Tuesday July 7 – The Trans-Mongolian Railway

On Monday evening we sat around the table with a couple of beers discussing what motivated each of us to spend 21 days hurtling across China, Mongolia, and Russia in a train, including 8 days and 7 nights on the train. For some it was the “mystery” of train travel, for others the anticipation of unknown places, and for still others, the special cultures of China, Mongolia, and Russia. We talked about how to spend your time; ideas such as reading, writing, and taking pictures came easily. Our group leader advised us on security issues for personal belongings, train schedules and the need to “stay close” to the train when we disembarked at the frequent stops; food on the train and snacks from station vendors; toilet and shower facilities or the lack of; and how to tell how many kilometers you are from Beijing. So when Tuesday morning at 6:15 am came, and we made our way to the station, we were all fresh with excitement, loaded down with snacks, and eager to embark on our epic 7865 km journey.

The journey to the train station was frenetic. Chris, our tour leader, was obviously concerned about time. We flew across Beijing in two taxis which dropped us across the street opposite the station and we had to get ourselves across a 6 lane divided highway with our backpacks and all our luggage. Fortunately there was an over pass. We made it into the station, had time to stop at McDonalds for some coffees, then loaded on to the train. When I dumped my bags and went back out to the platform to take some pictures, we had 15 minutes to spare. Perfect timing!

The building of the railway line from Moscow to Beijing started in 1882 at Chelyabinsk and continued along the rail from then until the opening of the 2880 km section from Beijing to Ulan-Ude in 1956. Our 21 day trip is going to be broken up into several section the first of which is from Beijing to Ulan bator.

There were about 16 carriages on the train. The carriage we are in is a long corridor with separate apartments each containing 4 berths, 2 upper and 2 lower. The Attendant gives you sheets and a pillow case and at night you simply spread the sheets over the berths and turn them into beds. It makes for really comfy sitting during the day! There are no showers. The toilet is shared. It is a European style toilet that flushes directly on to the track and every time I went I couldn’t help thinking of all the pee, poop, and paper being spewed out on to the track. One long latrine! There is a hole in the middle of the floor that you can look through on to the track, so your imagination does not have to work overtime! The loo got pretty grungy after a while; floor was wet, toilet paper and seat covers ran out, however, the water supply was good and it never really got too smelly!! You have to remember not to go to the loo just before or after entering a station as the attendants lock the door about 10 mins before arrival and 10 mins after departure.

Leaving Beijing we travelled through the dramatic mountainous regions of China crossing the San Gan River at 99 km, into and across the grasslands of Inner Mongolia near to where we had previously travelled; and on to the border at Erlian/Zamiin Ud. Between kilometer 80 and 50 we passed a series of tunnels and although we didn’t see it, you can also see the Great Wall at several spots along the way. We passed through empty stations where station guards in blue denim shirts and dark blue pants stand to attention on the deserted platform as the train hurtles past. There are lots of tourists on the train partly because it is the start of the Nadaam Festival in Ulan Bator. Early in the journey, westerners are reserved, pushing past you in the corridors determined not to make eye contact, but later on, conversations are struck up, new friendships are made, and addresses are exchanged.

Exhausted from our 8 hectic days in Beijing we are content to snooze, read, write, and quietly visit with other passengers exchanging travel stories, learning about new places, and discussing customs, culture and politics about places we had been to. We lunched with a US chap who is coaching tennis at the provincial level for the Chinese government, and a young Chinese chap who is in the military. Our companion in the compartment was a young Mongolian girl, Nary, from Ulan Bator who is studying medicine in Shanghai. She was lovely, and gave us her phone numbers in case we have time to get together in Ulan Bator.

