Irkutsk and on the rails to Vladimir - Day 1 of 4

Thursday, August 19, 2010

(Written on the day, after we boarded the train.)

[Irkutsk is 5185 km from Moscow and 4104km from Vladivostok (9289km from Moscow), the official end of the Trans-Siberian railway. Our group will travel for four calendar days, three nights and over 70 hours, almost 5000km from Irkutsk to Vladimir.]

On the train! We lucked out - this is the nicest carriage we've had yet. Not only is there air con, we also have a window that opens. The seats are extremely comfortable with radio jacks and lights on each end of the bench. There is even a flat screen TV (with three Russian stations) and a power outlet! This is the life. The bottom beds are seats with a drop down bed, which means that people aren't sitting on your bed the whole day. Everyone is ecstatic about the train carriage - we were mentally preparing for three days of shitty train so this is heaps better than our expectations. The only small problem was the dusty floor, which I "mopped" with a few bits of toilet paper before we put anything under the seats. Our berth was completely organised before the train even pulled out of the station.

Cleaning our berth floor

Today I woke up at 7am after a somewhat ok sleep - better than the previous night anyhow. Nikolai made fried eggs for breakfast served hot off the stove at 8am with bread, cheese and more of the delicious cowberry jam. Steph kindly braided my hair while we waited to leave. Max arrived at 9am to take us to Irkutsk. Big hug and kiss from Nikolai as we walked out into the sunshine (finally!). Unlike the last two days, this morning was crystal clear. The views over the lake were incredible - snow capped mountains on the left and green hills on the right. A small town, which I believe was Port Baikal lined the waters edge. I sat in the front of the van and Max chatted with me most of the hours drive to Irkutsk. He even gave me a few 10 ruble coins which are unique because there are cities on the backside. The tree-lined road had rows of trees as far as the eye could see. The trees must have been cleared to make way for the road, as it was the only break in the forest.

Our first stop in Irkutsk was Volkonsky's Manor House, the home of Count Sergei Volkonsky, a museum with original furnishings and family pictures. After completing their terms of labor near Chita, many Decembrists settled in Irkutsk with their families, who had earlier followed them into exile and the Volkonsky manor reflects their way of life. The mansion, built in 1838, is set in a courtyard with stables, a barn and servant quarters. After ten years of penal servitude (1826-1836) in Zabaikalye, the Volkonskys were sent to live in Urik where they stayed until 1845. Having gotten permission to leave for Irkutsk, they arranged for their house to be transported and by 1847 the erection of the house had been finished in Irkutsk. All the wallpaper on the first floor of the house had been renovated based on scraps of the remaining pieces which were sent to St Petersburg. By Siberian tradition, the wooden ceilings were neither plastered nor whitewashed. The most impressive room has a pyramidal piano from the late 18th century (which I think they said was one of two in the world). One of the upstairs rooms, less decorated than those downstairs, had a photo exhibition including portraits of Maria (Sergei's wife) and other 1820s women who romantically followed their husbands and lovers into exile. It was an interesting glimpse into the lives of the Decembrists; it sounded like the women get the worst end of the deal but were extremely devoted to their husbands.

[Background on the Decembrists Movement (courtesy of Lonely Planet)

"Across Siberia, notably in Irkutsk, Chita and Novoselenginsk, interesting museums commemorate the 'Decembrist' gentlemen-rebels. This group of aristocratic, liberal-leaning army officers had occupied Senate Sq in St Petersburg in an ill-conceived coup against Tsar Nicholas I. The date was 26 December 1825, hence their sobriquet.

The mutineers were poorly organized and outnumbered, but Nicholas I was loathe to mark the start of his reign with a full-blown domestic massacre. After a stand-off, which lasted most of the day, troops fired several canister shots into the square killing about 60 people. The rebellion crumbled and five leaders were executed. Another 121 organisers were sentenced to hard labor, prison and exile in Siberia where they became romantic heroes of a sort. But the real heroes were their womenfolk, many of whom abandoned their lives of comfort and sophistication to follow their husbands or lovers into exile. The first was the faithful Yekaterina Trubetskaya. The story goes that having travelled 6000m by coach to Nerchinsk, she immediately descended into the silver mines to find her husband.

Others had to wait for months in Irkutsk or Chita for permission to see their men, meanwhile setting up small social circles that encouraged 'Western civilization' in these hitherto wild-east backwaters. Over two decades the exiled families opened schools, formed scientific societies and edited newspapers. Maria Volonskaya, popularly known as the 'Princess of Siberia', founded a local hospital and opened a concert theatre, in addition to hosting musical and cultural soirees in her home.

The Decembrists were granted amnesty when Nicholas I died in 1855. Although many of them, including Maria Volonskaya, returned to St Petersburg, their legacy lived on for decades".]

From the museum we walked past the yellow Prebraheniya Gospodnya Church and stopped into the tourist information center before heading to the area with examples of traditional Siberian wooden houses. The izbas (log houses) main decorative features are carved, brightly painted window frames. It was a beautiful day for walking and after snapping a few pictures of the houses, we enjoyed lunch at a cafe. There weren't any seats left at the tables where my group was sitting, so I ended up at my own table for lunch. It was the first time I felt somewhat lonely on this trip and was surprised that only one group of people said something to me. Maybe I was just in a strange mood, but I felt left out.

We headed to the outdoor market after lunch, which boasted tons of produce. Vegetable seller after vegetable seller followed by a series of berry (raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, etc) sellers followed by a group of fruit sellers. There were so many stalls! I purchased a couple of nectarines for 17 rubles and then two apricots for 12 rubles. Both women selected the fruit on my behalf. I didn't appreciate this, so when I went to buy the apricots, I picked up my own and showed it to the woman. She didn't understand and handed me a bag with two apricots, so I took them out of the bag and put my two in. She reacted harshly and grabbed the plastic bag back to re-weigh it; I owed an extra two rubles but was pleased that I had gotten the message across.

After the market, we stopped into the hotel with internet and I finally posted some updates on my blog. As I mentioned on the post, I was unable to spell check and didn't have time to edit, so I'm slightly embarrassed at the quality of the posts. Oh well. I ventured outside again with Stuart, Shelley, Kristy and Steph to quickly check out pl Kirova. The magnificent Annunciation Cathedral that once dominated pl Kirova was demolished during one of Stalin's bad moods and replaced by a concrete regional administration building, the ex-Communist Party headquarters. Behind this were two churches. The whitewashed 1706 Saviour's Church has remnants of murals on its facade and across the street was the Organ Hall. Down the road on the riverfront was the eye-catching Bogoyavlensky Cathedral with salmon, white and green towers. We didn't enter either church and had a quick stroll on the Angara river before returning to pl Kirova for the supermarket.

I picked up some supplies for the train and when we got back to the hotel, we found out that Max was running late. We had almost an hour there, but somehow the time managed to pass without doing much. Max appeared at 5:35pm (instead of 5pm) and we loaded the van as quickly as possible. Fortunately, Intrepid allows tons of extra time to get to the train, and we boarded by 6:10, with twenty minutes until departure. And as I already said, we are totally cleaned up and ready for our 70+ hour journey.

Our home for 73 hours

Cold and cloudy day on Baikal

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

(Written on the day.)

Last night we had a fabulous dinner! Nikolai made hot smoked omul (like we'd had for lunch) with mashed potatoes, green beans and a side salad of tomato and cucumber. Dessert was a fantastic cowberry pie. After dinner I sat downstairs with Denise, Rod, Wayne, Fi, Stuart, Shelley and Bruce and enjoyed a glass of wine and some Baileys.

This morning we were able to sleep in since breakfast wasn't until 9am, but I didn't have a very good night. I woke up about four times needing to pee, and since my bathroom was across the hall, I kept opening my squeaky door worrying that I might wake Anna and Bruce. We had cottage cheese pancakes (not my favorite) with sour cream and the other traditional breakfast items we'd eaten the previous morning. We had some free time after breakfast since we decided not to venture to Port Baikal (due to the weather) and Anna did some research on visiting Taltsy, an an impressive outdoor collection of old Siberian buildings set in a delightful riverside forest. She determined we could travel there by public bus and return by private van; everyone agreed and we headed out in the cold to the tourist office to pick up the 11am bus. Fortunately we all got seats, but there were tons of people (locals and backpackers) standing in the aisles since the bus destination was Irkutsk. I was in the front row with Anna and two women squeezed themselves in our legroom. Steph, sitting behind me, was getting completely squashed by the man standing next to her. Thirty minutes and 940 rubles (paid by Interpid since we didn't take the boat) later, we were all happy to disembark - about half the bus needed to get off in order to let us out. Our fearless leader lead us across the nearly empty road to the entrance of Taltsy.  The first section of sparse teepees didn't give me much hope for the rest of the museum, but after the series of wooden watermills was a large area of renovated farmsteads, two chapels, a church, some Evenk graves and a 17th century Iliminsk Ostrog watchtower.  Anna, quite the naturalist, found a few varieties of mushrooms in the plants and was keen to point them out to us.  What a great tour guide.

