Train n4 Moscow-Ulan Bator-Beijing

Hello everyone! That's it, after an unforgettable journey over 7865km and lasting 7 days we have reached China and Beijing. We left Iaroslav station in Moscow at 21:35 on Tuesday the 6th, with a bag full of pot noodles and tins of food for the trip. The station hall looked like an airport waiting room, with gigantic screens and full of families, grandmas, young people playing cards, all eating and carrying mountains of luggage.
The train left right on time. We were welcomed onto our carriage by the "provodniks", who are in charge of each coach, of the cleanliness, the samovar (giving out hot water for the tea and the noodles) and they also make sure that no one misses their stop, even in the middle of the night. These people are usually Provodnistas, old school Russian hostesses, but our carriage was looked after by two Chinese stewards, very helpful and serious, who took it in turns, day and night.
We had opted for first class because it garanteed one compartment for two, instead of one for four in second class, and we didn't regret it. It was total luxury, with two spacious bunks, a table and an armchair, as well as another seat made up by the lowest bunk, and even a bathroom shared with the next compartment. There is only one loo per carriage so in first class as there is half the number of passengers you get less of a queue. The only downside is that we didn't meet any Russian or Chinese people, as our entire carriage was made up of foreigners (including two other English couples from Bures and Great Dunmow!!) In second class however you had better end up in a compartment with people you get on with, as it is a bit more of a squeeze, and if you are on the lower bunks you have to give up your bed during the day for it to become a seat for everyone else. And there is one single toilet/sink per carriage. Obviously it was a bit more expensive for first class but considering the barber paid for it (we cleaned a barbershop for two years to fund the trip) , no regrets!!
The train travels accross Russia for 5 days, then Mongolia on the 6th days, arriving in China the next. In Russia the landscape is quite repetitive : lots of birches and pine trees, a few hills, a wooden house here and there, and more or less snow depending on the area. Siberia seems desolate and bitterly cold in winter, some houses look more like sheds and the main towns are grey, industrial and clearly post-sovietic. On the saturday we reached lake Baikal and there was a big change. The lake is massive and cristal clear (it is the deepest freshwater lake in the world, and holds more water than the five great northern American lakes put together) and despite the freezing temperature (there were sheets of ice floating on it as we went past, but in the heart of winter you are meant to be able to drive a car over it) there were many people line-fishing from the banks. The region is also quite hilly, and there are several large lakes, for the first time there were also animals, horses and cows, and the house were painted in brighter colours, there were little greenhouses (painted too), and even a few satellite dishes!
At every station the steward would allow us out for a bit, while they got some more coal (used to heat up the samovar and the carriage) on board, and we would get accosted by many vendors offering us home made dishes and knick-knacks (for instance, enormous soft toys. the question is...why?) Everyone is quite insisting but it was an opportunity to taste some local delicacies, with more or less luck. Just ask Pete what he thought of the doughnut burger!!!
On the saturday evening we crossed the Russia to Mongolia border. On the Russian side it takes 4 and a half hours, time for them to collect everyone's passport, to inspect the carriages to check we aren't smuggling anything under the bunks, to change the Russian restaurant carriage for a Mongolian one, and to give us back our stamped passports. On the Mongolian side it starts again, but they are quite a lot more pleasant and efficient, and it only takes an hour and a half.
The next day we reach Ulan Bator, which is as grey and sad as the Siberian towns. The Mongolian landscape is hilly and covered in short, dry, yellow grass. You can see a few "gers" (yurts), horses, woolly cows (in november the temperature is -10 to -20C), and even a few camels! Then we enter the Gobi desert, and it is much the same but flatter, with fewer animals and people. We stop at a few stations where people are visibly poor but very smiley and pleasant.
In the evening we reach the Mongolia to China border and it all starts again : quick Mongolian checks, then Chinese checks, which come with a ritual change of boggies. Russian and Mongolian tracks being wider than the norm each of the train's carriages has to be lifted up, the wheels changed, then the carriage is lowered onto the standard size wheel units, ready for Chinese tracks. So there we are, in China, with stamped visa, and the last day of the trip is starting (it is past midnight by now)
So yesterday we arrived in Beijing, after a pleasant last leg of the journey. The train crosses through a very pretty chain of small moutains before it reaches Beijing, officially the most polluted capital in the world! Here it isn't so cold (5-10 C), but they are expecting their first snow later in the week. Anyway if you want the Beijing report you'll have to wait till next time, as my hands are starting to ache with all this typing!