We arrived at the Chinese border at around 8:37 pm only to be hauled off the train by the customs official because he couldn’t understand how we had gotten into China as there was no stamp in our passport because of our group entry into Tibet. That took a little bit of explaining, but fortunately their English is much better than our Chinese! The customs guys were really sweet, kind and gently, and it all got sorted. We had a 3 hour lay-over and all the passengers were “locked” into the Customs Hall and the platform. There was a neat supermarket where we got snacks as a replacement for dinner (the dining car was closed), and then stood or sat out on the platform under the station lights enjoying the warm, balmy evening. The reason for the long stop is to change the bogie wheels to match the Mongolian rail gauge. When this was all finished, we got back on the train and travelled about 25 minutes through no man’s land to Zamiin Ud to enter Mongolia. We stopped again for about 1 ¼ hours and about 1:40 am we set off across the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. We spread our sheets on the berths, closed and locked the compartment door, and settled down to sleep. It was a good night; the regular beat of the train’s wheels lulled us all into a deep sleep within minutes which lasted until early morning.

Monday July 6 - Last Day in Beijing

Today is our last day in Beijing. Tomorrow we meet at 6:15 am to board the train for the first part of our 21 day journey to St. Petersburg. I am not sure if I will have an opportunity to update the blog before arriving home on the 29th July, but will obviously do my best. We met at 8 am after a typical Chinese/American breakfast and went off to see the Temple of Heaven. This is where the emperors went to pray to the God of Good Harvest..for a good harvest.. and to the Heaven God. As usual, the structures were outstanding, and it was really interesting walking around and learning the various processes of paying homage to these Gods. Next we went back to Tian'Anmen Square, this time having a proper walk around. Then Jon left us to go and see the Forbidden City and Chris took us to a supermarket to stock up on snacks for our train journey and lunch at a neat cafe. The Internet in the cafe is free, and I am quickly catching up on my blog before hitting the Trans Mongolian train tomorrow. This evening we are going to a Kongfu performance.....haven't a clue what to expect....then it will be to bed early to be ready to leave tomorrow. Ray and I have loved Beijing. Its a calm city, but fun and exciting. Safe to travel around, fantastic subway system, and very friendly and helpful people. It has totally changed our opinions about China, Chinese people, and the future. Keep checking for further updates.....in the meantime, we are really looking forward to getting back home and seeing Alanna, Chloe and all our friends.....and putting some pictures up on the blog!!