Coffee, vodka, beer... what else would you want at 4pm?

We returned to Listvyanka via private van (500 rubles, almost half that of the public bus) and ate lunch at a small cafe. I shared a meat pastry with Bruce and ordered the fish soup. More omul, which is very tasty, but I was definitely omuled out. Walked to the hotel to use the internet and spent 2.5 frustrating hours unable to log on to my blog or gmail even though it was working on my iPod touch. Got a latte and chocolate dessert and was sitting with Stuart, Shelley, and Steph when two Russians bought us a round of beer. LP says you must never refuse a drink from a Russian, so we accepted. But next thing we knew, four shots of vodka were delivered to the table. And that's when the trouble started. I managed to get down the vodka, with a bit of Shelley's honey cake as a chaser and slowly worked my way through half of the beer. The men seemed very interested in Stuart, and his head was rubbed by the pot-bellied gray haired captain making him reluctant to use the men's room. Stuart finished two of the vodkas and three+ beers and was pretty drunk walking back to the homestay.

Dinner consisted of chicken, rice and a side salad of cucumbers, not nearly as good as last night in my opinion, but still tasty. After dinner, Kristy taught us the card game Mafia which we played for a few hours before going to bed. I didn't enjoy being the mafia (preferred to be a townsperson or the angel) and got to play two rounds as the spokesperson. As Susie pointed out, I have a terrible poker face and am bad at storytelling. Thank you, I know. Off to bed.

Talk about exfoliation!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

(This experience gets its own blog entry.)

[First some background information on the Russian banya courtesy of Lonely Planet.
The traditions of the banya


For centuries, travellers to Russia have commented on the particular (in many people's eyes, peculiar) traditions of the banya (bathhouse). To this day, Russians make it an important part of their week and you can't say you've really been to Russia unless you've visited a banya.

The main element of the banya is the parilka (steam room). Here, rocks are heated by a furnace, with water poured onto them using a long-handled ladle. A few drops of eucalyptus or pine oils are often added to the water, creating a scent in the burst of scalding steam that's released into the room. You'll note that even though people are naked in the banya, some wear a chapka (felt hat) to protect their hair from the effects of the heat.

As they sweat it out, some bathers grab hold of a venik (a tied bundle of birch branches) and beat themselves or each other with it. Though it can be painful, the effect can also be pleasant and cleansing: the birch leaves and their secretions are supposed to help rid the skin of toxins. After the birch-branch trashing, bathers run outside and, depending on their nerve, plunge into the basseyn (ice-cold pool) or take a cooling shower. The whole process is then repeated serveral times for anything up to two hours."]

I literally just got out of the shower after my intense banya. It was the true Russian banya, almost exactly like the LP description above. At 6pm, I arrived in the front hall to discover no one else was ready for their banya experience. Anna came down second as our host Nikolai remarked in Russian with expressive body language that "No Russians are late for banya". I stepped into the cold outdoor air to run the few meters to the banya. Little did I know that the first door actually lead to three rooms. The warm waiting room didn't exactly prepare me for the heat of the steam room.

After five of us got to the waiting room, Nikolai placed felt hats on our heads, handed us some wood butt mats and ushered us through the cleaning room (not sure what the actual name is) into the steam room. The heat was almost unbearable. Steph and I only lasted a couple minutes, especially after Nikolai added more water to the stones and a fresh wave of heat blasted through the room, before we needed some fresh air. It felt like my nose was burning and every surface I touched was scorching.

Back in the waiting room, the rest of the group (sans Bruce) stood around for their turns. The second time I went in the steam room with my felt hat, it was only me and Denise. She had already gotten a bit of a beating from Nikolai with the birch branches. Forgetting to put on my own gloves, Denise began hitting me with the leaves and Nikolai came in to slap me a bit more. I vocalized a few yelps and ahhs and oh my gosh when Nikolai grabbed my legs and swung me to the side to smack the bottom of my feet. I wouldn't say it was a pleasant feeling being hit numerous times by twigs and leaves, but it is part of the experience.

After the beating, you are supposed to go outside and jump into the pool (a very small pool) of cold water. Denise was all for it and slowly lowered herself into the pool, but I hesitated and only stuck my feet in the water for a brief moment. It was just too cold outside. Kristy and Shelley were next in, and as Kristy walked outside, she didn't blink before jumping straight into the cold water. As everyone else took their turns, they practiced the typical Russian way and jumped into the pool, waited outside in the cold air for a minute and then came back to the warm waiting room. People convinced me that I should jump in the next time since it is part of the process. So, after much internal debate, I decided to go for it. Steph also concluded that she should go back into the steam room for the branch beating followed by the pool jumping.

Before I knew it, Denise and I were back in the sauna. This time we had to beat ourselves since we'd been shown how to do it. Hitting yourself with branches takes your mind off the heat for a while, but eventually I started feeling the oppressive hot air. Denise and I hit each other to get our backs and have a bit of fun. Nikolai walked in and hit us himself before adding water to the stones and telling us to continue. We must have been in there for at least 3-5 minutes, although how long it actually was I won't ever know for sure. Finally we could go out for fresh air. Denise and I decided that I would jump in the pool first and she would hand me my towel to dry my eyes. So, as I walked out the door into the cold air partially covered in birch leaves and remnants, I took the few steps to the pool and, with a small squeal, jumped into the cold water.

I came out almost as quickly as I went in. After drying my eyes, I climbed up the pool ladder as fast as I could as I started to feel the cold temperature of the water. Standing outside felt marvelous. During the day I'd been in a couple layers and felt cold, but being outside after the intense heat was invigorating. I waited a couple minutes, taking in my surroundings, before I went back into the waiting room. There was one last step in the process, the scrub down. One at a time, we entered the middle room. Denise went first so I got to hear her reactions before experiencing them on my own.

The scrubber, which looks like a very big luffa when it is covered in soap, is not like a big luffa. It is so much rougher than that and the first time I properly felt it was when Nikolai scrubbed my back and the back of my legs. Ouch! He then handed me the large sponge to wash my arms and legs, then took it back to get my neck and chest. I raised my arms up and tried to get away from him, turning myself in a circle (and almost slipping, twice) as he followed me with the sponge at my neck and chest, squealing and squirming as everyone laughed at the scene. With the pressure he used, you'd think he enjoys hurting his guests. Talk about exfoliation!

I did it!  Full banya experience.

Once I was all soaped up, Nikolai splashed my arms down with warm water then told me to clean my face and finally to pick up the large silver basin and dump the water on my front and back. The final stage is a bucket of cold water over the head; Nikolai stood on the bench and just dumped the whole thing over me. It felt so chilly after the warm water that I screamed from the shock and cold. And that was that. My banya experience. Fantastic! As I stood watching others, I said out loud "I'm so happy to be here. This is such a wonderful adventure." Eventually, Nikolai told us that the continued sweating was bad and we should go back into the house. This time it felt very cold outside, unlike the refreshing sensation after the pool. One quick picture in front of the pool to document the moment, the only photographic evidence of the banya.

I took a quick shower inside just to warm myself and wash off the birch smell. Dinner next. We're having the omul again. Should be goose-no (delicious, oh, and that's just the way its pronounced, not spelled).

They call this a homestay?

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

(Written on the day.)

Wow! The homestay is so much better than I expected. This house is spectacular. We're spread out over three floors of the wood walled house with beautiful front garden and greenhouse. Each room has its own bathroom with shower (hot water!) and heated floors. My room, in the attic, has a small windowed alcove overlooking the front of the house. A delicious breakfast was on the table when we arrived at 10 - porridge, cheese, meats, bread, cowberry jam, plus coffee and tea. Unfortunately, as the forecast predicted, it is raining. We're still planning to have a walk around the town, so I imagine I'll get pretty wet.

