Distance so far: 8493 km. Weather: dry and cold, guess -10 degrees C An early dinner today as the brilliant Mongolian restaurant carriage leaves us at 19.10 local time. I will miss everything about it other than possibly its temperature. We have just arrived on the Mongolian side of the Chinese border. The soldiers are saluting the train as it arrives on the platform, heralding several hours of paperwork, searches and inspections. I have filled in the paperwork for both sides already, so hopefully I’m ahead of the game. I have to tell you that the Mongolian border officers here […]

An epic day crossing the Gobi desert to the soundtrack of “Wish You Were Here” (Discovery edition). When we stopped at Choyr I dashed up front (it’s still a long way) to do my trainspotter bit. There was some funky young Mongolian guy doing the same – dressed in a blue flying suit, brown leather flying boots, a peaked Mao hat, some Oakley shades and carrying a silver topped stick (see the picture below). He smiled and then proceeded to climb up the ladder onto the engine – he was the driver! I have to say he looks very happy […]

I’ve made a point of getting up early for our arrival into Mongolia’s capital city. Its 06.30 Beijing time and still quite dark. I will describe the temperature as “quite cold”, somewhere in the -30s C. The place is buzzing with locals carrying huge numbers of parcels wrapped in brown paper, mixed with western tourists with serious looking rucksacks and insulated climbing boots. Actually not much to see on the platform, but I’m guessing that any sane Mongolian would conduct their retail activities indoors. I can see coloured disco lights coming from outside the station, and also a door signed […]