Basic HTML Version
FireFlyz | 31
zones on its way west to east. The sway of
the carriages somehow remove all worries
and cares – there is nothing to do but enjoy
the journey, however long it takes.
Border crossings are intriguing bumps
on the smooth road and offer a parade of
self-important border guards who either
scrutinise visas and passports on board
or demand a mass exit off the train while
passports are whisked off to a secret office.
Border checks can take minutes or hours,
leaving you dazed or allowing time to stroll
the length of a frontier platform of outer
Mongolia in the setting sun.
Bittersweet
ending
The ar r iva l in
China is a flurry of
excitement, with
the Chinese guards
donning their best
outfits while a blar-
ing of music and
lights welcomes
the train across the
border despite the
unearthly hour of
the morning.
And all too soon
you are slowing
down into Beijing
s tat ion, and a
moment of panic
descends as your
realise you have
to leave the safe
cocoon and the carefree existence to return
to a world that demands so much. The
thought of packing the bag and walking
away from companions that have been
your family for a week on a life changing
journey is bittersweet, and knowing that a
once-in-a-lifetime experience is soon to be
over comes with a sadness all of its own.
My legs felt a little wobbly after a week
of stasis when I stepped off the train for
the last time. Beijing station seemed
enormous and crowded after thousands of
kilometres of nothing but sky and ground,
and for a moment I missed my quiet, safe
compartment.
Once I found my hotel, my confidence
and my land legs, Beijing proved to be
fascinating, exciting and intriguing, yet
it was the journey towards it that lingers
more richly inmymind than the city itself.
The journeywas the thing – the great affair
it truly to move – and it is an experience I
will never forget.
You adjust, after a day or two, to the
rhythm of life on the train – getting up,
having breakfast from the provisions you
brought along and getting dressed, before
settling down to admire the newviews that
will have changed enormously while you
slept, lulled by the clickety-clack of your
moving hotel.
The train stops at stations three or
four times per day, with some stops
only momentary while others as long
as twenty minutes. Station stops offer a
welcome opportunity to get the feet on
solid ground, admire the idiosyncrasies
of life in the back of beyond (one station
porter moved suitcases with a tractor), and
purchase food and goodies from the local
women who cluster to the platformwhen
the weekly train comes through.
The view is a continuousmovie of glori-
ous vistas and stunning, ever-changing
landscape. Parts of Russia are almost
alpine, while Siberia is bleak and endless
– we travelled for hours without seeing
a person or a house, with the sighting of
one stray camel mid-afternoon prompting
cheers of excitement.
Time elongates and loses meaning,
facilitated by the train operating on Rus-
sian time despite moving through time
While it’s good to get off the
train, passengers are advised
not to wander too far –miss
the train and you wait a week
for the next one!
The restaurant
car is changed
in each country,
with the
Mongolian
restaurant the
most elaborate
AMongolian
mother and
daughter sell
handmade crafts
Beautiful and lush
Russian landscape