were allowed to go back to the train but within an hour we will stop again for another hour for Mongolian passport control. Only around 2am we will finally be left in peace.
Here are some pics from the train journeys:
Mongolia
When we arrived at Ulaanbatar’s station, Ogi (our Mongolian guide) was holding a sign with our names. I must say it was the first for both of us (Tuyet and I) to experience this.
We quickly made our way to the bank to exchange some of our Chinese Yuan to Mongolian Tugrik. After that, Ogi took us to the famous monastery – Gandantegchenling. Apparently, the Czech PM was also visiting the monastery – no wonder we saw heavy police presence. It’s also graduation week in Mongolia – so a lot of university students and their families visit the temples to offer their thanks and gratitudes.
About 2 hours later, we left the city to head to Elstei der Lodge where our Ger was waiting for us. It was a bumpy ride but we truly enjoyed it:
and the views were absolutely gorgeous – when they say that Mongolia is a blue sky country – they are not joking:
Did i mention that the views were absolutely gorgeous???
As we got closer to the camp, we stopped quickly at the nearby hill so we can have a full view of the camp.
Ogi also explained to us the significance of Alllor (spelling could be incorrect) – which is made of wishing stones. People throw three rocks while circling the pole and make a wish. You will see a lot of these throughout Mongolia. In some cases, there will be horses’ skulls attached to the poll signifying the major sacrifice as horses are considered prized possession.
As we arrived and got out of the car, there were an army of warm and friendly people welcoming us and helping us with our baggages. It was such a delight to see them.
We were then shown our own Ger, yes Tuyet and I got one Ger each. There were about 26 Gers in this camp and we were the only tourists in this camp! Let me give you a tour of a Ger.
This is a Ger camp
This is one Ger
A Ger only has one main door and its small – and when i say small, it is small. I’m short and my backpack couldn’t fit in unless i crawled! (just to proof my point in this post, i still have a little bump on my head when i got up early morning for a toilet and found myself on the floor rubbing my head rigorously because i bumped into the top frame of the Ger’s door!).
As you entered a Ger, you typically see a fireplace, a small table with chairs and a cabinet. On both sides, you will see beds. We have 4 beds in our Ger, but typical family will have a max of 3 beds – otherwise it will be too crowded. A small and typical Ger like ours is made of 5 walls. They are covered with felt and canvas – to protect from rains.
A larger Ger – typically reserved for ceremonies or functions is made up of 8 walls. We were lucky to see a larger Ger in construction mode – they are all connected using leathers, no nails!
There were something unoriginal about our Ger camp – because its catered for tourists, we have modern bathroom and shower facilities! We were so excited at the prospect of hot water – we haven’t showered for a day!
But first thing first, i haven’t had the chance to have a proper exercise and the vast Mongolian plain was too tempting and inviting. I decided to change to my running gear and run! It was an amazing feeling – there were no boundaries and i felt so small in this vastness. The mountains are everywhere and green pastures with blue skies provide the perfect picturesque backdrop. I never knew that such magical place exist on earth. Absolutely beautiful! I remembered lying down on the grass for half an hour soaking in the sun and the beauty.
After my run, i had my hot shower – the water pressure was low so it was quite disappointing but hey, any hot water is a blessing at this point. We then went to the dining room to have our first Mongolian dinner – the food was impressive. For the next 2 days we will have full course meals throughout the day!
While the girl was setting up the fireplace, Ogi in her traditional Mongolian dress invited us for a quick game in archery.
Even at night, the sight was amazing!
The next day, we got up for two hour horse-riding in the morning.
Along the way, we visited a family Ger to see how they truly live – yup they have solar panel and satellite.
Of course, we couldn’t resist taking beautiful pictures along the way:
After horse-riding, we went back to the camp for lunch. There were about 40 people in the dining room – apparently its the annual outing for the tour company where they have a full day of sport activities. We were invited to join in. There were 4 groups – the drivers, the office admin, the Ger camp staff and the Guides. They have proper trophies and certificates. Last year, the driver won the trophy.
