We boarded the twain in Ulaanbaatar at 6.30am on Thursday 22 September for the 30hr journey to Beijing. It was just coming light and very chilly at that time in the morning. The train was on a return trip from Beijing, so it had Chinese coaches which were a great improvement on the Mongolian ones we experienced on the last leg of the train trip. We were travelling with even more luggage having collected last years' Christmas present (a very traditional felt rug) plus Amanda and Orlo with pushchair etc! Soon all was safely stowed away and we settled down. We got out the bacon sandwiches and muffins and waited for the samovar to heat up so we could make coffee. The first few hours of the journey covered ground which we had driven over a few days before, so the landmarks were familiar. The train was very slow, the track is single with passing places so there were quite a few stops to wait for other passenger or freight trains coming north from china.
Orlo was great, he loved watching out for other trains and looking out of the window at the passing scenery. He ran his engines along the top the heaters in the corridor and made quite a few new adult friends. Of course he also realised that it was great fun to run up and down the corridor too, which was fine as long as he didn't shout along the way!!!! He also explored the top bunks which Granny and Grandad were using. The restaurant car made a good expedition for lunch, it was about 6 coaches back up the train which involved crossing lots of 'bridges' between the coaches.
Crossing the Gobi was fascinating, first there is the desert grassland, then it changes to an even more arid landscape with sand and some dunes, then back to the grassland again. We passed a few oases with tress. For much of the time we could see vehicles on the road. It would appear that part of the route is tarmac, but the rest is gravel and sand as we had experienced a few days earlier.
There were two main stops before the border, with just enough time to get out for a stroll along the platform. I didn't get chance to count the coaches, but it was a very long train, maybe about 12 in all. The border crossing was tedious, once again they took the passports away, but then the train moved off to the sheds where the bogies were changed. This takes several hours and involves lots of shunting. Eventually we pulled not the station in China with the staff standing to attention, lots of lights and music to welcome us.......and the passports were returned. By this time Orlo and Michael were asleep but Amanda and I stayed up as we were still expecting a customs inspection........that did not happen. The train pulled away at 0.35am and we each dashed to the loo. The toilets had beenlocked for several hour as they were the type that flushed direct onto the line.
To be continued......
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