September 25, 2001 – Aboard the Trans Mongolian Railway

On an early morning departure we catch a last glimpse of the Great Wall as it winds over the mountains before the train descends into the arid lands of Outer Mongolia.

We settle into life on board, enjoying the company of our fellow passengers and a picnic in our cabin. There are 9 compartments per train car, and each compartment sleeps 4. Our compartment included Rudy and Sue and our 2 fellow travelers, Sue (age 60) from Australia, and Trinsa (age 38) from Indonesia. Our tour guide, Sylvanna (age 25) from Australia, had to bunk up with a Mongolian family in the compartment next to us. She ended up sharing mealtimes and visiting with us in our room.

We had bought a bunch of groceries and water before leaving, and soon we enjoyed a feast of chinese noodles, bread and cheese, and coffee. We used the hot water supply from the train. As the day progressed we all settled down to visiting, reading, and sleeping.