Am currently clean after my hot shower - lovely feeling after two nights on the train. The train ride was extremely quick. When we arrived in Irkutsk this morning, our driver Max was at the station ready to whisk us to Listvyanka, after a quick stop at a hotel where we could complete our Russian registration (it also had wireless so I put in a quick skype call to my mom). Since the train didn't depart until 9pm, we basically went to sleep a couple hours after boarding. I took an Ambien and had a fabulous rest. We arrived at the border crossing around 5am but got to sleep until 8, as I wrote before. We eventually left the Mongolian border (Sukhbaatar) and headed for Russia, where we handed over our passports again at the border town Naushki (5902km from Moscow). I made myself some lunch just before we arrived as I was getting a bit peckish.

Everyone hung around chatting while we waited for the passports. Anna took us for a walk around Naushki once our precious documents were safely returned. All the houses were constructed in the traditional wooden Siberian style (so cute!) and a local girl rode her bike down the street acting as if we were invisible. We took another "street" on the way back and noticed some military trucks, which eventually drove past us on the street at a speed fast enough to kick some mud and small stones into the air - lovely.

After a quick pit stop, a group of us wandered down to river on the opposite side of the tracks that the French guy on the train recommended. Other than the heaps of trash along the way, the yellow wildflowers, rolling green hills and flowing river were beautiful. The scene was characteristic of so many places around the world that I didn't feel as though I was in Siberia. Anna took a dip in the water, which carried her quickly downstream due to the fast current, while the rest of us sat on the river banks. A warm afternoon; lovely to be off the train.

We boarded again around 4pm local time (an hour later than Mongolia) and got underway for the remaining 15.5 hours of the journey. The rest of my cabin ate a late lunch of cheese and pickles on French bread before Anna started our Russian lesson. Once again, all 12 people squeezed into our berth. She began with the easy letters and sounds, before moving on to the more complicated letters and phrases. After an hour of Russia, most of which went over my head except for a few phrases which when said quickly in English sound Russian (like "horror-show" which means good, ok), Stuart broke out a bottle of vodka and we toasted to Russia with vodka and grapefruit juice. People hung around in our hot cabin for a while before returning to their own berths for dinner. I sat with Stuart, Shelley, Kristy and Steph for a bit, and when I returned to my cabin, my berth-mates, were playing truth-or-dare. I joined in the fun. Very few dares arose, but the couple that did involved Liz wearing the window curtain for ten minutes, for me to get a picture of someone in our group wearing the curtain, and for Liz to eat three pickles. Other than the typical sexual questions that come up in truth-or-dare, the majority of the questions were get-to-know-you and ranged from childhood dreams, to relationships, to religion and politics.

After dinner, I broke out the pretzels and frosting I'd bought in Mongolia. Fantastic dessert. People came back into our berth for a little more drinking, even though I was hoping to go to bed. By midnight, the last lot had finally cleared out and I could get some sleep. We had to wake up at 6am this morning to clear the beds and get ready for our arrival in Irkutsk. More later, we're going for a walk.

(Written after the walk, still on August 17.)

Boy am I glad to be inside right now. Just walked through the howling wind and pouring rain to get back to the homestay. The wind seems to be gradually picking up making it hard to walk, and hard to keep my jacket hood on my head to keep the water off my hair. But its warm inside and I now feel protected from the elements. Definitely won't be venturing outside to make the 20 minute walk (each way) to the hotel with wireless just to update my blog.


We met at noon to have a walk around Listvyanka, the town on Lake Baikal where we are based. I wore my rain jacket and poncho for cover due to the heavy mist. The homestay is about 1km from the lake side, so we walked down our partially muddy street before hitting the main road. We walked around town, stopped into the hotel with wireless where I made a quick skype call to my parents, and checked out some small souvenir stalls.

For lunch, we decided to try Omul, the local fish specialty, but there was no place to sit at the original location. So we walked a bit further and found more stalls selling Omul. Anna did the ordering: 6 hot smoked omul, 3 cold smoked omul and 3 cold salty omul. Stuart picked up six large pieces of bread for everyone, and we sat down in a small "cafe" serving drinks to eat. The cafe serves food, but primarily acts as a place where you can sit inside and enjoy your omul with a drink. I had a small cup of the local brew. We unwrapped the fish, divided it among the group and tucked in. It was surprisingly delicious (goose-no in Russia). LP describes it as a cross between salmon and trout so I wasn't sure I'd like it. Personally, the hot smoked omul was my favorite, even though the cold smoked had more flavor. It was so much fun to be squeezed in at a local beer cafe in Siberia eating fish with our bare hands (forgot to say that we had no silverware). So cool. :)


After lunch, Ana took us further down the road to a look out point. Sadly the clouds covered the mountains surrounding the lake and the gray sky made the water seem dull. The young ones decided not to continue up the hill to the observatory, while the older couples joined Anna to the view point. We walked back, and given the current weather, I'm glad we did; its pretty gross outside.

A bit about Lake Baikal (courtesy of LP). "Lake Baikal the 'Pearl of Siberia', is a crystal-clear body of the bluest water. It's drinkably pure, surrounded by rocky, tree-covered cliffs and so vast that you can sail for hours without the mountain backdrops becoming appreciably closer. Shaped like a banana, Lake Baikal - 636km from north to south, but only 60km wide - was formed by rifting tectonic plates. Though nearly 8km of the rift is filled with sediment, it is gradually getting deeper as the plates separate. It will eventually become the earth's fifth ocean, splitting the Asian continent. In the meantime it's the world's deepest lake: 1637m near the western shore. As such, it contains nearly one-fifth of the world's fresh, unfrozen water - more than North America's five Great Lakes combined.
The lake itself is a living museum of flora and fauna, 80% of which is found nowhere else on the planet, most famously the loveable black-eyed nerpa (freshwater seals) and salmonlike omul fish, which are delicious smoked."

Having a banya in a bit and dinner at 8pm. Time to type up my other journals. By the way, this trip is awesome. I'm so glad I'm doing it.

On the rails to Russia

Monday, August 16, 2010

(Written on the day.)

Good morning! It's 9:30am and we are sitting at the Mongolian border, in the town of Sukhbaatar (383km from UB), set at the junction of the Selenga and Orkhon Rivers, the capital of the Selenge aimag (province) founded in the 1940s. We arrived around 5am but were allowed to sleep until 8am. We are currently undergoing passport control and customs. We should be leaving in the next hour+. I slept very well last night. Popped an Ambien before bed and don't remember much else. Still a bit groggy as I think I needed a bit more time to sleep it off. I've decided that since I'll be traveling so long on the train, I will add the kilometer markers after station names. This should help give you a sense of the massive distance covered by the Trans-Mongolian/Siberian.

I think that now is the perfect time to catch up on my journal. I've done the 15th and I'm sure I started writing the 14th on my netbook, so I think I'll finish the 13th, day at the ger camp. [Have now added this to the blog.]

(All I wrote on August 16 was the catch up of the previous few days. The rest of my journal for today is written in my entry from August 17.)

New Posts

I have just added four posts to this blog.  Unfortunately, spell check was not working and I didn't have time to edit, so there are probably some spelling mistakes or missing letters.  Sorry in advance.  I will have to post updates from August 15 - August 18 when I arrive in western Russia.

Have added a few albums to my shutterfly site, so you can see some of the photos from Mongolia.  http://ejltravels.shutterfly.com/.

In three hours, we board the train to head west towards Moscow.  Three nights, 72 hours.  We arrive in Vladimir on Sunday at 2:30pm local time.  Should be interesting ride.  More from Moscow.

Free time in Ulaan Baatar

Sunday, August 15, 2010
(Written on the day.)

On the train again. About to depart UB for Russia. I've got major catching up to do - seems to be the trend for this part of the trip, especially since I haven't had much internet time on my netbook. I'm looking at the moon out of the closed train window, almost half-crescent, orange-yellow. Nature is beautiful.
Today was our free day to explore Ulaan Baatar. We began with breakfast at 9am before putting the bags in the hotel storage room. I was up at 7:45am so I could take a hot shower in room 307.
Ahh, the air con just came on in the cabin. So much better. These berths seem slightly smaller than the first train and the windows don't open because there is air con, however, it is controlled by the attendants (comment from August 18, we all came to find out that its actually better to have windows since the air con didn't seem to stay on for very long). Anyway, back to today. I left the hotel with Stuart, Shelley, Kristy and Steph but Liz, Susie, Bruce, Wayne and Fi were on the same path to the Gandan Khild monastery. We had a bit of difficulty navigating, we definitely ended up in a non-touristy part of town (although UB isn't very touristy) and saw some locals playing pool on the street. We made it eventually. The monastery was built in 1838 and served as home to the 13th Dalai Lama. It currently has over 900 monks in residence. There were about ten different buildings, and in a couple monks were praying. At one, they were clashing symbols, banging a gong and chanting. The main temple Migiid Janraisig Sum has a 26.5 meter tall gilded Buddha (no pictures unless you pay an extra $10).
From the monastery, we walked to the center of town for some shopping the cashmere stores before lunch at Cafe Amsterdam. We ended up at the cafe for 1.5 hours because there was wireless internet and Kristy and Steph were anxious to make the first post on their blog. They were ecstatic when the post went live. I had the pleasure of skyping with my parents and Wanda and Steve.
I want to go to sleep now, as its almost 11pm, so I'm going to jot notes for the rest of today.

