After two long train trips, I was pretty apprehensive about getting back on the train in general. The novelty was wearing off, but I was determined to see this through. Mr. Kim from the hostel took us to the train station, and I got on the same train car with my Aussies and a French couple in their 60′s who were on the same itinerary as we were.
The Frenchman was jovial enough and asked if I was British. I said, no, I’m a Yank and he said jokingly “Well, no one’s perfect” and had a bit of a laugh. His wife asked if things were magically better since Obama was in charge and I said no, it’s pretty much the same.
I had a new train companion, a Brit doing a post-University jaunt around the world (I’m always jealous of the “gap year” kids since I’ve always worked, but now I’m doing it better than they are – score one for me.) We also had a shower between each first class cabin, which was pretty nice. I didn’t figure on trying to trying to use it. The trip itself was around 30 hours from Ulanbataar to Beijing, with the wildcard being the border crossing.
The China/Mongolia border crossing was… interesting, to say the least. They had to swap the bogeys of the train because of the different rail gauges. We didn’t get a chance to get off the train during this process, and were locked in the train with locked bathrooms. Our passports were confiscated and our rooms were casually searched by the Chinese customs folks. Also, the train compartments were about 80 degrees, so we sort of sat around, were confused and were drug away in our car.
Around 10pm, the bogey changing started. It was traumatic and pretty anticlimactic. We were raised 4 feet or so in the air while we were in the train car and they swapped out the undercarriage. Then came 2 hours of being jolted around violently, then eventually lowered and set on our merry way. The highlight wasn’t the bogey change, it was that our bathrooms were open and we didn’t have to suffer the indignity of having to piss in a water bottle.
I managed to get a few hours of sleep when we were on the move and finally in China. I think collectively, our entire cabin was suffering from train fatigue, and we were counting down the hours until we arrived in China.
Once we were in China, a cabin attendant came by and gave us vouchers for a free breakfast and lunch (hurray for the perks of first class!) which turned out to be pretty sorry and we just used it as an excuse to sit in the dining car and have beers and chat about what we were up to in Beijing.
My roommate told me about the cute British girls he ran into in a different car, along with “the Swedes.” Apparently they were younger guys in their early 20s, who spent the time on the train taking Viagra and watching porn. Apparently one of them was prancing around in the Borat swimsuit earlier in the journey. Naturally, I called bullshit because seriously – who does that? (Yes, I am being hypocritical – I’ve talked about how funny it would be to do things like that but never actually gone through it…)
Eventually, we arrived in Beijing around 3pm. Already the city felt different and more modern since I was there in 2006. The Olympics will do that to you – a 5 year runup to a 2 week pageant, leaving 15 years worth of bills. My Aussies and I left together, took photos of the Railway Station, and made plans for going to the Great Wall at Simatai the next day. We parted company and I went to the same hotel I went to in 2006, a rather generic Novotel. I figured I needed a hot shower, room to stretch and the ability to parade around in my underwear without the fear of being heckled.
I met up with Augusto, my trusty new friend from Italy to do a quick walking tour around Tiananmen Square and find a place to eat. It was a good time, and I was happy to see the square again, take better photos with a better camera this time, and not focus on being crazy like I’m pressed for time and thus obligated to see everything.
Augusto was loving it, and it was nice to see the energy from someone new. In a way, I was upset with myself for not realizing a) I’m in China b) I just had a fucking amazing experience and c) not being excited about it. But I chalked it up to fatigue, and planned on sleeping it off. Augusto and I wandered around, got some food, and just had a relaxing evening. He was in our plan for heading to Simatai the next day to hit the Great Wall, so it’d be a quick sleep for all of us, and prep for a busy day.