Sunday July 5 - The 2008 Olympic Grounds

Ray's pick for the day was to visit the "Olympic Green", the huge development that was constructed for the 2008 Olympics. The area includes a large landscaped park, an Olympic village, and various stadia including the National Olympic Stadium (affectionately known as the "Bird's Nest") and the Swimming Centre (affectionately known as the "Water Cube". There were other buildings as well such as the National Indoor Stadium which we did not pay to go in but passed by. Always game for an adventure, we decided to travel by metro. We left our hotel on Line 1 at the Wanshou Lu metro stop; changed to Line 5 at Dongden; changed to Line 8; then changed to line 10 to take us up into the Olympic Green about an hour later. When we stepped out of the metro station, the immensity of the area was overwhelming and we literally didn't have a clue where to go. There seemed to be a central road area with a beautiful water and park area, complete with pretty wild flowers, and then we spotted the Bird's Nest and headed for that. On the way, we found a map, and were able to somewhat orientate ourselves. One of the things we, or maybe I, have found confusing about site-seeing in China is the lack of written information and maps. The areas are usually huge, and its difficult to know where exactly you are and the best way of viewing the site. Anyway, we paid our Y50 each and went inside. As a stadium, I didn't think that it was as fantastic a structure as Toronto's Rogers Dome, but the stadium vibrated with the emotions that were experienced there: the nerves of the competition; the despair of losing; and the thrill of winning your event and taking your place on the podium in front of the thousands of peple there. We walked around in awe listening to the inspiring Olympic music and watching the Olympic replays on the huge video screen. Opposite the Bird's Nest is the Water Cube and we crossed over the wide concrete avenue and lined up to buy our tickets for that. Although nothing much to look at on the outside, inside the main pool area and diving board was very colourful with all the flags of the various countries competing around the ceiling and the beatiful blue colour of the water and the blues and yellows of the colourful diving boards. The day was really hot and muggy and very hazy, so we were quite happy when we made it back to the subway. We stopped at Xidan for a late lunch and to see if I could find the bookshop mentioned in the Lonely Planet, but, couldn't. So we came back to the hotel for a couple of hours before heading back out to meet the two guys at the Night Market on Donganmen Street just off Wanfujing Street. We left a little early because I knew there was another bookstore there. We found an even bigger bookstore, the "Wanfujing Bookstore", and went to the third floor (as directed by LP for the other book shop) and found all kinds of books in English. Ended up buying two in a big hurry and went on our way to meet the guys. About 5 mins later, as we were walking through the Wanfujing Pedestrian Street, the heavens opened and we were in the middle of a dramatic thunderstorm; lightening, loud peels of thunder, and torrential rain. Everyone rushed for cover through the instantly accumulated inches of rain, and we ran to the doorway of a department store to seek shelter from the driving rain. The umbrellas came out in huge numbers: people in yellow rain ware were running up and down the street selling new ones. All the "parasols" of the sunny afternoon suddenly became umbrellas, many of them turned inside out, and we looked out of our shelter over a sea of pouring rain dotted with colourful umbrellas. The rain lasted abut half an hour and eventually Ray went off to buy an umbrella! I imagined walking down the street with a pretty blue or pink umbrella, but he came back with some sort of blue plaid!! Oh well, it served a purpose. We walked up to where we were meeting the guys and of course they had gone. So, had most of the people at the Night Market. All the vendors were still there with various lamb, scorpions, intestines, etc. on sticks waiting to be barbecued. But the fun was out of it all; we were a little chilly, a little wet; and a little tired. We looked for a restaurant to eat in but it was all very weird food. We ended up in a rather grotty restaurant about 9:30; had some chicken, celery. and rice. We ate quickly, and caught the subway about 7 or 8 stops back to our hotel. Chris and Jon were waiting for us on the way in. They got soaked too and decided just to go and eat as well. By this time it was just after 11 so it was straight to bed.

Saturday July 4 - Relaxing in Beijing

Today was real relax day as we transitioned from our hotel Huguosi Hotel on Huguosi Jie to the Tian Tian Jia Ri Hotel on Wanshou Road in Wanshoulu District. We had breakfast and on the way back to the old hotel stopped into a store, Semir, or something like that. We had a great time spending about $35.00 on four t-shirts and two pairs of pants. The shop assistants and the patrons all had a great laugh - especially as the assistants were obviously telling us they had a two/for/one sale. The delightful young woman who was assisting us was "running" around the store getting us other colours, other styles, and other sizes. When did you last see an assistant in a Canadian shop with such energy? At one stage she was yelling to a couple of the other assistants with such glee, it seemed more than even double our purchase was worth. In fact, all the assistants were in on it, and the men took as active a part in checking out the clothes I was trying on as did the girls, and I think vice versa with Ray. It was quite an experience!! The shoppping is so fantastic here! So much choice. You would just love it!! The only downer, I needed an "XL"...shhhhh!! We are now settled in our new hotel. Its a little more luxurious than the previous one, but the area is really dull and boring. Its a beautiful residential area with high rises and flats, lots of trees, and every second shop sells only cigarettes and bottles of booze, I know, some might say: "That's not boring!!"; a few fruit stalls, and one or two shops selling water, soft drinks, ice-cream and snacks. Sort of reminds me of the Eglinton/Mount Pleasant area in Toronto without the eclectic shops on Mnt. Pleasant or Yonge St. We met our Sundowners guid, an Aussie called Chris and the one other passenger, an English guy currently living in Australia called Jon! Both young - it seems a really nice group, so we are hoping to have fun. Dinner in the hotel was a very civilized and expensive affair. Y70 each. We are used to half that! The food was good though: Peking Duck. After dinner, Ray and I took a quiet walk around the block, then back to the hotel about 10:15 p.m.