- Money exchange - Stuart and I couldn't find places that had rubles. We found one bank that claimed to have rubles so we waited 30 minutes in line to find out they had 1,700 in small bills and one 5,000 note (worth about $165). Annoying. Eventually we found an excellent exchange place (turns out its the one Anna uses).

- Souvenir shop - nothing interesting and no rubles

- Sukhbaatar square ad National Museum of Mongolian History (a museum with lots of pottery pieces and some interesting facts about Mongolian history).
 
- Quick sop at the hotel, move currency exchange, grocery shopping (not as good as the first store), pizza dinner at Venezia, quick dash to the hotel where Nemo met us to take us to the train station.  Gathered at 7:30pm, arrived at station by 8:15pm with almost an hour.
 
- Have now been moving for almost two hours.  Arrive at Mongolian border at 5am but get to sleep until 8am.  Good night.

Smiles from the kids at Lotus, UB

Saturday, August 14, 2010
(This journal was typed on the day the events took place.)

Today has been a long day, even though we got to sleep in until 8:30. The ger was quite comfortable and I slept well although it did cool off by morning and the guy came in at 7am to start another fire. Breakfast turned into another large meal. There were just a couple pieces of rye bread with nutella and jam on the table so I figured that was breakfast. Then they brought in some type of local dish, not very good, followed by corn soup and then fried egg on bread. I'm shocked at the quantity of food at the ger camp. Half the group was exhausted and slightly hungover from a late night with some Mongolians. Fi was miserable and Kristy had been sick all night with some type of food poisoning.

After breakfast, we all (except Fi and Kristy) had a go at archery. My attempts were pretty weak, although the last arrow did get somewhat close to the target. We left the ger camp at 11am, behind schedule, but still stopped along the way to sample fermented hare's milk (a Mongolian specialty with a somewhat sour and tart flavor, not for me) and to pose with an eagle on our arms (I passed on this). By the time we got to UB, we just had a moment to pick up the laundry and put our stuff in the rooms before going to lunch at the vegetarian Ananda cafe. Ananda cafe is associated with the Lotus center, an orphanage for homeless or poor children. We were served dumplings, a flat type of dumpling and a couple salads. All the food was excellent. Before we ate, Sony told us about Lotus center. He grew up there from six to 18 and is now living in a ger with his older brother. There are about 110 kids currently at the center. Some of them know their parents but their parents don't have the means to take care of them. I guess its better if they grow up in a loving environment and are well nurtured rather than live with parents who might abuse them.
From there we went to the Lotus summer camp for the younger kids. The camp is about 45 minutes from Ulaan Baatar and the children spend the summer holidays playing a relaxing there. Ten gers scattered an area closed in by a wood fence. We got to poke our heads into three of them and meet the children. Some were only three and four, but there was another group of children who were six and seven. In the second ger, a few of the kids sang for us. The first was absolutely adorable. She starting belting Twinkle Twinkle Little Star at the top of her lungs in English (she got most of the words right) before switching to Mongolian. Precious. Several of the other small ones sang Mongolian tunes. It was such a treat. We got to meet the founder of Lotus Didi but she only briefly stopped by.
All the kids started running around outside so a bunch of us joined in playing football and with lots of hand games. After 30 minutes we had to say goodbye, but at least the children all had big smiles on their faces, especially since a few in our group had brought gifts from Australia (pens, key chains, books, etc). It was a touching afternoon. We had 1.5 hours until dinner, which is when I started writing this. Will have to talk more about dinner when I get back.
The dinner place Anna recommended was closed, so we ended up at BBQ Chicken, a slightly upper scale KFC. At least they had wireless internet. Stuart went back to the hotel to pick up his laptop, I managed on my iPod. It took forever to get drinks. I sampled a Mongolian beer, Altas something. Steph and I shared chicken fingers and Kimchi rice. It was actually quite tasty, especially with the honey mustard sauce, and the rice had a nice Kimchi flavor. Everyone seemed satisfied with their chicken feast and we headed out around 9:40pm.

Rain riding and buuz making at Terelj National Park

Friday, August 13, 2010
(Written in my journal on Friday, August 13.)

We're at the ger camp right now in Terelj National Park. Steph, Kristy and I are sitting in our delightfully warm ger. This morning we had breakfast (eggs, rolls with sausage, bread) at 8:30 at San Hotel in Ulaan Baatar before departing at 9:30am with a stop for laundry and a supermarket. I was impressed with the selection at the market, much better than Beijing and am excited to get food for the train (I know that sounds silly, but its great knowing you have a options when you are on a train for a couple days). From there we began the drive to Terelj passing by small gers and villages. A herder on the side of the road with his animals was moving to his autumn location, according to Nemo. Close to Terelj, a site for Shaman offerings hugged the road. You must walk around clockwise three times and put an offering on the pile for your wish to come true. I asked for sun and warmth since the weather today is cloudy with rain showers. It really started raining as we drove into the ger camp and we were all throwing on our ponchos before exiting the van.

The camp has about 20 gers and is much more luxurious than I expected. Our ger has three beds, a small table and a rod-iron stove which is keeping it nice and warm inside. The toilet rooms, which are about 25 meters away, have Western style toilets with toilet paper! (After you've travelled for a while, toilet paper becomes a luxury item.) At 1pm we met in the dining room for lunch; also wasn't expecting much but we had a four course meal.
(Written on Monday, August 16 on the train. I've taken the part which reflects the activities for the rest of August 13.)

I think that now is the perfect time to catch up on my journal. I've done the 15th and I'm sure I started writing the 14th on my netbook, so I think I'll finish the 13th, day at the ger camp.

Lunch consisted of a starter plate with salami, cucumbers and tomatoes, followed by a hearty potato and beef soup (which I thought was the main course). The main course was beef with mashed potatoes and rice after which they served a jelly roll. It was all delicious but uncomfortably filling. The rain had stopped, so after an hour of relaxation, we went horseback riding. The horses didn't move very fast and mine kept getting hit on the ass with a stick by one of our guides. The scenery was spectacular - rolling green hills, pine trees, enormous rocks - with a partially cloudy sky. We rode through the cool breeze (and slight drizzle) for about an hour to Turtle Rock. There was a gift shop ger to stroll into. After a couple minutes in the art ger, the sky opened up and it started pouring, so we all ended up huddled in the art shop purchasing various gifts. I decided not to buy anything but appreciated not getting soaked. We must have been there for 30 minutes before venturing out in the diminishing rain.
My saddle was soaked, so I asked the guide to dry it off for me. My bum (yes, this is the word I used in my journal; the Australians must be rubbing off on me) got a bit wet as I mounted the horse. Oh well. The rest of the ride was gorgeous, similar to the first half in terms of scenery, but it rained a bit and the horses continued their slow walking pace with occasional trotting. When we dismounted, Nemo and Denise were waiting for us. Nemo took us on a walk of the surrounding area. He pointed out a Buddhist meditation retreat, Aryapala, high high up in the rocks on the mountain. It looked impossible to get to. Apparently, monks go there to meditate for up to two weeks, taking no food with them. Four painted heads of gods donned the rocks below the retreat to ward off evil spirits. We then hiked to the top of the hill for amazing views over the Lord of the Rings like landscape.
As soon as we got back to the ger it was time for our buuz making lesson. The dough, simply flour and water, was kneaded by five volunteers until it was firm but soft. I got to help cut the dough into pieces. I started with an oval shaped dough ball and had to flatten it while creating a hole in the middle by turning it in circles and making a large hallow circle, like a ring. Broke that into two small snake like pieces before cutting the dough into inch size pieces and flattening them like coins. The next stage involved using a rolling pin to make flat round circles with a bit more dough at the center. Then the filling (meat or potatoes and onions) is placed at the center of the dough, you pinch the top together then the two sides. Done!
When we finished with buuz making, they served the first course for dinner, some type of potato-egg salad, followed by our delicious buuz. We sat around the table after dinner, drinking and talking. Nemo told us about Mongolia and some traditions. Turns out he was a doctor for five years but the salary was only 15,000 T per month (that's less than $15). As a driver he started making 75,000 T a month. Makes you wonder how they have any doctors in Mongolia. Some bad jokes and a few drinks later everyone left the table to return to their gers. It was 10:30pm and Steph, Kristy and I were all tired. Bed for us. Bruce, Liz and Susie had the party ger - Fi, Denise and Rod joined in the fun as well as six Mongolians who were also visiting the ger camp.

