Eleven days traveling and Mark still seems to be ok with me! I think that's a good way to start a blog post... and a day. :-)
The train from Irkutsk left at 8:08 am, precisely. These Russians could rival the Swiss with time keeping.
Our train (#4) was much different from the one that carried us from Moscow. Today's First Class compartment featured bunk beds along one side, a table in the middle, another seat the other side of the table (another window view), a coat closet and... wait for it... a shower! Sure, sure, the shower is shared with our neighboring compartment (think of it like a Jack and Jill bathroom) but I'm not sure we have a neighbor yet. And while I don't plan on needing a shower, I'm quite amused at the idea of taking one just to say that I did. LOL
This train is more Chinese looking than Russian. Its green and gold on the outside, there is a Chinese looking chap as a gate-keeper to our carriage (#9) and his job apparently includes stoking the coal fire that heats the water too (and my good reason for not having a shower). Seriously, every carriage has a coal fire burning non-stop.
All signage is in Chinese and Russian, the general state of things is much less clean than our Russian train was and we are missing those fluffy white pillows and comforters that I so appreciated. On the bright side, we have our very own power outlet and the English speaking comrades in our carriage have been super generous with letting us borrow their adapters to charge our gadgets.
Oh yeah... ALL of our gadgets are charging just fine and the problem appears to have been the dodgy Russian adapters we purchased in Moscow and Irkutsk! Now, why they affected our electronics one at a time, on and off etc is a mystery, but even my computer is working now that it has had 2 hours connected to regular power again! After 3 days completely dead, I'm going to have to start calling this one, Jesus. Sweeeeet Jesus!
Our first real view of the day was Lake Baikal. The tracks circumvented half of the lake over the course of a few hours, rounding the southern tip before heading east toward Ulan Ude. Even though the windows of this train are decidedly grimey and each picture is cloudy as a result, I will treasure each one as it reminds me of this amazing journey. (My Samsung phone keeps reminding me that my pictures will be better if I clean the lens. LOL)
Mark and I broke into our food bag @ 10:30 am. Breakfast had been light but more than that, we just knew we had the most superb picnic planned. Caviar, salami and Ritz-like crackers. Dried apricots, Lake Baikal water, instant coffee and UHT milk (which was scarily far from white). We were feeling proud of our Irkutsk marketplace shopping skills and posh menu.
I was able to fully relax on the train. Was it the relief that we were once more fully charged, enroute to Mongolia, settled into a compartment that is, in all honesty, smaller than my closet at home or just the clickety-clack of the wheels on rails and changing scenery? I suspect all of the above - with exception of the clickety-clacketyness, since this train was actually grinding, squeaking, squealing, rattling and howling all the way to Mongolia! Hahaha! (But not joking.)
By 12 pm we were still winding around the lake. Mountains and rivers, lake views abound. There had been no stops yet, which is a pity. Those windows were just begging me to clean a spot, although I'm not sure, once out on the platform, I'm able to reach that high anyway.
Mark started his second book - my book. Having read not more than 2 pages in the last 10 days of travel, he will surely get more value out of it than I will/have.
We stopped in Ulan Ude in the afternoon and had 40 mins or so to stretch legs, snap up a meaty pastry snack and buy another USB charger. This time I made the seller plug it in and demonstrate it works before I forked over the $2.50!
The afternoon sun was delightful. Yes, we had left the overcast back in Irkutsk, where we found it 3 days earlier. Our super nice and softly spoken carriage man opened a window in the hallway for us with his magical key that appears to open all manner of compartments on board. The narrow carriage hallway was a place of congregation, conversation, kindness and a shared love of the view.
I took a few minutes to stick my arm out the window of the moving train and wipe a patch of the window on the outside using my Clorox wipes and then "rinse" it with my very handy feminine-friendly cleansing wipes. :-) The window would eventually be closed and locked again but this should convince my phone that I've cleaned the lens. The afternoon sun was fading and with it, the temperature began to drop.
We heard a rumor that the dining carriage was pretty wonderful on this train, so the early evening excursion was of course dessert out with my love. We had 'til about 8 pm, at which time, the dining car closes on approach to the border and it is removed before the train rolls onto Mongolian soil. Not sure why. All I know is that pancakes with condensed milk seemed like a wonderful idea.
