After more than 10.000km on the train I finally arrived in Beijing. And believe it or not, but I enjoyed every single one of it and also the sometimes really long waiting times on the borders were never boring as I have always been in good company to discover the cities or for sharing some food or drinks. So it was kind of a nice feeling in Beijing once I finally realized that I crossed so many different and vast lands without a plane and certainly got a new relation to time and distances.
But let's keep it chronological and let me tell you a bit about Mongolia first. It has for sure the most beautiful landscape along and off the track. Whereby Ulaanbaator is similar to any other former Soviet city plus one of the most air-polluted cities in the world (you may not see it as much as you do in Beijing but therefore you can already feel it in your throat. You can imagine that I was really seeking to get out of there for discovering central Mongolia and it's typical wide open landscapes as well as it's mountains, valleys, (semi-)deserts and plaines. But the real unique and unforgettable experience was probably to live 6 days long with nomadic families in their Gers (kind of a tent-house) and get an authentic insight to their everyday life. I felt indeed as being a native and living like 1000 years ago without piped water, electricity and sleeping one meter next to the cows, goats, sheeps and horses. Ok,... There was the wall of the Ger between us but you still hear every single fart of them ;-)
Life at its lowest standards! But that doesn't make them less happy or unsociable. Maybe even the other way. Nomads need to be social. Sharing workforce, animals and household equipment with their "neighbors" (that can mean the Ger 5km to the north) might be essential for survival.
After this great adventure I had my last part on the train ahead, with again really nice company, to cross Gobi desert and the green mountains of north-east China.
Unfortunately I had to notice that the littering issue in Chinas countryside is just the same as in the previous two countries. At least in the city of Beijing they really take care about that and also its buildings, streets, subway etc. are really modern.
On the other side should my China-stay not be mentioned here at all because this Blog is just like many other popular western websites prohibited and locked out of Chinese internet. Anyway, Beijing is a modern and historical city which gave me a new and interest insight to China and I think it was a good idea to stay here a bit longer instead of rushing on to Shanghai or Xi'an (Terracotta army)!
cu in Vietnam,
Clemens
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| Making some last Russian friends on the border to Mongolia ;-) |
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| A typical Ger and its neighborhood in central Mongolia where we stayed for two nights. |
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| And with the horse to an other one further up the river. |
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| Central Mongolia |
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| and its wide open lands. |
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| Camel riding in the Mongolian semi-desert. Well, we had a hard time together... |
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| And some 'fresh' dinner in the Ger to recover for the next day. |
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| Passing the Gobi desert to China. |
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| Moscow - Ulaanbaatar - Beijing |
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| The forbidden city in the background... |
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| ...and here it is the Summer Palace. |
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| I guess you know where this is.... |
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| ...a 100km north of Beijing and still terrible smoggy. |
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| Next stop: Vietnam. |