Saturday morning we didn't need to be at breakfast until 9am. Kristy had gotten food poisoning and had a miserable night in the bathroom. Fi had a bit too much fun in the party ger and had a horrible hangover. Already wrote about the 14th on my netbook, so now the only thing I have left to write about is the first train journey and the half day in UB. I made some comments on the train so let me refer to my notes.
(As I mentioned earlier, I had to journal about the previous days and so there is a bit of writing where I explain what I'm going to write about. I thought it would be funny to include it since that's how its written down but for the purpose of the blog, I wanted to keep things in chronological order.)

On the rails to Ulaan Baatar

Wednesday, August 11, 2010 and Thursday, August 12, 2010
(This first part was written on Wednesday, August 11.)

We've already been on the train for seven hours. It has actually gone by quite quickly, although I'm sure the next 23 won't all pass as fast. Our walk to the station this morning was short but sweaty and when we finally boarded we were disappointed to find only fans in the carriages. Luckily, once we started moving, we had a breeze through the open window. The compartment are small but kind of what I expected. I think initially it was a bit shocking entering the berth, but now that we've settled in, its not so bad. Liz broke out some portable speakers about 30 minutes after departing and we've been enjoying a variety of music from an iPod swap.

About two hours outside of Beijing we pass through an area of rock mountains cut through by a river. It was beautiful and everyone was at the windows snapping pictures of the scenery. Eventually I became tired and took a short nap. Contrary to belief, lunch was available in the dining car from 11am-noon, which consisted of somewhat tasty rice, chicken with onions and a side plate of some type of veg which I left. I sat at a table with Denise and Rod and a Canadian woman Judy who had just come from dragon boat racing. She decided it would be interesting to take the train back to Europe and was excited for the seven day journey (unlike our tour, she's going straight through to Moscow).

Back in the berths, people (including myself) seem to be eating non-stop. So much food has been passed around - cookies, bread with brie (courtesy of Liz and Susie), avocado on crackers (courtesy of Bruce), banana chips, gummy worms, etc. I had a few of my Pringles, a nectarine and shared a bag of Chips Ahoy. I recently woke up from my second nap and decided to start writing. We've only had two stops so far. A quick one at Zharjankounan and a 20 minute stop at Datong. There isn't much to see from the windows and the bathrooms are closed 15 minutes before/after the stops so its good we haven't had too many.

(2 hours later, Wednesday, August 11)
I just took another nap before we pulled into Jining station, but I really had to pee. The stop was only supposed to be a couple minutes but turned into a half hour. Fortunately, the male train attendant opened to toilet for me (relief!) and motioned to me not to flush, so I've been waiting outside the loo for the train to start moving so that I could dispose of my waste. Feeling much better now!

(I failed to finish writing about the train until Monday, August 16 when we were on our second train. I will put that section of my journal here in order to keep the consecutive order of my blog.)

Shortly after the stop in Jining, we were allowed to have dinner (5pm-6pm). It was an interesting meal of meatballs and rice. I sat with Kristy and a couple from Haifa, Israel. While still in China, we watched the sunset from the carriage windows. A beautiful dusk, with a few clouds in the blue sky, and some wind electricity-generators sprinkling the hilly landscape. That evening, our berth was the party berth during the border crossing. We had eight/nine people in our car at one point with another couple in the hallway. Drinks and food were consumed while listening to music. At some point Susie taught us the card game Koi, which I managed to become a pro at from the first game.
Our final stop in China was the border, Erlian, 13 hours after departing Beijing. We were there for almost four hours, not just for Chinese passport control. The bogies (train wheels) have to be changed because of the differing sizes of rail gauges between China and Mongolia (they are the same in Mongolia and Russia). It was an extremely interesting process where we were stuck on the train with no toilets. First they separated the carriages and all we felt was the carriage jolting forward and backwards, forward an backwards. The carriage then moved in the direction we'd come from before moving forward again. We ended up in some type of warehouse with large mechanical hoists. It lifted us at an almost imperceptible pace until our carriage had cleared the bogies and with great precision the new wheels were rolled beneath us. The whole process was then reversed. We entertained ourselves during the few hours while this was occurring.

We got back on the tracks around 12:30am and still needed to cross the Mongolian border. It had been such a long day, everyone was cranky and exhausted, and it was extremely hot because the fans were off. When we arrived at the Mongolian border, Zamyn Ude, the French girl in the next compartment was taken off the train because she lacked a Mongolian visa. Fortunately, she was able to get one at the border and was allowed back on the train. As an American, I can travel visa free in Mongolia and just have a simple stamp in my passport.
At 1:30am we were finally finished at the Mongolian border; we could go to sleep! Honestly, I think everyone was excited to lay down on the two foot wide beds to get some rest. My berth slept until 9am, woo hoo I slept fair, wasn't the best night but not the worst either, and I exited the cabin in my sports bra in the morning to use the loo (figured its less revealing than a bathing suit). I ate some of the multi-grain Cheerios I picked up at the supermarket and a nectarine for breakfast.
We only had 4.5 hours left, the journey had passed quickly; we enjoyed an iPod shuffle using Liz's portable speakers, played Koi, read, ate and journaled. Anna asked if she could hold a group meeting there at 10am. So all 13 of us piled into one berth, two on the top bunks, four on the bottom and Anna standing. Pretty comfy (not), and a bit hot even with the fan blowing and the windows open.

Lunch became the first meal on the train where I needed to crack open my noodle soup (since lunch and dinner were included) that I ate with my handy sporkife that Bruce gave me. We also enjoyed avocado on French bread, thanks for the joint efforts of my berth mates. And next thing I knew, we were pulling into Ulaan Baatar (UB).
I'll quickly write about our afternoon in UB since I'll be done catching up once this is complete. We arrived at 1:30pm and got picked up by our local guides Nemo and Toya. On the way to the hotel we stopped at an exchange and ATM. Unfortunately my card didn't work, but I was able to call NatWest since there was wireless internet (had already called mom on skype from my iPod to say hello). Turns out it was the machine and not my card.

When we arrived at San Hotel, the power was out, but we were told the hot water was working. Walking up three flights of stairs in the candlelight didn't give me the best impression, so the room was better than I expected. We had 30 minutes at the hotel to shower before our walking tour of UB. Sadly, the hot water wasn't working in my room and given that it was in the 50s outside, I refused to get in the freezing water and had a towel shower instead. Down in the lobby I found out that the water temperature of the showers had been mixed.
After our hour walking tour of UB, and an ATM at the post office where I was able to withdraw Togrics, we met Nemo to drive us to the theater for the Mongolian cultural show. We listened to a few Mongolian songs, heard throat singing (one of the strangest sounds I've heard from a human being as it sounds like some type of instrument), watched traditional dances, saw a gymnast contort her body in ways that didn't seem physically possible, and enjoyed a spiritual dance with lots of gong bangs and symbol clashes. From there we went for dinner at BDs Mongolian barbecue (a buffet place that I was a bit skeptical about) where you pick your own ingredients and have them cooked on the grill. The food was surprisingly delicious and I was tempted for seconds, even though I wasn't hungry (I did exhibit self control and did not go up for more grill). Then it was back to the hotel for a good night sleep. Luckily, the power was on when we returned and I was able to have a hot shower in Steph and Kristy's room before bed.

Beijing and the Great Wall

(Written on 10 August about the events of 8, 9 and 10 August. I was unable to post this in China because blogspot and facebook are blocked and our hotel in Ulaan Baatar has limited ethernet access.)

