Wow!

Tuesday 12th October 2010

So much for the early night we had planned.The Mongolian border guards did not board the train until late and we all had to stay up until they had cleared us through immigration. The result being that we did not get to bed until 12.30 and had planned to get up at 5am in time to get sorted for a 6.28 arrival. In the event we were all dressed up with nowhere to go. The train was an hour later than we had expected it to be..

We were met at the station by the driver from the ger camp. He obligingly took us to a bank that he knew was open - at that time in the morning! - so we were able to change our roubles into togrogs. It was then an hour in the "car" over very bumpy roads - move over Pentland Road! When we got to our ger we were gobsmacked. It is even nicer than in the pictures on the internet. It was roasty toasty with the stove burning in the middle.

Breakfast was at 9.00. It consisted rather strangely of a pot of tea with one tea bag, a mountain of bread which was toasted on one side, slices of spicy sausages and slices of processed cheese plus butter and jam.

John was feeling really grotty with his man cold so the 3 of us set off to climb a hill behind the camp. The scenery is just spectacular. Huge rocks that are worn smooth, jagged crags and wide vistas. The only trees grow on the tops. There is just so much space and so much sky it's hard to take it all in.

Although we didn't get very far we decided we deserved a beer as a reward.

I thought I'd be smart and have a shower before lunch so that I could see what I was doing in daylight.Interesting. Like the good girl I am I went to the Ladies. I sussed out how to turn the water on then took a huge deep breath and took my clothes off. I did have the sense to get the water to the right temperature before stepping in. I waited and shivered and waited and shivered and waited and cried and gave up. I dried my tears and the part of me that was wet with cold water and headed out. One of the staff came in so another opportunity for charades presented itself. I must be getting good at it 'cos she informed me that men were hot and indicated I shower there! OK I can do this so started the whole process again. Obviously hot men in Mongolia get hot water. Shower was great apart from the occasional drenching of icy cold when someone somewhere ran the hot tap. Clean me.

Lunch started with a beautiful thin vegetable soup followed by a salad course. The main course was very lean tough spiced meat in a sauce with homemade chips. Very tasty even if the meat was a bit of a challenge.

We had booked a car with tour guide for the afternoon and were a tad surprised when twenty million (Gross exaggeration, about 8 or 9) young Mongolian staff piled in. It turned out that this was the end of their contract and they were having a fun trip out together. We bumped over the open country to Turtle Rock. Guess why it's called that? It really did look like a turtle.

Next stop was a Buddhist monastery perched high up on a hill. Not bad that we oldies managed the climb including negotiating a rope bridge. Our ascent was somewhat slower than our Mongolian companions. The temple was well worth the effort and was a typical Buddhist temple emblazoned with red and gold. Three sides of the temple were lined with colourful prayer wheels which of course we all had to spin.

After that we were taken to a nomad's ger. It was the same size as ours and immaculately kept. The husband was out with the animals but the wife made us tea with goats milk. With my cold I didn't think it tasted of tea but was delicious. Through the interpreter she answered our many questions. We then bumped our way back.

Donnie and Cath had successful showers if you ignore the sudden deluge of cold water.

We've now had an excellent supper and staggered SOBER in the dark up the slope to our cosy ger. 8.25 and I've finished this blog. What now? Sleep.

Monday 11 October 2010

To say I woke this morning would be a misnomer as I hardly slept so I'll just say when we got up early this morning it was picture postcard everywhere. We were skirting Lake Baikal (the world's largest freshwater lake) in the most beautiful sunrise. It was an incredible sight with the snow on the hills in the distance

The scenery as far as Ulan Ude which we reached in the early afternoon was wooded and quite spectacular. It then became quite treeless and very spectacular.

The restaurant car was being detached at the Russian border which we were due to reach about 6pm so we went for our main meal about 4pm. Our lovely waiter who has remained sober since that first night predicted our order of 4 beers and 4 borschts.

The second course tends to vary. At a stop earlier in the day we had bought provisions for a supper time snack.

We reached the border just after 6pm and eventually left at 9.43.

