The Reno of Asia

Gerbils - check
Sand - check
"Recreation" of Invading Mongol Horde - check

Alrighty, so, these post are things that I was writing out long hand during our trip to Mongolia. Enjoy!

So, speeding back from Mongolia on the train and I wish I was still there, but the train is pretty cool so I'm happy about that. It is strangely liberating to not be afraid of the toilet facilities and therefore able to eat and drink however much I want. The time in Mongolia went way too fast and I didn't get to see nearly enough of the country! We were both really tempted to play hooky from school and continue on over to Moscow. But, alas, we are still responsible (more or less).

So, I have a lot to tell, so I'll get to it!

First the beginning...

The train ride up. We got stuck in Beijing traffic the last 200m or so to the train station, but were told we couldn't get out in the intersection. The time we needed to catch the train was whittling down, so finally, seeing that we really needed to go, the cab driver gave a little nod and we bolted from the cab into the jammed intersection. Poor civil planning! All of the traffic going to the train station has to make a U-turn into oncoming traffic. Being that there is not a dedicated turn light, this is nearly impossible. Ah, yet another Chinese feat in half-baked planning!

Anyhow, we were expecting the mad rush and frantic "queuing" like other train experiences, so we booked it to the station waiting area. To our surprise, it was very easy. Shockingly easy. Uncharacteristically Chinese easy! We were right away directed to the first class waiting lounge and international train transit lounge and then only a quick ticket check (no line, no shoving) and we were on the platform! Not only were we on the platform, but we could board the train immediately - no waiting! I do think that the mad rush to the gate is merely to entertain some sort of sadistic party paper stamper in the back office. Anyhow...(stay on track, Molly).

So, on the train we go!

We stowed all our stuff (once we figured out the storage places) and were really pleased with the cabin arrangements - only 4 beds per cabin on a hard class sleeper ticket! Thank you Russia! I never thought that I would have so much praise and adoration for Russian engineering and products, but Хорошо сделанный! The cabin was nice! LOTS of room and a heavy, lockable door. We settled into our bunks and I was suddenly overcome with how quiet it was. So, so, so quiet. No bad pop/shrill flute music or electric piano versions of Celine Dion and Whitney Houston. There was some soft (emphasis on "soft") music in the corridor, but not in the individual cabins. Ahhhh, I found a little slick of heaven on a Russian train.

We had the cabin to ourselves for a few hours. Matt checked out the facilities, came back and informed me of a real-to-life toilet in the WC. Having that mobile toilet was liberating! We could now eat and drink as much as we wanted! When I visited the toilet, I was so happy. I think a "happy Russian toilet" song might have escaped my lips. It even smelled clean! And then, push a lever and, flush! Onto the tracks! Bye waste! With the bathroom facilities checked out, I felt confident to eat, so I did. We both got some food from the dining car - not great, but tasted better and better as we sped farther and farther away from China.

Eventually, a couple of Mongolians joined us in our cabin. They were great cabin mates! Sure they played with their phone, but did so quietly. Eventually we went to sleep. It was nice. Each bunk had its own light so we could determine our own bedtime. It was quiet. There was no one trying every single ring tone on their phone, no one yelling/singing loudly, no one sitting on you, no one using said cell phone as a flashlight to see who you are... Ahhh... solace! I was able to sleep. Sleep well.

We reached Erlian (boarder in China) where the wheels of the train had to be changed because the tracks were of a different gauge. So we got off and went to the little duty free shop - it was madness! People were grabbing and buying up cases of fruit and just throwing elbows left and right. We had about a 2 hour lay over before heading on.

Immigration and customs was really easy (especially as the official came to us - i.e.: no lines). The Chinese officer looked at Matt's passport picture and called him "fat". We all got a good laugh at that! I was a little scared to fork over my passport, but just got the nod, and I was good with that. The official on the Mongolian side gave us each a quick once over and stamped our passports. Hooray! Land of Kahn, ho!