I am so behind on my writing. Since I've been in China, blogspot and facebook don't work, so I haven't been as disciplined with my journaling. I wrote a little on the plane on the way from Kuala Lumpur to Tiajing, but not much after. So... let's start with Sunday.
(From hand written journal on 8-8-10)
Bought this at the KL airport. Think it will be a good place to journal as I don't know what the electricity situation is on my trip Can't believe the tour starts tonight. I'm excited but a bit nervous. Great Wall tomorrow. Here goes nothing...
Made it to China. On the train from Tiajing to Beijing. Flight seemed long - slept a little, read some. I met a man boarding the plane who was going to Northern China with some of his buddies. When I ordered some food on the plane, a beer magically appeared with it, a gift from the man, so a bit later I went to chat with him. When we landed I found that the woman behind me was also getting a taxi to the train station to catch a train to Beijing and asked if we could share. Clearing passport control was a breeze, but my bags took a while to come off the plane making me a bit nervous. The woman I shared the taxi with is Malaysian and speaks Mandarin. An excellent choice as there was no problem telling the taxi driver where we wanted to go. When we got to the train station is was incredibly crowded. There were people everywhere and it turned out that the next three trains were sold out; we couldn't get one for 50 minutes. Walking into the train station you basically push your way past people since lines don't work so well to go through security. I just couldn't believe how many Chinese people there were. And almost no one speaks English. This is going to be a challenge. (End of handwritten section)

We chose business class because its only a couple dollars more and we got to sit in the VIP area before boarding the train. I went into a shop to get a bite to eat but left frustrated because I couldn't tell what anything was and the woman didn't speak a word of English. Pringles, Sprite and a Dove bar ended up being my goodies of choice. The train took only 30 minutes, reaching a high speed of 330 km/hr. We mostly went through green countryside until approaching Beijing. I said goodbye to my friend and got in a taxi to Harmony Hotel with just 30 minutes until the important group meeting at 6pm.

The taxi pulled up to the hotel at 5:55pm and I just had time to drop my bags before meeting everyone in the lobby. There were two other tour groups, and mine was sitting in the corner of the lobby. The Intrepid leader that ran our meeting wasn't actually going to be our guide. Our tour leader was stuck in Moscow due to the fires and couldn't get a flight out. So energetic Max introduced us to the program.

Everyone else on my tour is Australian (well, one girl is from the Netherlands but has been living in Australia), which is a bit odd since there is usually more diversity. We range from late teens to mid fifties; four men, eight women. Denise and Rod have been on numerous Intrepid trips (their daughter used to be a guide) and will be continuing through the Batlics and on to France after the tour. Fiona and Wayne got to Beijing a few days early and are extending in St Petersburg before going to Europe. Liesbeth and Susie and friends from Australia who have been planning to do this trip for five years. Stuart, Shellie, their daughter Kristy and their daughters friend Stephanie are travelling together to Berlin, Krakow, Warsaw, Prague and Vienna before the girls continue an adventure in Europe. The girls start university in the fall. Last but not least, the other solo traveller, Bruce. He's been traveling through SE Asia and China for the past three months and goes home via Japan at the end of the tour. My first impressions of everyone were quite positive. I had a feeling it would be a good group.

After a short walk in the area, Max took us to a Chinese restaurant for dinner where he ordered a mix of traditional and exotic food. I skipped on the stomach and liver dish and a few other odd items but generally enjoyed the meal. I think he was going for the shock factor. Most of us went back to the hotel, but some continued the evening at a bar with Max. I was so exhausted from the entire day of travelling that I was happy to come back to my hotel room to relax. I've got a room all to myself because there are no other single female travelers and for this part of the trip they don't mix accommodation. It is nice to have a bathroom and room to myself after a week of sharing.
Yesterday we went to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall of China. On the drive, our local guide Vivianne shared some information about China. There are a total of 662 cities, 34 provinces and 1.325 billion people over the 9.6 million square kilometers. Beijing is 3000 years old as a city, and 800 as a capital. Five million people a day take the subway, and a million move into/out of Beijing. Near Beijing, there are five sections of the Great Wall which are open to tourists; the Mutianyu section was a 1.5 hours drive. On arrival our two options for getting on the wall (to explore from tower one to 20) were 1000 stairs or a chair lift. I took the easy route and opted for the chair lift since I figured there would be plenty of climbing on the wall (I was correct) and we only had three hours. The relaxing chairlift, with views over the entire area, breezed us to tower six in a couple minutes. Next thing I knew, I was on the Great Wall of China. Amazing!
Seeing the wall in person was incredible. It stretches into the distance as far as the eye can see, curving with the landscape. Walking on it involves climbing up and down and up and down numerous stairs of varying heights. Even with the sporadic breeze, we were sweating continuously. The haze made it difficult to fully see the mountains in the distance but you could sense how though the terrain would have been for the workers. About one million workers died and are buried in the foundation. From tower 6 we walked to tower 1 then to tower 14 and back to tower 6 to take the toboggan to the bottom.

When we got back to Beijing at 2pm we had lunch at the famous Yashow mall. On the fifth floor is a food court serving various Chinese items. I ate a large plate with a mixture of sweet and sour chicken, beef, broccoli and eggplant. Since we had 30 minutes to spare, I had a look around the stalls and ended up bargaining for a dress. The guy started at 350 Yuan, I paid 100 (about $15). After a couple hours rest at the hotel (I enjoyed a short nap), it was off to the Flying Acrobat show. The stunts were amazing, it was like a mini Cirque de soleil. A couple of girls did tricks with umbrellas on their feet, men jumped through hoops while doing backflips, and about ten girls balanced on a bike. There was a man who balanced a plank on a tube and flipped bowls onto his head. After doing this on his own, a man on the ground balanced a table with two woman on either side with the guy on the top with the bowls. Craziness. A fabulous show.
After the entertainment, Max (who joined us even though our tour leader Anna had made an appearance) offered to take us to the night market, a 15 minute walk from the hotel. Kristy, Steph, Fi, Wayne, Bruce and I decided to go for the excursion. Even though I wasn't in the mood for dinner (the late lunch and ice cream at the theatre were enough) I didn't want to miss out on something local. Well, unfortunately, the walk was more like 40 minutes and it was still pretty humid out. All of us were a bit annoyed as it was already 9:30pm and most of us wanted a quick look. The market itself was interesting, lots of different types of food, prepared on sticks waiting to cook, from lamb and beef to snake, squid, pigeons (whole), and more. I wasn't hungry otherwise I would have sampled something, and Max ended up buying us some fruit because we weren't eating anything. But as I said, I was just a bit hot and bothered and not looking forward to the walk back (I would have happily gotten in a taxi, but no one went for that idea). (Hopefully I'll go back with my dad and properly enjoy it.)
Today we started at 8:30am with our local guide, Louis, with a ride on the subway to Tiananmen Square. Before you enter the subway station, you must put your bag through a scanner, highest security I've seen on any underground yet. Another security check when we got to the entrance of Tiananmen Square. The square, 880 by 500 meters, feels enormous and was filled with tourists. For occasions it can hold up to one million people and today there was a huge queue for the memorial. All the main entrances to the City and the Square run along the same line from north to south. We spent about an hour walking around the square hearing about the surrounding buildings before we reached the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City was overcrowded so it was hard to see everything properly, and given the heat, it was hard to focus on Louis for two hours. Most of the buildings, while spectacular, look the same. We would walk through one tunnel to another square the looked similar to the one before and it continued like that, square after square for one kilometer. The final bit is a garden, but we barely had time to look at it before emerging onto the crowded street. It was 12:15pm, and as much as I wanted to take in a view of the city from the "mountain" across from the Forbidden City, my stomach called for food.
Stuart, Shellie, Kristy and Steph invited me to join them for duck lunch at a restaurant recommended in Lonely Planet. It was supposed to be close by, so we figured we could walk. We walked for about 45 minutes before finally finding the street, which happened to be just around the corner from the market we'd gone to with Max last night. Before we started eating, Stuart and Shellie requested that I allow them to treat me to lunch since they were treating the other girls too. It was fantastic. We had peking duck pancakes, sweet and sour duck, fried duck and prawn dumplings. All well worth the walk.

From there we tried to find the store selling Western food. Since we didn't know the name or exact location, I walked into the Grand Hyatt to find out. Turns out it is in the mall and we ran into Wayne, Fi, Bruce, Susie and Liz, so we all took the subway back to the hotel together when we had finally finished our food shopping. I picked up a Dairy Queen because it was so hot out and I needed something to cool down. Coffee brownie flavor, yum.
When we arrived at the hotel, we had three hours to relax until the group was meeting up for dinner at 7pm (by choice as nothing was organized for tonight) and we went to a noodle bar on our street that Denise and Rod had discovered. It's like a make your own noodle soup bar. You picked your ingredients (hard to tell what most of them were so it was a bit of a guessing game) and they cook it up for you in a broth with some peanut and chili sauce. It was incredible but had such a kick that my lips were burning. I ate everything in my bowl, so I guess I made some lucky choices.
Time for bed now. We meet at 6:30am tomorrow to take the train to Mongolia. Have to finish packing too.