The Russian officials were, shall we say, business like and thorough. Our passports were taken away and we had been advised not to leave the train until they were returned so we took turns to get fresh air on the platform. After a couple of hours a sniffer dog was brought on and went through the carriage. It was followed by officials wanting to see in the lockers on the shelf above the door etc. Then just when we thought it was safe to behave normally two guards came along the carriage and unscrewed the few tip up seats in the corridor and shone a torch behind. What they thought they might find provided an entertaining guessing game. Tom, the young lad in the next compartment thought they were searching for their Quality Street. Tom and Evanna had brought chocolates as presents for the provodnitsa but because she was so grumpy they didn't give them to her. They shared them with us instead - definitely a much better idea!

When the guards had not found any illegal immigrants smuggled behind the tip up seats they then went up on the roof to see if that's where we had hidden them. Bizarre.

We're planning an early night as we have to be up about 5.30 in the morning. Tomorrow night will be another adventure - sleeping in a ger.

Sunday 10th October 2010

Woke up to a dreich morning having gone through another time change.Scenery was much the same as yesterday until late morning when it became far more varied with hills and valleys.

We spent a chunk of the day musing about our provodnitsa (female carriage attendant). Ours is really dour and we immediately christened her Mrs Grumpy. It's a real pity because she's actually quite bonny when she smiles.

Having said that she was the epitomy of joy compared to some we saw on an adjacent train. She spends little time attending to the physical state of our carriage and more time cavorting with the male attendant in the next carriage. She does however do a good line in cheap vodka!.

We had another time zone change at 5pm so are all feeling dazed and confused.com.

Another day. Another time zone

Saturday 9th October 2010

Although this is dated Saturday you will probably have gathered from my strange use of tenses that I'm actually writing the blogs the following morning.

We woke to another beautiful day. We had crossed into Siberia some time during the night. The scenery is now more open and very flat but still with plenty of trees. The land is very boggy in places. All the settlements seem to be alongside the railway line. I would imagine that if you started to walk at right angles from the track you could go for hundreds of miles before you encountered any sign of habitation. As it is, the train goes for miles and miles of emptiness.

The vilages we pass look very poor and isolated although there are plenty of satellite dishes. Many of the houses are little more than the shacks we might see on the Barvas moor.They are constructed of wood with corrigated metal roofs. There are a few 2 storey ones of concrete block on the ground floor and timber on the first floor.

During the day we had 3 stops when we could get out and foray. It seems that the bigger stations have kiosks and the smaller ones have platform vendors.We assume that the selling of spirits on the platform is illegal. Donnie asked for vodka and she said "no" and looked around then produced a half litre bottle and immediately wrapped it in a bag to hide it! We investigated the other vendors then returned to ask for another one. She indicated for us to wait and she ducked under a train on the next track and disappeared. She returned with another bottle equally discreetly wrapped!

We had decided to have lunch and dinner in the restaurant car (despite our drunken waiter the previous night) so were not in the market for food.

Last night we had agreed to move to local time. Were we to stick on Moscow time which the train runs on it would mean that we arrived at Ulaanbataar at 1.30 in the morning and had a full day ahead of us with no sleep. It really is most confusing. John is wearing 2 watches - 1 on Moscow time and 1 on local time. Donnie is wearing 2 watches - 1 on Moscow time and 1 on U.K. time. Cath is wearing 1 watch on Moscow time and I am wearing 1 on local time. When anyone asks what time it is there is chaos! The only real question is "Is it either drinking time or eating time?"

We thought the time might go slowly and we might be bored. Not a bit of it, the day passed very quickly.

Lunch was another omellete and dinner was borscht followed by salad. We had all enjoyed the borscht so much last night but when it arrived it was watery and not nice so we sent it back. Our waiter (sober) was most apologetic and said it would be 15 mins. When it arrived it was every bit as delicious as the previous night. The salad was lovely too. The tiny kitchen and one cook can only prepare one thing at a time so, despite the poor patronage, mealtimes are lengthy. We wonder if people are keeping all different times so are not there when we go.

John's cold is still with him but I now have a sore throat which I think heralds the onset of a cold. I haven't had a cold for well over a year so....

It clouded over in the afternoon and started to rain in the early evening. How different the landscape looks in the dreich bleakness.
We knew we would pass through another time zone in the night. It is so lovely to go to bed and be warm and comfy, lulled by the rocking movement of the train and hearing the mournful sound of the engine's siren. Another day awaits.

