21 October 2017 / leggypeggy

Luxury on the Trans Mongolian—sort of

Beijing, border crossings, dining cars, trains, Trans Mongolian Railway, Ulanbaatar

Our carriage is the first one. Our attendant kindly let me take his picture

Looking at Beijing Station from the train

The prospect of 11 days on a train was enough to prompt Poor John and me to upgrade our tickets on the Trans Mongolian Railway.

A couple of days ago, we started in Beijing, China, and we are now in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. To be honest, while we have 11 days on the train, we only have seven nights because we are also stopping in Irkutsk and Moscow in Russia.

I’m using the word ‘luxury’ rather loosely.

Poor John settling into his easy chair

Down the corridor outside our compartment

Our first compartment was defined as a ‘luxury soft sleeper’. As the photos show, it was a bit cushy with just two beds (one up and one down) and an easy chair (we took turns). We also had our own toilet and shower (with hot water).

The Chinese dining car was a disaster. Plastic seats and laminated tables. The tablecloths were filthy and the food was mediocre, although the prices were very cheap. Seven or eight staff members were ensconced there—enjoying meals, chats, cigarettes and general laziness. The chef brought out his own meal (not something on the menu) and it looked fantastic! Wish we could have ordered it.

In the middle of the night, we crossed the border into Mongolia. That’s an exercise. The rail gauge changes between the two countries, so the bogies had to be changed. In all, we spent about five hours at the two borders, with all sorts of banging and crashing and thumping and bumping going on. We were finally on our way about 2:30am.

The elegant dining car added in Mongolia

Later that morning we were surprised to discover four or five carriages had been added, including a Mongolian dining car.

Now this was the luxury we were expecting. Frankly, we were gobsmacked when we entered the carriage and saw its elaborate carvings, fabrics, decorations and smartly dressed waiter.

There was only one option for breakfast—an omelet with toast, butter and jam, plus tea or coffee—so four of us ordered that.

We lingered in the dining car for quite sometime, enjoying the atmosphere. Then the bill came. Yikes! It was US$20 or about A$25 for an ordinary one-egg omelet and instant coffee. Not impressed. Especially because the menu said US$15.

We are following the pink line, then join the red line tonight (all heading west)

Our waitress

He deserved a smack

Our chef

Sadly we were there long enough to see the waiter pinch the waitress on the bum. She didn’t smack him, but she should have.

We board the train to Irkutsk tonight and there’s not much promise of luxury. Even though we upgraded, our tickets imply that we have all four beds in a second class cabin. Also we’ve read there is no dining car, so we’ve stocked up on instant noodles, apples, mandarins, sesame treats and nuts. Oh and some beer!

This next ride is about 36 hours with a border crossing into Russia that may last as long as eight hours. It wouldn’t be so bad, but they lock all the toilets for that entire time (same thing happened last border crossing).

So like I said—luxury sort of. I guess we should hope there isn’t a murder on this ‘express’!