Friday July 3 - Beijing - Hutongs

We were awakened this morning by a phone call from Anying who was the Chinese lady we met in Datong. We agreed to meet for dinner. We had a leisurely shower and breakfast, and went to the bike rental shop to pick up two bikes. I have dreamed of riding a bike in China since we decided to come on the trip,and Beijing seemed the place to do it. As well, Lonely Planet (LP) said it was a good way to see the hutongs. "Hutongs" are "narrow alleyways". According to LP, after Genghis Khan obliterated Beijing, the City was rebuilt with hutong. At their height there were about 6000, by the 1980s. Now there are only about 2000 remaining as most of them are torn down to make way for modern highrises. They are the life and soul of Beijing. You see them in movies. We had so much fun driving through them, connecting from one series to another by riding on the busy roads and mixing it up with buses, taxis, and private cars, let alone all the other bicycles, rickshaws, and scooters. Never once did I feel threatened by any vehicle. The cars and the buses all gave us a wide berth. Maybe they looked and saw two tourists and thought they had better keep well out of way! The hutongs varied greatly. Some were renovated and turned into little boutique shops and restaurants and frequented by the tourists, both Chinese and Western. Others were the old genuine hutongs, little courtyard communities with roof gardens, some spruced up as up-scale living area, others a bit messy but full of character; some of the lanes were paved, others dirt, and yet others cobbled. We passed all sorts of activities from men playing chess, to little stores selling fruit and drinks, and others just talking, smoking, and generally living their life. It was all fascinating. We passed many historic sites such as beautiful gardens and temples, the first Roman Catholic university, sports centres, schools, etc. One highlight was driving along the wide boulevard between Chairman Mao's picture, and Tianaman Square. We stopped in the middle and have a wonderful picture of Ray and his bike with the Chairman smiling in the background. Eventually our bums got really sore on the not too padded bicycle seats and after about 4 hours, we headed back to the shop to return the bikes. I might add that the weather is sweltering hot - 36 to 40C! So we consumed quantities of water, and when we got back, quantities of beer. We barely had time to have a shower before Anying was calling us to say she was in the hotel lobby. So, off we went with her to continue our educational tour of Beijing. She took us to The Silk Market, a 6 storey building packed and stacked with everything from nick-knacks, to clothes, to jewelery, to suit material, silk goods, cashmere goods, etc. etc. An absolutely amazing place abuzz with the sound of people advertising their goods and trying their hardest to get you to buy from them - many of them spoke English - the prices started high, for example, I started off at Y890 (the fool price!) and ended up paying Y140!! So you really have to love haggling over the price! After this we caught a bus up to Wangfujing where we wandered through an outstanding mall in order to reach the Wangfujing Snack Street behind it. We took the bus from the Silk Market and passed beautifully highlighted buildings including the Beijing Hotel and the Beijing Railway Station magnificently lit among the stacks of elegant high rises, tree-lined boulevards and the most beautiful modern downtown environment. Of course, it could have been anywhere in the world too, but the neon signs gave our location away with their bright, exciting colours and lively videos. We had a simply delicious dinner in a quiet and serene restaurant; then we saw Anying onto her bus heading for home, and Ray and I caught a cab back to the hotel; grabbed a night-cap in a loud and noisy Chinese restaurant opposite the hotel, and headed for bed around midnight after another full and fun-filled day.

