Gap Adventures Travel Oasis

A Trans-Mongolian Treat

Posted on 28. Jul, 2010 by gapadventures in Destinations, From the Field

Gapper Masha P from our Bangkok office spent much of her time as a CEO crisscrossing the immense cities and countrysides of China, Mongolia and Russia on the Trans-Mongolian Railway. A trip that’s on many traveler’s must-do list; just the hours alone spent on train journey are an experience, surrounded by locals and travelers from all over the world onboard to witness the beauty of this part of the world. Here, Masha recounts what it’s like to be on the train, and what to do with the hours between stops.

I don’t know better way of traveling than by train – long distances are covered fast, the scenery outside is changing all the time, new people are getting on at different stops, and if you are tired – you just have a nap on your bed (so much better than being crammed in a narrow seat next to some weirdo).  I wish I could travel around the world just by train… hmmm… Well. Actually, I sort of did it – I lead more than 25 Trans-Mongolian trips when I was a CEO (Chief Experience Officer). The journey from Beijing, China to St Petersburg, Russia is about 6,500 km and takes seven days. You can do the trip in the reverse direction too. It is the most fun to get off the train in different cities to spend a night or two, and to then take another train and keep on traveling…

The 21 day Trans-Mongolian trip starts at Beijing Zhan train station. As it is the first stop, there is plenty of time to put bags on the luggage shelf, say hi to a train attendant, and walk down the corridor, to see how many boxes with sunflower oil can be stored in one compartment. By the moment we are about to cross the border, all boxes magically disappear from the sight of fellow travelers and custom officers.

Once the train leaves the station and is rolling down the tracks, you can go back to the compartment – a cozy room with four bunks (bottom ones have space for bags underneath), a table, radio and – if you are lucky – a/c (or at least a fan). During the day, the top bunks can be pulled up, which gives you more space. The compartment door has a huge mirror – it is very handy when you want to leave a note to your friends on post-it notes or just study another language from what’s been written there!

The first day on the train passes quickly – it is full of talking, drinking tea, eating and snacking, walking to the dining car and back and just staring at the window. In the evening we stop in Erlan, the border town on Chinese side of China-Mongolia border. This is one of my most favourite parts of the journey. I always stay on the train and watch the process of the changing of the wheels: the distance between rail racks in China is narrower than the distance between rail racks in Mongolia and Russia. The train carriages are taken into a shed, where they are lifted one by one, to have a new set of wheels attached.

When you wake up the next morning, the train is already in Mongolia and scenery is very different to what you had seen yesterday. Green hills are stretched till the horizon; there are no buildings, no roads – just endless steppes with horses and random camels.

In the afternoon, the train arrives to Ulaan Bator – the capital of Mongolia and our first big stop. It is nice to spend several days as a nomad: eating hot pot, practicing archery and horse riding, and staying overnight in a ger camp. But I am always glad to be back on the train – there is nothing better then to fall asleep under the rhythmic sound of train wheels.

In two days, the train reaches Irkutsk. And if you wake up really early in the morning, you will be the first one to see magnificent Lake Baikal – the next stop.

After a great time on the lake – swimming, eating Omul (local fish) and drinking kvas (traditional Russian drink made of rye bread) – we board the train again. This time it is the world’s famous Trans-Siberian route. Two days form Irkutsk to Yekaterinburg is the perfect time to relax. There are so many things to do – play games, have birthday parties with celebrating travelers, read books, sing songs, or spend hours in the dining car. Every 2-3 hours train stops for about 20 minutes, and all passengers rush to the platform – to buy amazing home made food from Russian babushkas. (Note – bring your own Vegemite!)

There are two ways to get from Yekaterinburg to Moscow. One is – to continue on Trans-Siberian route, another – Trans-Ural railway. It goes through Ural Mountains range at its lowest point and passes Kazan – Muslim capital of Russia. It is the only stop where you can’t buy beer… But there is always hot tea on the train – each carriage has water boiler called Samovar, and train attendant rent out cool Trans-Siberian glass holders.

24 four hours later train stops in Moscow – the heart (and capital) of Russia. There are three big train stations in Moscow – Kazanski station (where our train arrives), Yaroslavski station (where Trans-Siberian route starts) and Leningradski station (for trains to St Petersburg). The square of three stations and one of so called Stalin Sisters (one of seven skyscrapers built in 1950s) – Hotel Ukraine – greet us in Moscow while we load our backpacks in the bus.

After long train rides, overnight train between Moscow and St Petersburg seems like nothing. Three countries, 6,500 km and 164 hours on train are left behind, and ahead is magnificent Hermitage, White Nights and maybe – another train… say, to Helsinki. If you are quick enough, you might take one more photo of your friends in the train corridor:

How does adventure smell?

For me it smells machine oil on hot train rails, dust from the Gobi desert, and coal from the Samovar.

- We offer two different Trans-Mongolian trips! Check out the 17 day and 21 day departures to experience this incredible journey.

Tags: China, Mongolia, Russia