29 Hours

Soooooo, off to the Trans-siberian 29-hour train ride itself. The travel to the train station itself was exhausting due to our load but passing the ticket counter and security check at the Beijing Railway Station was far, far, FAR WORSE. The line was so long and people were constantly attempting to cut in queue. What was worse was the line to the security check. Basically, there was no line. It was just a mosh pit of people squeezing to try and get into the security clearance with no regard for safety or even basic courtesy. It was a moment that was so unbelievable that it became funny in a way. This is something that, coming from Singapore’s way of queuing constantly, i simply could not understand. Anyhow, luckily we arrived early and we were not late for our train unlike some poor devils who were trying to push through the mosh pit and saying that their train was leaving in 10 minutes. We boarded the train (after taking numerous photos) and to our relief, the train was really decent! There was sufficient space for our stuff, not too shabby beds, sufficient heating and meals provided. Actually would not be too bad being on  this train for a few days at a time. Our cabin section was not full with only three cabins filled out of eight. There was one group of Chinese locals from China who were unfriendly to say the least. There was another cabin with two girls from France who were on a long travel. They were pretty friendly individuals who we came to get to know. They were friends from Bordeaux in France and they led interesting lives, their travel plans were 5 days in Beijing, 3 weeks in Mongolia and 1 Month in Russia. The part of their travels that i wish i could do was that they had absolutely zero plans, they had no accommodation, no tours or anything of that sort. This is something i probably would not be able to do, but that is how i travel 🙂 They had very interesting views and I am glad that they were not extreme people in their views and were all around pleasant. Close to 10pm came our arrival at the Chinese border. All of us had a small scare! HAHA. So Mr David and myself went outside of the train to see what Er Lian (China border) was like and to take some photos. All of a sudden the train starts moving and we both panic. Luckily the personnel on the ground assured us that they will be back. Imagine if it was just me and i could not communicate with the ground personnel. That would have been terrifying. All in all, the train ride was really really decent and a pleasant experience. Onward to Mongolia!