Thursday July 2 - Beijing

Our second free day in Beijing. We succesfully got two boxes of our camping stuff and some heavy winter clothes mailed off to Canada - one box was 10kg+ and the other 8kg+ for Y1054. China Post is so efficient. They wrapped it all up, and it looks in good shape for the journey. We will see how long it takes. We chose the SAL service - so not the slowest ocean going service. Then we headed to Xidan Square for breakfast and back to the hotel by bus. Went to the Internet next door, then headed out for the Embassy District to pick up our visa; found the Bank of China - the right branch this time, paid our fee; walked over to the Mongolian Embassy; learned that all other tourists had the same problems; got our visas!!!....yeah!!; made the suggestion they advise people of the correct bank to go to! To celebrate we went into the Parisian Bakery and had a cafe latte, a tea, a cream cheese danish and a cinnamon bun while listening to delicate Parisian music, and looking out at tree lined boulevards and modern high rises that could have easily been in the business centre of any city in the world!! Too civilized!! I think the cost of this was more any dinner we have had on the trip! We also took a few minutes to think of our friends John and Pauleen who have just spent 2 weeks in Paris! W arrived back at the hotel at 6 pm; went for a beer with the same group as last night and sadly said goodbye to Olivia, (off to Shanghai) and Mike and Rachel (off to England to get married on July 18). Then we went off to the Internet; called Alanna; went back to the restaurant for some dinner 2 hours later and found the group minus those we had said goodbye to, still there. Ray and I were in bed by midnight.

Wednesday July 1 - Free Time in Beijing

Our first free day in Beijing. We had 2 goals today! First, to submit our application to the Mongolian embassy for a visa, and second to post our camping stuff back to Canada. Easy? Not so easy! We set off early for the Mongolian Embasy; walked towards the subway (about 25 minutes); had breakfast on the way; got the subway to the Embassy District; found our way to the Mongolian Embassy; handed in our application; all easy! The subway is fabulous! Clean, air/con, comfy, smooth, silent, high-teck! In particular we loved the ad videos on the tunnel walls that flashed images to your brain as you flew by in the train; and we loved the electronic map that lit up the subway stop you were arriving at - in addition to an audio route info and to a visual route info. At the Embassy, we received a "ticket" for the visa costs, Y990 for both, which we had to take to The Bank of China for pyament. So we decided to head back to our hotel, regroup, and find a bank. All easy! Not so! The first branch of the bank couldn't accept payment; the second branch couldn't accept payment; and we were directed to go to the Head Office, which we did, and they couldn't accept payment and directed us back to a branch in the Embassy District. So, by that time we were exhausted, disappointed, and frustrated with the embassy for not telling us that we had to go to one particular branch of the Bank of China to make payment. Now it was time to visit a post ofice to find out about mailing our stuff, so we took a bus back to the road the post office was on and walked and walked to the PO; got all the info and arrived back at the hotel about 5 pm; collapsed in a small restaurant opposite the hotel and downed a cold beer and lunch; made a quick visit to the Internet to read email. Then it was back to the hotel to meet 4 of our group (John, Emily, Mike and Rachel) at 6:30 pm to go and meet Leon and Nat who were stayin at hostel near Tianamen Sq. for drinks and dinner.

When we checked email, I had an email from Alanna which read: " Guess who decided to jump out of the woods while I was sitting on the deck reading? Philthy, starving (uber skinny), and talking like crazy....but in-the-flesh (not my head)real...and breathing (had to pick her up to make sure)...Amazing. Wonder where she has been all this time??!! "

Chloe!!! So, as you can imagine, we are over the moon!! The little rascal. I can't imagine what must have happened to her. Perhaps she was trapped somewhere, was frightened by our grass cutting crew and ran away and got lost and just found her way back. I guess as Ray says, we will never know. We are just so happy to have her back. The way I have reasoned it is that it is a "gift" for the stance I took re the poor kitten in the fish pool! You never know!!!

We had a great evening with everyone in the Leo Hostel. It was fun geting there too. The street in front of the hostel was completely dug up and the few parts of what was left of the pavement (side-walk) was about 3 feet above the level of the excavated road - we litterally walked over planks, narrow shelves, wooden boards, dirt, boulders, etc.in order to get there. As usual Ray and I left around 11 am and the others around 2 am. As we walked out to catch a cab the roads were deserted and moments after were closed behind us. Can you believe that in all of this we actually met Ant, Adam, Stormi and Olivia trying to make their way to the hostel.