Trans-Siberian - The Trans-Mongolian
| Trans-Siberian Trip |
| St. Petersburg and Moscow |
| ... more photos |
| The Trans-Siberian |
| Siberia |
| The Trans-Mongolian |
| ... more photos |
| The Ger Camp |
| ... more photos |
| China |
| ... more photos |
From Irkutsk, we took a 2-day train east, then south into Mongolia and on to the capital, Ulaanbaatar.
We caught the train in the early evening which meant we passed the spectacular shore of Lake Baikal in darkness. When we awoke the next morning (some earlier than others), we were already heading south toward Mongolia, having left the Trans-Siberian trackage in Ulan Ude during the night.
| Wikipedia Links: |
| Mongolia |
| Ulaanbaatar |
In Naushki, the Russian border town, we had a couple of hours to spend the last of roubles on the platform before the authorities locked down the train to begin the border procedure. After a further 3 hours of waiting we were released for the 20km trip across no-man's-land to the Mongolian border. There are few photos as people were nervous about photography during the border crossing.
We immediately noticed the difference between the cold Russian authorities and the Mongolians. The Mongolians, took their job seriously but I think realized we were real people. The Mongolian border guards even waved as we left the border.
As the sun set on our first day in Mongolia, we had a short station stop seemingly so we could enjoy the sunset.
| ... more photos from the Trans-Mongolian |
Dawn found the train descending into Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. We arrived at 7am and taken by bus to change money and shower at a hotel before being taken to a ger camp outside the city.
Continue on to the Mongolian Ger Camp, or return to the main page.
