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Hong Kong to Sweden by train, Travel Blog
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22.5.2005 - Ulaan Baatar, Mongoliet
Now we have arrived in Ulaan Baatar, the capital of Mongolia. The train ride here went really smooth. It was nicer than the trip to Beijing so we have a good feeling about the rest of the trips. We shared a four-bed cabin with a Korean-American and an Israeli guy. We left Beijing at 7.40 yesterday morning and slept a few hours before lunch. In the evening around 9 we arrived at the border. First it was border control at the Chinese border then wheel boogie change because the railway tracks in Mongolia and Russia have different width and lastly border control on the Mongolian side. All this took five hours but that was expected. When they changed the wheel boogies they elevated each car atleast a meter up in the air with all the passengers inside. So that was a bit funny to see :)
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| Photo sizes : Small Medium Large Our cabin |
Photo sizes : Small Medium Large Sunset |
Photo sizes : Small Medium Large Mongolia |
Photo sizes : Small Medium Large Train station in Ulaan Baatar |
We arrived in Ulaan Baatar around 1.30pm and were met by a few people that peacefully adverticed their hostels/homestays. We went to "Idre's Guesthouse" which was a normal appartment with six rooms that was turned into a hostel with bed everywhere. Outside there was not a sign or anything indicating that this was a hostel which is a bit odd. There is a kitchen and TV room for common use. Kalle and I are sharing a double room for $9.
We had a few hours walk to see the city. Ulaan Baatar seems like a very peaceful place. The weather right now is good, sunshine and a bit chilly wind. Perfect weather to walk around in shorts and t-shirts. The people here look very much like Chinese but at the same time look a tiny bit Russian. Many prices for accomodation and trips are quoted in US dollars but their own currency is called Tögrög. Of course they spell it in another way, their alphabet is the same as the Russian (cyrillic) but with two extra letters. When they speak they sound Russian but still unique in some way.
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| Photo sizes : Small Medium Large Pool in the streets |
Photo sizes : Small Medium Large Ulaan Baatar |
Photo sizes : Small Medium Large Sign for tourists |
The city looks quite worn out but there are nice restaurants and shopping malls, although small. Mongolia is known to be a big remote camping site. Going to the countryside is what you do in Mongolia as they have desert, steppe and mountains that can be explored on foot or on horse. Unfortunately we do not have much time to spend but we decided to take a trip of two days and two nights to the countryside and two national parks. First day will be on horse (interesting!) and then the second day will be hiking.
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| Photo sizes : Small Medium Large Ulaan Baatar seen from the train |
Photo sizes : Small Medium Large View from the train |
Now we'll get everything sorted with Idre here in the guesthouse and then go out for some dinner.