(Just a reminder that this was written on 10 August.  Pictures from China are on my shutterfly site: http://ejltravels.shutterfly.com/.  I will post more on the blog when I have a chance, but I still need to type the sections from my handwritten journal.  Things are going well and Mongolia has been amazing.  On the train tomorrow night, 15 August, for two nights and then I'll be in Russia.)

Bako NP and Orang-utans!

Currently relaxing at my hostel in Kuching.  I'm completely spent.  It's 4pm and I woke up at 5:30 this morning to make sure I had enough time to shower, eat, leave my bags and laundry, etc.  Louise and I were getting the 7:20am bus to Semenggoh Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre and its supposed to take about 30 minutes to walk to the bus (it was closer to 15 minutes).

I should backtrack though because I didn't write about yesterday, which was also an early morning, and I forgot two things from the first night in Kuching.  As we walked along the river bank there were a few stalls selling some type of colored cake.  They are artistic cakes with patterns, sometimes very complex, and can take hours to make.  We got to sample about ten different kinds and I purchased a coffee flavor cake.  On the way to dinner I was carrying the cake bag in my hand and when we walked through a hotel parking lot a guy on motorbike came up behind me.  He honked and I moved to the side of the road, but he was coming up the side and almost crashed into me.  Fortunately, he only ripped the plastic with the cake but it shook me up.

Back to yesterday... Woke up at 6:30 in order to meet Louise at 7:30am to catch a bus to Bako National Park.  Bako National Park is Sarawak's oldest national park located on the Muara Tebas Peninsula jutting out into the South China Sea.  She was running a bit late, as was the French couple in her room, but we found a bus stop and a friendly local told us we were in the right place.  A bunch of other people showed up for the bus and we met a couple of woman staying at my hostel.  45 minutes after the bus picked us up, we were registering at Bako and sharing a boat with the two other women and a French couple.  On the boat we saw a local village on the water with colorful houses and boats on the shore. The mountain in the distance looked misty and the streaked sandstone cliffs created a dramatic coastline. Our boat driver Mohamed pointed out a few things along the way and told us he'd pick us up at the low tide point at 4pm; we had six hours to explore.  Christiane, Laura, Louise and I set off on the Lintang trail, 5.3 km (after stopping at another registration desk where some monkeys stole some fruit out of the office).

We hiked up and down the trail, over tree branches, on wood planks, wood steps, rocks, etc. There was thick jungle and then a small expanse of solid rock with little streams. It was a bit cloudy, but it never rained (which was lucky as the only thing people that had gone to Bako said was that it rained). We took a few breaks on the trail to rest, reapply sunscreen, snack and to try to clear the sweat. Our main objective was to find some wildlife, notably the rare proboscis monkey. Four hours into walking and 5 km into the trail, we had only spotted a few squirrels, lizards, and lots of different types of ants, no monkeys. But as we walked along, I heard some rustling in the branches above. I looked up and eventually spotted it, the proboscis monkey. There were a few swinging from the tree tops around us. We must have stayed watching them for 45 minutes, branches kept shaking and we'd turn to try and find the next monkey. The males have very long noses, so they are pretty funny looking monkeys.

When we continued walking, we found more monkeys but a different species. I'm unsure of their name, but they are the same type I saw at Batu caves. Sweaty and tired, we arrived at the cafe around 3pm and decided to relax until our boat ride back to town. Little did I know that to get in the boat during low tide you have to walk through just-below-the-knee-deep water. Shoes and socks came off and I stepped into the South China Sea. The water was a pleasant temperature. We convinced Mohamed to take us a bit further down the beach to a rock spot (don't remember what the official name is). It was basically just a few cool shaped rocks in the water; worth seeing for RM 5. Then back to town where the bus sat waiting to take us to Kuching. Perfect timing.

In Kuching, Louise, Laura and I decided to have a couple hours to ourselves before dinner. I showered and put on my skirt-dress and actually made an effort to look nice; probably the first evening I've done so, partly because I never really have time to change before dinner. Laura's friend Lizzy joined us at Green Hill Corner. Four single women travellers all coming together to keep each other company. I chose the stalls with Char Sui Bun and beef noodle soup. Even though I got back around 9:30, I managed to take a long time getting my laundry together and getting ready for bed. As I turned off the light at 11:30, I groaned that I'd only be getting six hours of sleep.

I actually woke up before my alarm went off at 5:30am. I tried not to wake the other woman in my dorm (a ten-person dorm which only had one person the first night and two the second) as I got myself together. Louise and I were meeting at 6:50 sharp and I had lots to organise. We strolled through Chinatown and past the open market before arriving at the bus stop in front of the pink mosque. Women were setting up vegetable stalls on the ground and the city was slowly coming to life. While we waited, a man approached us saying he could take us to Semenggoh in his van. It was RM 4, same as the bus, so we agreed. There were eight of us in a cramped van, which took us the 40 minutes to Semenggoh (whose aim is to reintroduce the animals to their natural habitat) before the 1 km walk to the feeding platform. Louise and I displayed school children excitement at the thought of seeing orang-utans, and we still had 45 minutes until feeding time began at 9am. I was first in line to follow the guide to the feeding area.

As we walked in, we were told that the biggest male, Ritchie, was already eating his breakfast. Score! There were two other orang-utans eating on the left side of the walkway. Ritchie is enormous (I think they said he weighs 140+ kgs). Watching the orang-utans eat, swing from the branches, and play was incredible. They are fascinating primates. And we really lucked out because there must have been at least eight who showed up for breakfast (no guarantee that you see any). I just kept going back-and-forth where they were hanging out snapping pictures and taking video and watching in awe. It was absolutely amazing, and we had almost an hour to observe them.

Getting back in the van turned into a production. There were six of us on the way who all agreed to meet the driver at 10:30, and when four of us arrived, there were already six other people in the van. The two other people hadn't shown up and our driver left without them, not that you could have squeezed two more humans into that vehicle. It was very uncomfortable, and I argued with the driver that it wasn't fair for him to leave the people he had promised to take. The others already in the van were French and didn't understand what I was on about until the driver let me know that he'd called his friend to pick up the others. The driver was only interested in pocketing extra cash, even though he claimed he "took pity" on the people who missed the bus.

Back in Kuching, it was extremely hot and Louise and I felt exhausted. In need to some energy, we picked up some food at a bakery before going to the museum area. I explored the Sarawak Museum, but I couldn't focus on the information and didn't get much out of it. I popped in the Ethnography museum to see a sample of an Iban longhouse before we walked along the main bazaar towards James Brooke where we'd eaten dinner the first night in desperate need of a refreshing drink. While walking, I got hit in the arm by one of the sun shader-things and now have a small bump which is going to bruise.  We ordered some type of lime juice and I got the Wild Borneo laksa. By the time we got up, it was 3pm and neither of us felt like continuing in the heat. So we said goodbye and I went back to the hostel to relax for a few hours before my flight. I ran into Laura, and we chatted while I tried to write this. My laundry came back before 5, luckily, and I packed everything up ready to head out at 6:15. Ended up meeting another woman, Cynthia, who was on my flight, so we shared a taxi to the airport.

Nothing too interesting about the ride, the airport or the flight, except that it was pouring rain when we left Kuching. I'm now at my airport hotel. Flight to Beijing leaves at 8:30am, so I'll be leaving here around 6am, another short night of sleep. Cannot believe that these first three weeks of travel are over. Gives me hope that my eight weeks of traveling alone will be fine as I'm constantly meeting people. Tomorrow I'm off on the next stage of my adventure, a 21-day tour on the Trans-Mongolian railway from Beijing through Mongolia to St Petersburg. Pretty sure my internet access will be limited, so I don't know how often I'll write. Good night.

Batu Caves and KL, Kuching

I'm sitting at the Kuala Lumpur airport at the LCCT waiting for my flight to Borneo.  We are delayed by 45 minutes.  Reminds me of last Wednesday when I was here.  Figured that since I had some extra time I would write about yesterday.

I was awake on the earlier side, but by the time I got ready, had breakfast, skyped and chatted with the people at my hostel it was 9:45am.  There was a French girl I spoke with for a while who'd been traveling around SE Asia and I was looking for more tips.  Based on the hostel's recommendation, I headed out to Batu Caves.  The bus journey was a chilly 45 minutes. The Temple Cave contains a Hindu shrine, after about 270 steps, which is guarded by a 43-meter high Murga statue (the highest in the world).  I spent about an hour wandering around the cave.  There were so many monkeys climbing around all over the place, up and down the steps, on the rocks, on cables, very entertaining. As one might expect, the cave also had some bats and pigeons.  When I got back to KL, the bus dropped me in a slightly different street and it took me some time to figure out which way to head.