The border crossing. Super interesting, super slow.
At around 8 pm we rolled to a stop on the Russian side. There was time to mix and mingle with 8 stray dogs on the platform. The smoke from our coal fires caught the light in a magical way and despite the detrimental affect on my breathing and the dropping temperature, I enjoyed "puppies on the platform" time.
Then we loaded up and waited for Russian officials to come and check us out of their country. In the next 90 minutes or so, our passports and papers were scanned and stamped (I asked the official if I could take his picture, but he smiled and firmly told me that was a giant NO go), a military branch of the border patrol boarded and inspected all the spaces (attic, trash compartments, bathrooms, hidden luggage storage spaces etc) and a very happy yellow lab went carriage to carriage too. Outside, people with flashlights were inspecting the underside of the train. Our guess was they were looking for illegal exports/prohibited items that could be stashed... Taxes related? Immigration related? It's anyone's guess.
The train traveled through no-mans-land for about 15 minutes. Outside the window in the darkness we saw military troops, tall barbed wire fences and blinding spotlights.
Then it was time to enter Mongolia. Three different officials came a knocking on the compartment door, asking to see customs forms, entry forms, passports. Prohibited items in Mongolia include but are not limited to restricted flora and fauna, donated blood and organs, weapons, explosives and bullets, lots of cash, more than a litre of vodka, animal and animal originated raw materials, experimental samples and probes, embryos, artifacts and cultural items and very poisonous chemicals. One lady checked my bag for a "medical box" and did a good job of searching it thoroughly. She didn't open Marks bag at all. Reminded me a bit of TSA random searches.
At one point a uniformed officer took all the passports, secured them in a briefcase and left the train. Another dog entered and sniffed around. Also a very happy yellow lab.
Around that time we heard and felt the dining car being removed. Apparently the train is a "click-together" model. Once that middle carriage is removed, they rejoin the remaining carriages by driving them into each other repeatedly, loudly, violently - until it clicks back together. Or at least that is what it felt like. OMG what an unnerving experience!
All this was followed by a fireworks display - sounding of course like gun fire in the beginning. Dear God!!!
The passports eventually came back, stamped. I was mostly asleep by then though and Mark handled all that as I took a mild interest from my top bunk.
The train from Irkutsk left at 8:08 am, precisely. These Russians could rival the Swiss with time keeping.
Our train (#4) was much different from the one that carried us from Moscow. Today's First Class compartment featured bunk beds along one side, a table in the middle, another seat the other side of the table (another window view), a coat closet and... wait for it... a shower! Sure, sure, the shower is shared with our neighboring compartment (think of it like a Jack and Jill bathroom) but I'm not sure we have a neighbor yet. And while I don't plan on needing a shower, I'm quite amused at the idea of taking one just to say that I did. LOL
All signage is in Chinese and Russian, the general state of things is much less clean than our Russian train was and we are missing those fluffy white pillows and comforters that I so appreciated. On the bright side, we have our very own power outlet and the English speaking comrades in our carriage have been super generous with letting us borrow their adapters to charge our gadgets.
Oh yeah... ALL of our gadgets are charging just fine and the problem appears to have been the dodgy Russian adapters we purchased in Moscow and Irkutsk! Now, why they affected our electronics one at a time, on and off etc is a mystery, but even my computer is working now that it has had 2 hours connected to regular power again! After 3 days completely dead, I'm going to have to start calling this one, Jesus. Sweeeeet Jesus!
Our first real view of the day was Lake Baikal. The tracks circumvented half of the lake over the course of a few hours, rounding the southern tip before heading east toward Ulan Ude. Even though the windows of this train are decidedly grimey and each picture is cloudy as a result, I will treasure each one as it reminds me of this amazing journey. (My Samsung phone keeps reminding me that my pictures will be better if I clean the lens. LOL)
Mark and I broke into our food bag @ 10:30 am. Breakfast had been light but more than that, we just knew we had the most superb picnic planned. Caviar, salami and Ritz-like crackers. Dried apricots, Lake Baikal water, instant coffee and UHT milk (which was scarily far from white). We were feeling proud of our Irkutsk marketplace shopping skills and posh menu.
