First leg - arrival in Mongolia

Hello all,

WOW! This train journey has been absolutely brilliant : )

But I�m getting ahead of myself. To finish off Beijing, I spent my last day walking around one of the temples/gardens (boring) and wondering around the hutongs � small alleyways with traditional houses and Chinese way of life. The hutongs are being pulled down as they are not very sanitary. It was great fun to walk around them though.

In late afternoon, old ladies would sit outside their houses on tiny stools and chat, men play checkers, other women are washing clothes or tending their potted plants. Markets sprung up almost instantaneously selling snacks to eat or meat and veg. The only sad incident that marred the occasion was when I stepped over some sticky red stuff on the ground. Yes, it was blood. A lady mimed what happened and a rickshaw driver had a fight with someone else, involving a plastic pole � also now in pieces on the ground. Unfortunately, it seems to be quite common here.

That evening I went to see acrobatics with Ami, Tom and some Israeli girls that Amit had met. The show was fantastic. Very impressed. It is definitely not a dying art and am hoping to see more of the same in Mongolia.

Next morning, we set off for the train - the 2 Israeli girls (Or and Mia), myself and a French girl, Coco, (who turned out to be in my cabin! Quite a coincidence considering there are 10 cabins to a coach and 10 coaches)

Coco and I were on the top bunk and we had 2 nice but very loud snoring Chinese men on the bottom bunks. Travelling on a train rocks. Its very relaxing as there is simply nothing to do but chat, eat, sleep and watch the scenery go by. This is very easy to do when the scenery is stunning and this certainly was. In China we had the Great Wall and small villages, in Mongolia we had the deserts �(Gobi) sandy and then grassy plains, mountains, wild horses, sheep and eagles. All covered by a bright blue sky with fluffy clouds.

I spent most of my time watching the scenery or taking to Coco, 2 Israeli guys and an American. At 8pm we had to go through customs for China and Mongolia. A marathon event that took about 5 hours in total because they had to change the wheels on the train! I got locked into someone elses� carriage but managed to watch the even through the window at the end of the car.

The train passengers were a mixture of Mongolian/Chinese and Western. Camaraderie is high between everyone. In fact the atmosphere is very happy, relaxed and excited for what is to come.

At the boarder they also changed the restaurant car. The Mongolian one was a beauty decorated with wooden panels all over the walls.

We were met by touts at the station in Ulan Bator. Coco, Mia, Or and I all chose to stay at the same guesthouse and are currently putting together a camping trip, leaving in 2 days. It will take approx. 17 days and goes from Ulan Bator down to the Gobi Desert in the South and then back up to the lakes and mountains in the North. On the way we should encounter many of the nomadic tribes and hopefully stay in some gers (their large felt tents). Camel/horse riding, trekking and fishing are some other activities. I can�t wait to see a real oasis in the desert! Depending on if we get some more people to join us, we�ll go by jeep or by minivan. Minivan not so cool but much cheaper as can take more people for same daily price.

That�s it to say except that its been a long time since I�ve felt so enthralled about seeing a country. I�m having an amazing time!

The Mongol people seem quite friendly, waved to many from the train � most of them working on the train. They all have very flat faces/noses. The town is quite dilapidated. They have sand storms here. Whilst in the main square, a strong wind hit, caught and then blew over some inflatable bouncy castles � it was horrifying to watch as children were still inside. We could hear them screaming and crying, but none of them were actually hurt � just scared.

We could see a tower of sand, and watched it skirt the edge of the square. Someone said that we were just like people watching the tsunami � perhaps we should be hiding? It�s easy to think people were foolish just to stand and watch or take photos but it�s surprisingly easy to do! As it was the other Mongolians in the square didn�t seem that bothered, so it probably happens all the time. We told our guesthouse owner about it and he seemed unsurprised.

Our guesthouse is more like a flat than a hostel. Kinda cool. The owner spends most of his time there and sleeps in the kitchen � for security I think. Ulan Bator is a little dangerous although everywhere else in Mogolia is fine. They are a lot of poor people here and crime is common.

Take it easy,
Lots of love
Kathryn xx