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All aboard the Mongolian Express - 30 hours from Beijing to Ulan Baator.
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Changing the bogies at the Chinese/Mongolian border. The crossing took 5.5 hours. I was already over pot noodles by then.
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A mountainside greeting for incoming travellers - celebrating 800 years since a young scrappy warrior named Temujin united all the Mongol peoples. Further military victories ensured he won the famous title of 'Universal Ruler', or 'Chenghis Khaan'.
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Victory! Andrew and I made it through the mixed grill platter at the Great Mongolian Restaurant. It was SO good to eat something other than noodles. Phil, our other Sydney bloke, finished a mixed grill on his own.
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Greg surveying Ulan Baator. It's a long city, with nomadic ger tents still scattered throughout. It is the world's coldest capital city, getting down to -40 degrees in winter (obviously this day was balmy). Ulan Baator is also home to the craziest car parking I've ever seen.
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Me and my trusty steed Stewie. Mongolian nomads don't name their horses, so I gave mine the moniker of my favourite animated evil baby. Greg named his 'Brian'. Both horses liked to pass wind loudly and frequently.
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Traditional Mongolian wrestling, on display as part of a local show featuring archery, horse-riding, singing and dancing as well.
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Outside our ger tent. From the left: Phil, Greg, Tsetsgee (our fab Mongolian guide), Gunbat (our driver and local medicine man), Karen, me and Andrew.
You both have huge amounts of my envy; catching the Trans Siberian Railway from Beijing to St Petersburg is one of my dream holidays.
ReplyDeleteHey Amaya,
ReplyDeleteI would definitely recommend Vodkatrain; it's a fair layout of cash but the city guides and having accommodation set and visa support (particularly in Russia) is great for first-timers. And Beijing to St Pete's is definitely the way to go - we only had 5 people on our trip as opposed to 15 coming the other way! It made for a really close-knit fun group.
Thanks for reading my blog!!!