On the train

Friday 8th October 2010

My nocturnal adventure last night - I was still awake at 2.15am so got up to go to the loo. The toilet is through a door at the end of the compartment which also takes you to a door leading through to the next coach. Just as I opened the door a guy came in. He had obviously been smoking between the cars and I just hadn't seen him. To say I got a fright would be somewhat of an understatement! I think he got almost as big a fright as I did.

After that excitement I did eventually get to sleep.I should say that my wakefulness was not in any way due to lack of comfort. The train jolts a lot but it is mostly a lovely rocking sensation.The washing facilities are more than a tad basic but we came equipped with plenty of wipes. We studiously avoid mentioning toilets to Donnie so presumably he's coping!

We went along to the restaurant car for breakfast and were greeted by a lovely Russian who went through the whole menu telling us what was what.As we had only gone for breakfast we jumped at the mention of omelette so ordered 4 plus o.j. and coffees and a green tea for me.The omelettes arrived still bubbling and absolutely perfect. Great breakfast at only £5.50 each.


We spent the morning watching the world go by. Lots of trees with fabulous autumn colours and a clear blue sky.

We played the Yes/No game that M and Q gave us. It's a version of the old Take Your Pick game show where the contestants are asked a whole load of questions but are not allowed to say Yes or No. If they do then a bell rang and they were out. To start with we were all very good then it became a bit riotous and we kept ringing the bell. Good fun. Thanks M.

At lunchtime we stopped for 15 mins at a station. There were lots of vendors. Cath kept an anxious watch from the train while the guys went to see what they could buy for lunch and I took the camcorder to record the proceedings. We came back with 2 portions of chicken and potatoes, one fish and potatoes, 3 "pies" which tasted a bit like heavy donuts with something inside.

Not unpleasant. John bought a large smoked fish. Big mistake!!! Very smelly and equally boney. He was immediately banished from the compartment and binned it as inedible. We had plenty to share so it was not a problem.

John was feeling dopey from his cold and Cath was sleepy 'cos she's Cath so they slept in the pm while Donnie and I played Patience. It's amazing how Xmas cracker novelties come in useful. They were probably made in China anyway.

We had our apero in the compartment then headed along to the restaurant car for dinner. Our lovely waiter was decidedly drunk and most amusing. We were not sure what of the food we ordered we would end up getting. After several trips to check what we had asked for it arrived. 4 borscht to start. It was delicious. We had borscht twice in Krakow and each time was different. This was different again.

John had fish salad next and thoroughly enjoyed it. We played safe with chicken, veg and fried potatoes. They forgot to cook the potatoes first but it was still good. We ended the day with a smidgeon of vodka. What a lovely day it had been.

In the course of the night we will cross the Urals from Europe in to Asia. Siberia here we come.

Uh Oh!

Thursday 7 October 2010

Uh Oh! John woke with a stonker of a cold. He had had a sore throat most of the previous day. Not to worry - medicine monitor was prepared with a stack of paracetemol. We had planned a late breakfast after another brilliant shower. Breakfast was kind of a rerun on dinner. There was a huge choice of cereals, cold buffet, salads, meat dishes etc etc. I never thought the day would come when I would have liver stroganoff and mashed potato for breakfast. Lovely.

It took me ages to post the previous blogs after breakfast. I could connect to wifi in the lobby but it was obviously a Russian connection so everything on my screen came up in cyrillic (John is here to spell it!). I know I have many talents but the combination of my technophobia and Russian illiteracy defeated me for a while! The long and short of it is that we didn't leave the hotel until 11.45 by the time we had deposited luggage etc.

We had a walk round the park that bordered what was the Olympic village. It was really beautiful and interesting to think that it was all built 20 years ago.

We got the metro back into the centre so that we could check out the railway station ready for our departure in the evening. We had arrived at a different station. We had to be sure we planned the easiest route with the minimum of steps to negotiate with steamer trunks. We also wanted to find a supermarket nearby where we could buy supplies for the train.

John then took us to the Arbat district which is a bit of a Moscow Rive Gauche.

