Beijing

Our five nights in Beijing were spent just wandering around the Hutongs, Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, bullet train (295 kph) to Tianjin for the day, the Great Wall of course, and just chilling out. It was very hot and humid but great to get a taste of China, and a taste of Peking Duck!  Delicious.

We're home now - hope you've enjoyed following our travels.

Trans-Mongolian Train - Ulaanbaatar to Beijing

Our train left from Ulaanbaatar at 7.15 am and arrived in Beijing at 2pm the following day.  We chose "first class" which gave us a cabin with bunk beds, a little table and a separate seat, as well as a wash basin room that we shared with an adjoining cabin.  There was a "kettle" at the end of each carriage which we used to make cups of tea and make instant noodles for our dinner. The scenery changed from rolling green steppes to the never-ending Gobi Desert which was great to see.  We awoke the next morning to the misty mountains of China with glimpses of the Great Wall, endless market gardens, mountains, streams, donkeys - all giving us a hint of the Chinese way of life, so different to Mongolia. The border crossing took about five hours - as China has a different gauge track they lift the whole train up and change the undercarriage with a whole new set of wheels!  This all happens at about 11pm.

The Dining Car on the train

The Gobi

The new under-carriage waiting to be attached to our train for the China section of the trip.

The "Kettle" - 24 hour boiling water (yes, a coal fire!)