Tuyet and I joined the Guides’ team. There were 4 competitions – volleyball, tug of war, sack race and arm wrestling. It was a windy day and playing volleyball in such condition was very interesting and challenging. You had to compensate the speed and direction by which you hit the ball. We were the ultimate loser!
In the next round, we only managed an OK showing in the tug of war. Partly because i was the only guy in the Guides’ team. But its no excuse – we lost again despite our fighting spirit.
In the third round, sack race – i was determined to win this and i was proud to say that i won it by a mile! They were so impressed by how fast i was that all the horsemen and drivers came around and shook my hand! I have never been sooo proud… (especially after losing twice in a row!) There is a small price to pay though – i fell once and twisted my right ankle and it would be swollen for the next 3 days although i didn’t know how bad it was until later at night.
The last round was the most interesting where arm-wrestling competition took place in the dining room. They have a proper set up with various teams in different corners. Tuyet managed a good showing going to the semi-final. For me, my first opponent was a horseman, and i barely lasted 10 seconds! Quite an embarrassment. I congratulated my ‘opponent’ and quickly retreated to my corner 
The main drawcard was the arm-wrestling between the horseman and the driver. It took roughly 15 minutes before our driver lost to the horseman. Although soon after, the horseman lost to another driver who won the previous round to clinch the ultimate prize – the championship.
Oh by the way, they also have an old man to act as a referee throughout – as you can see from this pic, he takes his job very seriously.
There was one moment that wasn’t captured in this picture that Tuyet and I thought rather funny and would be a perfect advertisement of a mobile phone. We saw this grandma walking beside the volleyball court when we were cheering one of the teams.
Suddenly, a phone ring and she stopped, took a moment, inserted her hand into her clothes and took out a Motorolla Razr – the flip phone (clam factor) that James Bond used. I laughed out so loud! I wish i had my camera with me at that time!
The corporate activity day was truly a unique experience and we are thankful for the opportunity to participate and share the fun moments.
Following the sport activities – we headed for a 4 hour return walk to the Chinggis Khan monument. Along the way, we climbed up a hill and took another moment to soak in the beauty.
The return trek was equally exhausting with us fighting the strong wind. We took a few moments while waiting for Ogi (who was on the phone – you only got reception near the hills but not at the camp).
We got back to the camp, had our last dinner and head to our tent to pack. We had to leave in the morning the next day. This was the time when i found out that my right ankle was swollen. They had to make an icepack to reduce my swellings. We had a medical trainee in the camp who was kind enough to constantly check on me.
The next morning, following breakfast, we had to bid farewell to this very nice place and wonderful people. This was the final picture:
We headed back to Ulaanbaatar where we stayed for one night. We went on a city tour visiting the infamous Red Square where the democratic revolution took place in the early ’90s. There were a lot of young graduates and their families visiting and taking group pictures.
This is the building for the Mongolian Stock Exchange:
I saw a boy ‘flying’ through the red square – you could see a smile on his face
and of course the celebration wouldn’t be complete without a bottle of wine
Oh.. and they also have Coca Cola sign
One thing that impressed us most was the layout of the retail bank – so cozy!
They have ‘childcare’ centre for customer who are bringing their kids to the bank
and they have a coffee shop attached to the bank!
We had lunch at Sub’baatar:
and if you have always wanted to know what the cover of Time magazine in Mongolia would look like, you won’t die wondering (thanks to truly yours):
visited a couple of souvenir stores:
During this time, we bumped into the Slovaks – they made it to Ulaanbaatar! we chatted a bit and walked in the same direction when suddenly i felt someone touching my bump. i grabbed a hand but quickly slipped. i just realised that i have been pick-pocketed! Lucky Ogi has reminded us earlier so i didn’t really have anything in my pocket – i lost a city map. The whole thing happened really fast and there were a group of 4 to 5 people who just bumped into us in the crowded city centre. what an experience…
After dropping and picking up our laundry, we went to see the Throat Singing performance,
They also showed acrobatic performance:
We finished the night with an OK steak from a local irish pub and a round of pool at New York New York bar at Naran plaza.
