Train to Siberia

Arriving on board the train, Kath and I were confronted with two shocked Mongolian faces as we entered our cabin. They couldn't believe they were sharing their cabin with complete foreigners and thought there was a mistake. Two Mongolians soon became 3 Mongolians, each with enough cargo to fill a cargo ship with... Then, as we got to the border at Sukbataar, 3 became 4 and this time we had enough clothes to clothe the Mongolian army twice... Little traders they were, and as soon as we had finished our 11 hour border crossing ordeal, after the train conducter had been paid off in a thick stack of small denomination US$, the traders took their cargo and walked off the train.

The train ride was one that we have both decided never to repeat. Although it is a great experience to have our Mongolian berth-mates be interested in everything from i-pod to food, and we did catch some great shots of them walking around half-naked carrying sausages from one end of the train to the other, it wasn't the most comfortable of trips and the border crossing was agonising. Mostly agonising because I had to go to the loo in hour 3 and wasn't allowed to go until hour 10. We made it to Irkutsk early Monday morning after leaving late Friday afternoon. Confusing and slightly tired our Siberian escapades began...

-Andrew