We wandered around and as I needed a place to put my eye drops in and John was due another load of paracetamol we had to go for a beer! This was where we made our first mistake. We went into what seemed like a bar with a sunporch enclosed in glass. Cath and I asked for a toilet and were escorted downstairs to what appeared like an Ann Summers bordello without the bawds! I did try to video it but it was too dark. The red lights in the toilets were so dim that Cath didn't realise there was actually a seat on the toilet. We laughed. By that time the tone of the day was set. John got a bit confused and said something about Bob Wailey and the Marlers. That was Cath off - I'm surprised we weren't asked to leave! On reflection we know why we weren't and also why we were the only people there - downstairs was a sleezy club and the beers were over £5 each as opposed to about £2!

We enjoyed our wander before returning to Ismailovsky where the hotel was.

We had an enjoyable supper before collecting our bags and heading to the station. We all agreed we would like to go back to Moscow. We would stay at the same hotel but allow time to enjoy the pool, sauna etc. The fact that the weather was so wonderful may have been an influencing factor. We were so lucky.

We were at the station a couple of hours before the train was due to leave so Cath and I set off for supplies. Money monitor told us the kitty had 2000 roubles which is about £40 so we knew we had plenty cash. I won't divulge exactly what we bought but most of you reading this will know us well enough to guess correctly! As we collected things I worked out that it would be just under 1000 roubles. It was 960 so no worries - or so we thought. As money monitor's next of kin Cath had the kitty and counted out the money. Oops! We didn't have enough. Red faces. Panic. What would we put back or would one stay while the other went for re-enforcements? While we were agonising the check out girl called her supervisor who gave her a swipe card and miraculously the amount due equalled what we had. Sorted!

Surprisingly there was no domestic. Money monitor realised where he had gone wrong and kept his job.

When the train arrived we were sooooooo excited. It was just like the Orient Express. The carriges really art deco with the mirrors on either side so that you can see to infinity. Just perfect. We were like kids in a sweety shop. So it was toasting goodbye to Moscow with vodka. Total happiness.

Moscow

6 October 2010

Woke up to a beautiful beautiful day. The ground was white with frost, the sky was clear blue and travelling through the birch forest was just stunning. Cereal bars again and drinking yoghurt for breakfast. We pulled into Moscow station about 10.00 local time. Moscow is 3 hours ahead of uk time.

Once again John did a sterling job of getting us to the hotel using the Moscow metro - steamer trunks not withstanding. The hotel was an excellent choice and a far higher standard than we had expected. We were lucky that they had one room ready for us so we all had showers before setting off. That was only after one day without a shower so goodness knows what we will feel like after 5 days! The shower was fantastic - masses of hot water and really strong jets. Yes!

While John and I were showering Donnie and Cath had found a beer tent. That didn't take them long! When we were ready we returned there for another beer and some lunch.

John had printed out a copy of the metro plan before we left so finding our way around was not too difficult. Having said that all the signs were in syrrilic (John is not here to tell me how to spell that!) so it was a case of matching the pictures!

We managed to find Red Square, even if we did go round 3 sides of a rectangle to get there. No steamer trunks so it didn't matter. St Basil's cathedral took our breath away. It was just beautiful. Lots of domes painted gold, red. blue and other colours. It was stunning.

We didn't feel the need to go in. Perhaps that would have spoilt the memory of it from the outside.

What struck us all was how clean everywhere was. We even saw a couple of people sweeping up and collecting the leaves from the grassy areas. Even the public toilets were clean. We just wandered around and watched "stuff happening" outside the Kremlin. One guy goose stepped up to the sentry and spent what seemed to be ages adjusting the sentry's attire. Mmm!

We stopped at a supermarket that was actually more of a deli and tried to buy some flavoured vodka. The guide book had written about black cherry and other flavours and highly recommended that we try them. The shop assistant had a good laugh anyway. All the bottles were behind the counter so we had to "ask" for them There were baskets of fruit nearby so all our charades expertise came to the fore and we eventually purchased something. Ok. No more on that subject!

We decided to have the buffet in the hotel. Huge selection , a lot of which was recognisable! We then of course had to finish off the vodka. I should explain that it was only a half litre bottle!

A lovely end to a lovely day. Let's see what tomorrow brings. I'll write blogs on the train but won't be able to post them until we get to Ulaambaatar. Big smiles from us all. (Time is of the essence so I'm not reading this over to correct spelling, typos etc)