From Beijing to Ulaanbaatar on the Trans-Mongolian Railway

The Trans-Siberian/Mongolian/Manchurian Express has been a train journey talked about in my family since early childhood. It’s a real pinch-me hard moment when early Tuesday (Melbourne Cup) morning, we board the Trans- Mongolian at Beijing Main Railway station, first stop Ulaanbaatar.

This will be the first of three legs that will see us arrive in Moscow in 12 days. We have booked first-class sleepers for each leg and the on-line blogs and information available have been quite mixed. It’s definitely a plus when the first thing I notice is an accompanying private bathroom – nowhere was that mentioned, and we hadn’t expected one. I doubt we will find one on the following legs.

The hours pass easily. We have bought plenty of food with us and there is a dining car if we choose. I read books previously downloaded when I am not looking out at the passing scenery while Darryl alternates between the window and his iPad.

The scenery is fascinating. Leaving Beijing we slowly wind our way between and through stark rocky hills. We see icy waterways, grazing goats, fields of solar panels and even a donkey or two. The further north-west we travel the more farming compounds we see – walled compounds of small, brick, block-shaped houses, surrounded by scrubby fields of harvested corn, millet and maybe potatoes. Winter is nearly here so I expect the fields are waiting until next year’s sowing but don’t quote me on that.

Night-time brings a little excitement when the acrid smell of smoke permeates our carriage. Asked, the guard disconcertingly replies “fire” in his stilted English whilst pointing to the floor. The next few hours pass nervously and we never do find out where the fire was.

Midnight brings the Mongolian-China border. It’s marked by repeated knocking at our door – “passports, paperwork, lock toilet please”. And later – three more interruptions – ‘Mongolian paperwork, passports, lock toilet please”. It finishes around two am by which time we are ready to crash out, exhausted.

Mongolia greets us as we awaken at dawn. Behind our window-curtain, the view is of brown undulating grasslands and it stays this way until our arrival in UB eight hours later. Sometimes the window humours us with sightings of hairy cows, stocky horses, brick-block houses with coloured trim and wooden power poles set in concrete shoes. On a humourless note – the concrete and wire fence that follows our track for hours is full of wind-blown plastic.

Thirty-one hours after boarding we alight at Ulaanbaatar – Capital of Mongolia. Let the next adventure begin.

Fun facts- the majority of Mongolians are Buddhist. Ten years ago, English was introduced as Mongolia’s second language. The Mongolians have the most amazing cheekbones. Unlike China – Mongolia has a blue sky.

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