You leave from Moscow Central at a quarter-to-four; it takes almost a week 'til you're in
Ulan-Bator.
Emilia Marty takes a shine to the Trans-Mongolian Express.
Well, it turns out we've got tickets for a train that doesn't exist – there's no such train as the Trans-Siberian Express, although there's a Trans-Siberian rail track... and we've been on it for six days now. One thing I'm kicking myself for is not following the advice to bring instant coffee... how can there not be any there, I thought? Welcome to the country where it has double creamer and triple sugar already in the sachet, whether you want it or not. But unlike at home where you get ripped a wedge for even a coffee on the train, here the railways provide non-stop boiling water for free.
I dunno why, but one of the worries we had about the trip was about the washing facilities on the train – seven days on a train, with nowhere to wash your hair, or have a shower? We needn't have worried. All the trains as far as the Russian border have a shower cubicle on board you can rent (for around £1.50 per session), with hot water and towels included – it's in the wagon next door to the restaurant car, near the middle of the train (why don't any of the guidebooks mention this?). Each train wagon has a toilet (with handbasin) that's kept usably clean by the train staff during the train journey. There's no shower on the Mongolian trains, but the distance from the border to Ulaanbaatar is only an overnight run. The bedlinen is super-fresh and given to you in a laundry-sealed plastic bag, although the hand-towel included is pretty small and you might want one of your own?
But on a blazing hot summer's day cross the Gobi Desert, it's the cold beer that's selling best in the Dining Car, which is also the unofficial grocery-store for our rolling hotel. When I say we've been on the train for six days, that's not non-stop... you'd be crazy to miss the chance of a stop at Lake Baikal, and after four nights on board the clear air there is so delicious you practically drink it. And when you've walked your legs off around the Lake, the rail-line offers you a convenient 24-hour rest-up before hitting Mongolia's weird-and-wonderful capital, Ulaanbaatar. Been there, done that, bought the Genghis Khan t-shirt, but now to where your mobile phone will draw an utter blank – the Eastern Gobi. Any preconceived ideas about it being a barren empty place quickly evaporate... with remote Buddhist monasteries, dinosaur remains, sand-dunes, nomads and camels, and even a holy mountain to climb, we were pleased to collapse into our beds at the ger-camp (a ger is a Mongolian nomadic felt tent) after supper! The food at the camp was delicious and they thought-up inventive vegetarian choices for me too. Of course the climate in the Gobi is much tougher than at the Elstei ger-camp, but the facilities can meet the challenge... except maybe the shower? It's more like a tepid dribble than a shower, but then I guess I shouldn't be a cranky foreigner… this is the Gobi Desert, after all! If you want to include East Gobi on your Trans-Sib trip, it means taking a local-quality train for the section between Ulaanbaatar and Sainshand, but it's only half a day, and it's not nearly so bad as The Russia Experience people prepared us for. Sheez, we're not spoilt weaklings, guys!
The most chilling experience of East Gobi was the Meditation Caves – where the monks of the Buddhist Monastery undertook an amazing feat of self-will, and allowed themselves to be walled-in for two lunar months, in a tiny cranny not big enough to stand-up in. During the first month their followers were allowed to bring them food – during the second, not. Those who reached enlightenment became lamas – but those who failed were buried alive in their cave. It all makes the onward train to Beijing seem spacious and luxurious by comparison! The Chinese Border's a real experience – they have to refit the entire train with new wheels that fit the Chinese rails! It takes around 3 hours, but if you hurry you can get a seat in the station café while you wait– and get your first Chinese meal of the journey.
Nothing, but nothing, can prepare you for Beijing – we loved every moment of it, but it's not for the fragile! Be ready to shed your shyness or get pushed aside in the frenetic pace and vast crowds. Forget the exotic elegance of Asia (for that you need to head to Xi'an) – Beijing makes New York look like a quiet village by comparison. And just when you think you have the measure of the place, it changes before your eyes – where there was a pedestrian street this afternoon, suddenly there's a bustling night-market selling every kind of luscious fast-food treat imaginable... Beijing's a waistline disaster-zone waiting to happen!
OUR TRIP RATING:
Best Cultural Experience: the museums in St Petersburg
Best Artistic Event: seeing the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow
Most fantastic scenery: Lake Baikal at Listvyanka, on a lakeside trek
Most moving experience: the morning prayer ceremony at the Gandan Monastery in Ulaanbaatar
Best night out: nightclub in Ekaterinburg before getting the train at 4am
Biggest mistake: not taking our own instant coffee on the train
