Train days

5 days and 4 nights on a train goes by much more quickly than you would expect. Somehow the hours just melt away as you stare out the window and take in the scenery. Actually, I can’t believe that 2 weeks of this trip are already over.

After leaving Mongolia, we skirted the south shore of Lake Baikal before entering the heart of Siberia.

Siberia is vast expanse of forest dotted with small villages full of traditional wooden houses, some beautifully painted in bright colors.

 Aside from these scattered towns, our route passed mostly through endless taiga forests of birch and pine trees. The trees were already barren in the depths of Siberia, but as we got closer to Asia the birches were still full of brilliant yellow leaves. I wasn’t expecting the array of colors that we got on our last full train day. I think I spent a few hours just staring out the train window and watching them fall in golden cascades.

We also passed countless Russian Orthodox churches, each one unique. Supposedly no two churches in Russia are identical.

 

It’s hard to convey just how big Siberia is. In the course of our trip we crossed through 5 time zones and covered 9001 kilometers in total between Moscow and Beijing. The temperature also fluctuated drastically as we were sweating in Beijing and freezing in Ulaanbaatar. Mongolia was definitely the coldest part of the trip (thank God for cheap Mongolian cashmere!).

A few times a day we stopped at larger towns where we were able to get off the train and stretch our legs. We also could buy provisions for the train, including in some cases fresh bread products like pirogis from babushkas set up on the platforms. My limited Russian has proved invaluable, since no one in these remote towns speaks a word of English.

Our train was surprisingly empty. When we first got on in Ulaanbaatar, the train was full of traders trying to bring goods across the border. The customs process at the border crossings took hours and hours in the middle of the night, with uniformed officials checking passports and inspecting train compartments for stowaways or contraband goods. They go easy on foreigners like us, so we had no problems. We just got to sit and listen as they tossed the compartments of the Mongolian traders and Russian passengers. Once we crossed the border, all the traders got off and the train became quiet. At highest capacity, our car had 4 other solo travelers in it. We met a couple of New Yorkers who were traveling in a first class cabin and they said they had the entire train car to themselves. Apparently this is not peak season for the train.

The train compartments are comfortable enough, although after 4 nights I was ready for a real bed. And more than ready for a shower. But aside from the lack of facilities, life on the train really isn’t bad. It would have been nice to meet and interact with more people, but unfortunately you can't control these things.

I would actually love to do this train trip in the dead of winter and see Siberia blanketed in snow (from the confines of my warm train cabin). I think it would be an absolutely stunning sight. I am also fascinated by the little towns and would love a chance to explore one of them and stay in one of the colorful little houses.

Mostly I am just really excited to be back in Russia. I can’t wait to see Moscow again. I’ve already made a long list of all the things I want to hit while I’m there. I can’t believe it’s been over thirteen years since my summer there. I’m curious to see what has changed and what hasn’t. And the small bits of food we’ve been buying on the train platforms has made me even more excited for Russian food.

We made a brief stop in Red Square on our way from the train to our hotel, and it immediately took me back to that magical summer. A week in Moscow will be the perfect end to what has already been an incredible trip.

Mongolia

Mongolia is a completely fascinating and amazing place. I don't have nearly enough time to do it justice here, since I have about 20 minutes before I have to head for the train.

Much of Mongolia is vast and largely barren steppe. Ulaanbaatar, the capital, is a notable exception. It is a very cosmopolitan city and the people who live here are extremely stylish and pulled together. One of the most impressive things we saw here was the Gandan Hiid monastery, where monks keep up their ancient prayers and rituals. The temples were decorated in a gorgeous array of colors and the whole place had an air of peace and calm about it.

Taking a break from the city, we spent two days in the Mongolian countryside, staying in a traditional Mongolian felt ger (yurt). This was probably the highlight of the trip. I don't think I've ever been so far away from the frenzy of every day life. The countryside was beautiful and made for some fantastic hiking. We also got to go horse back riding across the steppe, which was unbelievably cool.