Your eyes do not deceive you, that is a Spork and a Swiss Army Knife. We never travel without them.
I was able to fully relax on the train. Was it the relief that we were once more fully charged, enroute to Mongolia, settled into a compartment that is, in all honesty, smaller than my closet at home or just the clickety-clack of the wheels on rails and changing scenery? I suspect all of the above - with exception of the clickety-clacketyness, since this train was actually grinding, squeaking, squealing, rattling and howling all the way to Mongolia! Hahaha! (But not joking.)
By 12 pm we were still winding around the lake. Mountains and rivers, lake views abound. There had been no stops yet, which is a pity. Those windows were just begging me to clean a spot, although I'm not sure, once out on the platform, I'm able to reach that high anyway.
Mark started his second book - my book. Having read not more than 2 pages in the last 10 days of travel, he will surely get more value out of it than I will/have.
We stopped in Ulan Ude in the afternoon and had 40 mins or so to stretch legs, snap up a meaty pastry snack and buy another USB charger. This time I made the seller plug it in and demonstrate it works before I forked over the $2.50!
The afternoon sun was delightful. Yes, we had left the overcast back in Irkutsk, where we found it 3 days earlier. Our super nice and softly spoken carriage man opened a window in the hallway for us with his magical key that appears to open all manner of compartments on board. The narrow carriage hallway was a place of congregation, conversation, kindness and a shared love of the view.
I took a few minutes to stick my arm out the window of the moving train and wipe a patch of the window on the outside using my Clorox wipes and then "rinse" it with my very handy feminine-friendly cleansing wipes. :-) The window would eventually be closed and locked again but this should convince my phone that I've cleaned the lens. The afternoon sun was fading and with it, the temperature began to drop.
We heard a rumor that the dining carriage was pretty wonderful on this train, so the early evening excursion was of course dessert out with my love. We had 'til about 8 pm, at which time, the dining car closes on approach to the border and it is removed before the train rolls onto Mongolian soil. Not sure why. All I know is that pancakes with condensed milk seemed like a wonderful idea.
The border crossing. Super interesting, super slow.
At around 8 pm we rolled to a stop on the Russian side. There was time to mix and mingle with 8 stray dogs on the platform. The smoke from our coal fires caught the light in a magical way and despite the detrimental affect on my breathing and the dropping temperature, I enjoyed "puppies on the platform" time.
Then we loaded up and waited for Russian officials to come and check us out of their country. In the next 90 minutes or so, our passports and papers were scanned and stamped (I asked the official if I could take his picture, but he smiled and firmly told me that was a giant NO go), a military branch of the border patrol boarded and inspected all the spaces (attic, trash compartments, bathrooms, hidden luggage storage spaces etc) and a very happy yellow lab went carriage to carriage too. Outside, people with flashlights were inspecting the underside of the train. Our guess was they were looking for illegal exports/prohibited items that could be stashed... Taxes related? Immigration related? It's anyone's guess.
The train traveled through no-mans-land for about 15 minutes. Outside the window in the darkness we saw military troops, tall barbed wire fences and blinding spotlights.
Then it was time to enter Mongolia. Three different officials came a knocking on the compartment door, asking to see customs forms, entry forms, passports. Prohibited items in Mongolia include but are not limited to restricted flora and fauna, donated blood and organs, weapons, explosives and bullets, lots of cash, more than a litre of vodka, animal and animal originated raw materials, experimental samples and probes, embryos, artifacts and cultural items and very poisonous chemicals. One lady checked my bag for a "medical box" and did a good job of searching it thoroughly. She didn't open Marks bag at all. Reminded me a bit of TSA random searches.
At one point a uniformed officer took all the passports, secured them in a briefcase and left the train. Another dog entered and sniffed around. Also a very happy yellow lab.
Around that time we heard and felt the dining car being removed. Apparently the train is a "click-together" model. Once that middle carriage is removed, they rejoin the remaining carriages by driving them into each other repeatedly, loudly, violently - until it clicks back together. Or at least that is what it felt like. OMG what an unnerving experience!
All this was followed by a fireworks display - sounding of course like gun fire in the beginning. Dear God!!!
The passports eventually came back, stamped. I was mostly asleep by then though and Mark handled all that as I took a mild interest from my top bunk.
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