Last Day on the Trans-Siberian-Mongolia---June 13, 2014

What a difference between the open steppes of Mongolia to China. We spent a very long time as they changed the bogies at Erlain around midnight. The guidebooks indicated that we would be able to get off the train, but that was not to be. For five hours the bathrooms on the trains were closed and many ended up using some empty plastic bottles to relieve themselves.

The bogie---train wheels-- the change was needed because both the Russian and Mongolian trains have wider rails than other countries. Basically, they take the train carriages into the bogie shed and decouple each carriage and then hydraulically lift the carriage, disconnecting the boogies, rolling them away, and rolling in the narrower boogies.

At daylight in China, we saw the dramatic difference from Mongolia with lots of cities and large farms, including hothouse farms, and rivers.

We began to go through about 50 tunnels along this river valley. The train route was quite amazing and spectacular. We occasionally got quick and distant glimpses of the Great Wall of China.

As we approached Beijing, we began to pack up our stuff that has gotten spread around our cabin.

As we traveled I described and showed Rosie and Jacob how light I traveled compared to them so when we got to Beijing, Jacob and I posed with our respective packs in front of our train that had just arrived at the Beijing Rail Station.

Finally, we each go our own way after posing in front of the Beijing Rail Station with Rosie as our photographer.

After getting to the Leo Hostel and expecting to update my blog with my Mongolian and train adventures, I learned that the new Great China Wall is their Chinese Internet Wall that prevents me from blogging, uploading Utube video clips, opening Facebook, and doing various Google searches I was able to do in Russia and Mongolia. Once in Vietnam, I will be able to upload all of my adventures in Mongolia and China as well as those for my remaining travels.

Here is the walking street by the Leo Hostel--more for the Chinese than the foreign tourists.