The ger was much more comfortable than I expected. I can actually see how people live in them year round. Our final night was capped off with amazingly clear skies and millions of stars, including the Milky Way stretching in a band straight over our heads.

I will miss Mongolia. I've enjoyed it even more than I ever anticipated I would. But now I am off to start the real train journey. We will be traveling on the train for 5 days and 4 nights across Siberia to Moscow. I will be completely off the grid with virtually no access to the outside world, which sounds pretty appealing right now.

I'm looking forward to amazing scenery and relaxation. I do, however, realize that 5 days is a long time. I'm sure I'll have some interesting stories after this trip...

Whirlwind Beijing and the start of the train journey

I don't know if I've ever crammed in as much activity as I did during my two days in Beijing. Already sore from hiking the Great Wall the first day, I completely wore myself out on the second day. But, man, was it worth it. I managed to squeeze in all the highlights and have a really fantastic day.

While the tour I'm on gives us a lot of flexibility and allows us to spend our free time however we want, they do include some sightseeing and activities in each place. In Beijing, this included a morning trip to the park which houses Beijing's Temple of Heaven. We spent the first hour wandering around the huge park and watching the locals engage in endless varieties of tai chi. The park was really tranquil and even just watching the tai chi was incredibly relaxing. I can understand why it's such a way of life here.

After we got our fill of tai chi, we entered the Temple of Heaven complex itself. Full of ornately decorated ancient buildings, it was unlike anything I've seen (mind you, I've never been to Asia at all). The center piece of the Temple of Heaven is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. One of the most fascinating facts about this building was that it was constructed without the use of a single nail or piece of metal of any kind.

After exploring the grounds of the rest of the Temple, we took taxis to one of the large housing blocks, of which there are many in Beijing, to have tea at the apartment of a master kite maker. He was a 66 year old Chinese man who has been honing his craft for 40 years and has been written about in numerous books and even has work displayed in the National Museum. Our guide translated for us as he showed us dozens of examples of his kites, all original, and let us explore his work space. It was one of the cooler things I've done on any of my trips and something I never whould have been able to arrange on my own. If they weren't so fragile and if I weren't still traveling for more than two weeks, I absolutely would have bought a kite.

This was where our included sightseeing ended, but we opted next to visit Tian'an Men Square and the Forbidden City, the two most popular sights in the very center of Beijing. I have never seen a city square the size of Tian'an Men Square. We were quite the anomaly walking around among all of the Chinese visitors, and multiple times I was asked to stop and pose for pictures with random Chinese women. It was quite a surreal experience.

Across a massive street from the square is the Forbidden City, with its iconic main gate featuring a prominent picture of Mao.

The Forbidden City complex is huge. There are endless buildings with overly poetic names, all ornately decorated in patterns of red, blue, yellow and green and flanked by statues of lions and other animals.

There were a lot of tourists here (mostly Chinese), although not quite as many as I expected. Just walking through the whole complex without going in all of the exhibitions took hours.

After making our way back to our hotel, we had a time to have a quick beer (89 cents) and rest our tired feet before heading out to one of Beijing's night markets to get dinner. The Wangfujing night market is a fascinating place. It is made up of a line of about 50 vendors selling food out of stalls lit by red Chinese lanterns. There you can find some really bizarre foods, from scorpions to snakes to various varieties of insect. We opted for more traditional foods like dumplings and vegetables but spent about half an hour being alternately amazed and repulsed by some of the fare.

We ended our whirlwind day in Beijing by attending a traditional acrobatics show before returning to our hotel completely exhausted. The last thing to do before falling asleep was repacking luggage before hitting the train the next morning.

Wednesday marked the first leg of the train journey, from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The entire trip took about 28 hours, including hours of confusing border-crossing formalities in the middle of the night.

Once we got out of the haze of Beijing we started seeing some amazing scenery, including snow-dusted hills and packs of camels in the Gobi Desert.

We spent the night in Ulaanbaatar and today we head out into the Mongolian countryside to spend two nights at a traditional Mongolian camp and sleep in a felt ger (yurt). I'm probably most excited about this part of the trip because it's so unlike anything I've done before or possibly will ever do again.