The next day we went to visit the Mongolian National Museum, big Buddha statue and a monument overlooking the city. I didn’t bring my camera with me so didn’t really take any pictures.
For more Mongolian pictures, click here
Ulaanbaatar – Irkutsk
Soon enough, it was time to say goodbye to Mongolia and continue our journey to Irkutsk – Russia. Train 361 left UB at approximately 21.10. It will take us about 36 hours to reach our destination.
This time its only a single carriage train (it will be joined by other carriages). There were 4 of us in the cabin – Tuyet and I, Marco from Italy and Bahir from Russia.
I must say that its quite an experience from the start. Bahir had strong vodka smell all over him but still roughly sober. He couldnt really speak English and neither of us could speak Russian. So you could imagine the funny conversations that follow – we will resort to sign language, colours, gestures you name it. and every questions we asked is answered with one word – Vodka! hhaaah fun times.
Here are some pictures from our train journey:
A Russian army inspecting the train with a big dog
Me and train attendants
The hot water supply – without which we would have struggled to eat pot noodles! (there wasn’t any dining car in our train)
A lady selling snacks on board of the train
And you know when they say that crossing the Mongolian-Russian border is a pain – i can testify! You see there are a lot of traders in our train who tried their best to exempt themselves from paying custom duties despite the unbelievable amount of merchandise they carried. So how do they do it, they play cat and mouse with the authorities. They will trade among themselves and you could see a lot of commotion in the train throughout our travel. You would not believe the amount of times the same bag being passed from one cabin to another through their trades. Our cabin was the quietest because most of us are foreigners – although we got a bit of our fair share through Bahir.
So we stopped at the border at 4am and we would not be able to go until around 2pm! Yes 10 hours and apparently thats really fast – normally it took them 12-14 hours at a minimum. During this time, you were meant to sit still in your cabin. The authorities obviously knew what were going on and they deal with this thing every day. And im not surprised that they are part of the whole charade. You will see that at one end of the carriage, the custom officials will be ‘discussing’ their findings and at another end of the carriage, a group of traders will be ‘discussing’ what they have forgone and whats left. The frantic scene would happen once the officials left the train, the traders would swap all the merchandise that were left at other cabins. They have a written system and code and i wouldn’t even try to understand how they do it. But they do it rather efficiently.
Bahir left us at a station before Irkutsk.
Irkutsk & Livstyanka, Russia
We reached Irkutsk at 7.31am and after a quick farewell to Marco, we headed to Livstyanka, Lake Baikal – about an hour drive from Irkutsk.
When we arrived, the view was picture perfect! Lake Baikal is amazing. Its the oldest, largest and deepest lake in the world. It’s dubbed the earth’s water well as it boasts 20% of the world’s fresh water supply.
This is our hotel
We visited the Lake Baikal museum
And did a quick 45 minute trek to a nearby mountain
We also visited a local Russian Orthodox church
The sun doesn’t set until 10pm here. Yes, the sun rises at 6am and set at 10pm! crazy eh? These pictures were taken at 10pm.
The next day, i spent the whole day trekking a mountain. Tuyet bailed out at a last minute because she was afraid of Thick (?) – local bugs that bite you. you have to constantly check every 15 minutes. apparently once bitten would require a visit to a hospital. she didn’t have vaccination so didn’t want to risk it. So there i went with Sacha – my trekking guide. It took us about 2.5 hours to reach our picnic place by the lake and about 2 hours back. It’s serene. We were the only one there.
Here are some pics from the trek……
We still have one night at Lake Baikal before heading go Irkutsk tomorrow morning for a longer train journey to Moscow (three nights in the train).
In the mean time, i’ve upgraded my backpack to display the flag patches of the countries i’ve visited:
For more pictures on Lake Baikal, click here
Till the next update.
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p/s thanks for your prayers and words of encouragement. some ask how best to get in contact with me, sms would be the best way (i don’t have access to internet that often, and even if i did only for a brief period and i would use it to access my bank accounts). You can sms me for free from TravelSim website. I might not reply (it costs me about USD0.78 per sms). Dont forget to put down your name. (the number is – three seven two, five nine, two six five, two six six)