We all went to sleep. I think I must have slept until 9 or 10 AM. No shrill flute music to wake me at 6/7 AM. Thus no swears. This overall was a pretty swear free vacation for me - with an exception for the multiple mental and a couple of vocal "hot-damns". Around brunch our cabin mates started eating the Mongolian man was very friendly and funny. He sliced off some excellent Mongolian sausage for me to try. YUM! He told me that it was Mongol with a big happy face and thumbs up. Oh, sooo tasty! Then he sliced off a little Chinese sausage and made sure to make the distinction with a big frown - he was right, not too good.

So, we coasted on into to Ulaan Baatar - the UB, the capital city of Mongolia. Matt and I realized that we didn't have any Mongolian money for a cab, so we were happy to find a guest house representative who offered us a free shuttle to his guesthouse
which was close to a money changer and ATM. On the shuttle we met some other travelers who told us about a couple of SE Asian countries we were looking to visit this winter.

The UB Guesthouse. Owned and operated by a South Korean man and his Mongolian wife. We decided to just dorm bed it for the night (well, that was decided for us as there were no private rooms available - so dorm bunks it was!) The guesthouse was crowded but cozy. We all got our stuff settled and went to go get some togrog (Mongolian currency). After, we decided to check out a monastery, the Gandantegchinlen (Gandan) Khiid (roughly means, 'the great place of complete joy') which is Mongolia's largest monastery. We were joined by 2 guys, Robert, American student studying Chinese in Beijing and John, Australian who had been traveling for the past 7 months. We got out to the temple to find out that it was closing (of course, we find out after they take our admission). So, we saw one chapel.

We decided to head back to the guesthouse and try to find a place to eat. While walking to the restaurant, many homeless boys approached us for money or food. One even latched onto my arm and wouldn't let go. Many of the children live under ground in the winter as it is the only place warm enough. In our LP (Lonely Planet, for those of you not in the know), it mentions that many of the kids are abandoned or run away from abusive homes. Many of the girls get sucked into prostitution. Initially we thought that by giving them food, that would encourage them to ask for more or latch onto you. Nope. They were just hungry. I gave one my half full 7UP and he took it and ran. Same with some leftover food I had.

Anyhow, we all went to a place called "El Latino" (Cuban food) for dinner. Matt and I weren't too hungry as we had a late lunch at a fabulous Greek Restaurant (feta, mmmmmm!) But we enjoyed the company and native speaker rate of English conversation. So, after dinner, we all headed back to the guesthouse to pack or figure out excursions. On the way back Robert was remarking how he thought that the city looked like Reno. The rest of us, who have never been to Reno, had to go on his word. I wound up chatting with John (the Aussie). We were both pleasantly surprised to find out that we were both in school in Indonesia at around the same time! He was in Yogya and me about 3 hours away in Salatiga. Tried speaking in really rusty Bahasa, squeaky but still functional. His was a lot better than mine, but he admitted that he was just there and was able to embarrass himself (practice). So we swapped stories about the archipelago and talked about our favorite cities. Great fun! He had been traveling around SE Asia and told me a little about Vietnam and Cambodia (really excited about going there over winter - fingers crossed).

Matt and I decided to tour around UB on Monday and take a trip out to Karakorum (Genghis' - "Chinggis" old hood) the next day. We visited some museums and shops - Mongolia was more expensive than we thought it would be (almost US prices). We went to the Winter Palace of Bogd Khaan. We snapped a couple of photos outside before being taken down by the photo taking enforcement squad - err, woman who helps clean the compound. We assumed that the photo fee was just for taking photos inside the buildings but we were wrong and had to shell out $15 USD! to appease the descendants oh Khaan. So we took a lot of retribution photos. With flash. Indoors. Take that (concentrated flash of UV) Bogd Khaan! What a dork revenge, but mwahahahahaha all the same!

Anyhow, we went to a couple of art galleries which were cool and the Victims of Political Persecution Museum which was interesting. We enjoyed looking around town. I enjoyed the consistently clean bathrooms (not smelly, pedestal toilets, toilet paper and sink with hot water and soap)! Later, we reconfigured our packs so we could just take one pack on the road trip.

Okay. Enough for now. How 'bout y'all take a quick break, get some water and I'll continue a little later.