Quite the day we had yesterday. Early start from Beijing, the train turned out to be — well, not luxurious, but higher-end than any of us expected. We shared a compartment with two ladies, they took the upper bunks and Geoff and I are on the ground floor. Our tour group is 15 in all — we are Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, and Americans. And our tour guide is Russian. Here we are with our “roomies”!
Passed through pleasant scenery on our 11-hour train trip to the Mongolia border, starting with green saw-toothed mountains outside Beijing, turning gradually into flatter land, and ending up with very flat and scrubby land, grazed by sheep, goats, horses, and yes, eventually camels. The China-Mongolia border itself was an adventure. We didn’t have to change trains, but they changed the WHEELS on the train, to accommodate a different track gauge in Mongolia. Coupled with the Customs/Immigration border controls, it was a four-hour process. The guards told us we could get off the train to stretch our legs, but a few of us wandered too far down the track, and when we turned to get back on the train they had locked the doors, and we had to sit out the hours in the waiting room of the station. At first we felt a bit sorry for ourselves, what with the others being on the train and in relative comfort, but we all got to know each other quite well, enjoyed some good laughs at our predicament, and eventually scored a triumph for Canada when Geoff — in Chinese — talked the Customs staff into letting him leave the station and cross the street to buy a bag of cold beer. Our hero! H
appily, we may have had the last laugh, because when we got back to the train we found that to prevent stowaways, the train’s bathrooms had been lockedfor the whole four hours (and they continued to be locked for another three hours after), while we in our station waiting room had not only beer but a loo as well.
And I just have to show you a picture of my lunch on the train. 
Aren’t you jealous? I bet YOU didn’t have a pig cookie for YOUR lunch today!
Haha! Count on Geoff to always find BEER! And that cookie!!!!!!!!!!!! I neeeeed that cookie!!!
Geoff to the rescue!!! Elizabeth, be prepared to do the same in Russia!!!
As adorable as that cookie is, it honestly looks like Play-Doh …but… I would totally eat it! :)….
I am more interested in that red coffee cup…is that disguised Tim Horton’s ???
Fancier than Tim Hortons, it is from MEC. But you would have liked that cookie, LOL
Impressive skills Geoff cold beer and all mod cons of the waiting room, Elizabeth methinks your track wandering was a God send.
I am impressed with how you turned misadventure into opportunity! Good thing you had access to the loo after the beers.
Stowaways!? People trying to sneak into Russia!!! “:–))))
Yes!!!
Love the story about the train locking and Geoff doing a beer run. So typical Geoff. And I bet the others were pleased that he was able to communicate with the locals for you all too! A nice little treat.