And now I'm off to bundle up for the below-freezing temperatures...

Great Wall photos

With enough insomnia and willpower, I will find a way around China's internet blocks. Here are a few photos from the Great Wall, including a shot of the toboggan ride back down.

Nihao, China

Well, I made it to China. It seems my travel karma is evening out a bit, as I had none of my typical bad luck and both of my flights even landed early. My sleep pattern, however, is all kinds of messed up. Arriving in Beijing at nearly midnight did a number on me.

Among the many websites that China chooses to block is this one, so since I have to do this from my phone and my phone won't let me add in pictures, my China entries will be brief. Today I hit the ground running, jet lag be damned. I took a day tour to the Great Wall. I chose to visit the Mutianyu section, which is an older section set in more rugged and scenic mountain terrain. More importantly, it is somewhat less touristy than the section closest to Beijing. Visibility was not quite what I hoped it would be, but the Wall's endless expanse through the Chinese countryside was impressive nonetheless. The section I visited was also quite steep in some places. Three hours of hiking up and down uneven stone steps was quite the workout. My legs already feel like jello, so I can tell I'm on vacation.

Tonight I met my group that I will be with for the next 15 days. There are only four of us - a couple from LA and a woman from Australia besides me. They seem very nice and easy-going, so it should be a great trip. We have the same master itinerary but plenty of free time on our own once we get to places, which I like. Tonight we gathered over a traditional meal of Peking duck and tomorrow we have a full day of sightseeing ahead of us. It will be the first time I really get to see Beijing. My impression so far is that it is just massive. Our local guide arranged a day for us since we're a small group, which is really nice.

Now I'm going to try to get some kind of sleep before I wear myself out again tomorrow. So far, I'm so excited that I decided to do this. It's only been one day and I'm already blown away by some of the things I've seen.

And if I ever figure out how to post pictures from my phone, I'll add another post. :)

The Dream Trip

Well, my friends, the time has finally arrived for me to embark on my dream trip. This is the trip that I first started fantasizing about back when I was plotting my exit from The Firm. Really, it was the idea of this trip that started it all and led me on my whirlwind year of seeing the world. Although I didn't initially plan it this way, I'm happy in the end that I saved the best for last.

I am heading to the Trans-Siberian Railroad. My itinerary takes me first to Beijing for a few days before boarding the train to Mongolia. There I will spend 4-5 days, including 2 nights in a traditional ger on the Mongolian steppe. After leaving Mongolia I will be on the train through Siberia for 4 nights before finally ending up in Moscow, where I will be for nearly a week.

It's hard to say which part of the trip I'm most excited about. I'm probably most interested to see Mongolia since it's so unlike any place I've ever been or may ever be again. But part of me is anxious to be back in Moscow after all this time. It's hard to believe that 13 years have passed since I spent the summer there. I always thought I would have gone back before now.

After much effort I've managed to pack light. I have no idea if I've packed the right things or warm enough clothes, but I'll find out soon enough. Life on the train should be interesting - I'm really hoping that I get to meet some fun and interesting new people. More than any of my trips I've taken in the past year, I really don't know what to expect. And that makes it very exciting.

I'll be off the grid more than usual on this trip. There will be days on end where I have no connection to the outside world and my phone won't work once I leave Beijing. I'm kind of looking forward to disconnecting, though. I can't remember the last time I did since technology is so prevalent these days. Ideally I'll have an internet connection at the major stops along the way and can check in with the world and update this blog.

And now I'm going to settle in for a good sleep and cross my fingers that I have good travel luck this time around.

Happy Anniversaries to me

This past week marked both my 12 year anniversary of moving to New York and my one year anniversary of leaving my job.  Both of those milestones are a little hard for me to believe.

Currently I'm celebrating by hunkering down in my apartment and waiting for Hurricane Irene to blow through.  Right now we're getting a lot of rain, but the real brunt of the storm hasn't reached us yet.  It will be an interesting night as I wait to see if/when I will lose power and hope that there is no damage to my apartment...