My lunch stop was a vegetarian Indian restaurant recommended in both my books where I got thail.  When I started eating, one of the servers came over to help me because I was eating it incorrectly.  You are supposed to removed the small dishes from the tray, dump out some rice in the middle and then pour the dishes over the rice.  I'm not exactly sure what I ate, but it was tasty with a bit of a kick.  To ease the fire I ordered a banana lassi.

After lunch, I took a stroll to Merdeka Square.  (more later, our flight is boarding)  I'm back.  Now in Kuching on the island of Borneo.  Just feel asleep with my computer on my lap and getting up in less than seven hours so I'm just going to write some bullet points so that I don't forget what I've done.

Merdeka Square.  Met two Americans.  Walked along the main road to Lake Gardens (very hot) and past the butterfly farm.  Stopped at Bird Park to relax and met a British girl, Louise.  We both chose not to go in and decided to meet at Nomad hostel in Kuching today.  Went to the Islamic Arts Museum (people let me in as a student because they didn't have the correct change).  Lots of religious art, models of about 15 different mosques and a special wall on Palestine which ended with Israel declaring independence.  Met a nice older couple from Boston.  Left the museum to find my way back to Chinatown and met an New Zealand couple going the same direction.  Got back to Pasar Seni LRT station and got on the crowded train full of locals to KLCC to see the Petronas towers.

First walked through the enormous mall (with every store you could want including CPK) before going outside to view the Towers.  At Towers met a German couple from Munich, Simon and Lena.  Hung out with them as we watched the sunset around the Towers and saw them light up in the darkness.  Grabbed a pretzel from Auntie Anne's for dinner since lunch was filling and headed back to the hostel.  Chatted with Valerie from Los Angeles area who is currently living in Oman after spending three years in Colombia.  Very interesting woman. 

Got about seven hours of sleep before waking up to re-pack my backpack and eat breakfast before leaving for the airport.  Spent the morning talking to Stephanie.  Took the LRT to central station where I picked up the skybus to the LCCT.  Arrived in plenty of time.  Checked in, walked around, went to gate.  Flight was delayed a bit.  Met a couple British girls before getting on the plane.  Charlotte and Anna are traveling around together for about five weeks and have done a ton already.  We shared a taxi to Nomad hostel.  I wasn't thrilled with my selection when we checked in- people were smoking in the living room, the dorm had ants and the showers were in the same stall as the toilets.  The place wasn't very nice, but we were all going to stay there together.  We went out to wander around at 5pm, and I decided to check out the other hostel I'd read about which was supposed to be very nice.  It is so much better and I felt I'd be more comfortable if I moved.  So, here I am, at the new hostel with a 10-bed dorm to myself (at least for tonight).  It's more expensive (about $3 more per night).  Went to get my stuff at Nomad and ran into Louise!  She had actually got a flight to Kuching and booked at Nomad like we planned.

After I moved my stuff, Louise joined me for a drink and then we walked around the waterfront.  Ended up getting a boat across to the other side, which a local woman with her two boys kindly paid for.  Came back at 8:30pm to meet with Charlotte and Anna for dinner at James Brooke which serves a mixture of Western and local dishes.  I ordered the Sarawak Laksa, and spicy broth with chicken, rice noodles and prawns.  A short stroll later I was at the hostel and in the clean, warm shower.  Time for bed.  Meeting Louise at 7:30am to go to Bako National Park.

Itchy in Kuala Lumpur

I am in bed at my hostel in Kuala Lumpur and am extremely itchy.  The B12 and bug spray didn't seem to work up in the Cameron Highlands.  I've got 6 bites on my left hand, four on my right hand, two on my face, two on my neck, two on my back, some on my legs and at least four on each foot.  ITCHY!

This morning at Father's there was no electricity so I got ready in the natural light.  Luckily the gas was working in the kitchen and I enjoyed two fried eggs on toast.  The minibus to take us to the real bus was running late.  Eventually it showed up to drive us down the hill but we didn't get on the road until 9am, scheduled departure of 8:30am.  The bus was SO much nicer than my bus from Penang.  There were only three seats per row and they were airline style in size and legroom.  The first two hours of the drive from Tanah Rata were on winding roads.  The scenery was spectacular.  I saw a huge waterfall and some smaller ones out the window; it felt like we were driving through the jungle.  We had one toilet break in the middle of nowhere and arrived in KL at 1:30pm.  Alex was on my bus, so we walked together to my hostel in Chinatown since he just needed a place to leave his bags for the day.

The hostel here is great.  I'm in a six-bed female dorm with air conditioning and small lockers.  There's only one bathroom and shower, not enough, but at least they are inside.  Alex and I grabbed some clay pot chicken for lunch before getting on the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and going our separate ways.  I decided to go up to Menara Kuala Lumpur (KL Tower) for views over the city since its supposed to be much better than the Petronas Towers.  The viewing area is about 270 meters high.  Unlike the London underground, the KL LRT actually has air conditioning, a very welcome relief from the heat.  When I got to the stop, I still had to walk a bit to the tower and by the time I arrived I was dripping in sweat.  I pre-bought a ticket from a guy at the hostel which was cheaper and only gave me access to the viewing tower (worked for me since I didn't care to go on a donkey ride).  The lift brings you to the top of the tower in just under a minute and then there is an audio guide to explain the views.  After listening to the guide, I wandered around to enjoy the views before heading back down the tower and picking up a Crunch ice cream bar.

The tower is located on the edge of the Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve so I walked in for a brief stroll but retraced my steps to avoid getting lost.  Then back to the LRT to Chinatown.  The heat really does take the energy out of you and I spent a couple hours just relaxing at the hostel.  Around 8pm, Alex and I went to get some fried noodles from a restaurant in Chinatown recommended in an article.  The noodles were tasty, maybe slightly bland, and my green apple juice was refreshing.  When we got back to the hostel, Alex took off for the airport and I took a nice warm shower.

Not exactly sure what is on tap for tomorrow.  Have the entire day to explore KL.  Leave for Kuching (Borneo) for two nights on Thursday then one night at the KL LCCT before heading to China.  I am enjoying each day for what it is and not trying to think ahead, but I can't believe the Trans-Mongolian is coming up so soon.

Walking and more strawberries

Going to try to keep this one short.  This morning I met Danielle at Cameronian Inn for breakfast.  We were on the same page for today's activities, casual walks that didn't take too long.  From breakfast, we walked through town towards Trail 9 to see a waterfall.  The path wasn't marked clearly, but after consulting LP and watching some other people, we found the trail.  Along the way we saw a local man eating something by the river; Danielle said hi to him when we walked back and the interaction was fairly comical.  The waterfalls were ok, pretty but there was so much trash around that the natural beauty was a bit ruined.  We didn't go very far since we wanted to do part of another trail.

Back in Tanah Rata we found the start of trail 4.  There was a much larger waterfall than the previous one, but again, tons and tons of trash.  We hiked our way through the forest and at the end of the trail ran into a couple sitting on a picnic bench eating lunch.  We asked how to get back to town and ended up talking to them for a while.  They are from Tasmania and on their way to Scotland to visit their daughter.  They've travelled all of the world visiting her.  When we left, the direction wasn't clear but we managed to find our way to the Smoketree Inn and to the main road back to Tanah Rata.  Along the way we stopped at a gift shop and enjoyed a delicious strawberry juice, enough energy to get us back.

It was lunchtime when we arrived in Tanah Rata and we ate at T cafe, where Brian had recommended the apple pie.  I ordered chicken lasagna (recommended by the waitress), passion fruit tea and a strawberry scone with whipped cream. We talked about work and life and different cultures within a country.  Danielle works at a prison for boys 14-23, tough job.  Two hours later we said goodbye and I came back to Fathers to be productive.  I washed the bottom of my pants and my shoes and then attempted to take a hot shower.  Sadly the water was cold so it was a quick scrub of the body.  I ended up talking to people in the dorm, and watching a girl cut anothers hair, so I didn't end up doing much.

A few people were going for dinner, so I joined Amy, Pat and Alex.  Along the way we ran into Linda who joined us.  We ate at some Indian restaurant.  Nothing too exciting and came back.  That was my day.  Going to bed shortly.  Off to Kuala Lumpur in the morning.

Mud, Tea and Strawberries

Me with the Rafflesia flower... its a bit far away, so its bigger than it looks

Sorry about the sudden ending last night.  There were only a few people still hanging out in the common space and when they left for bed, I didn't want to be the last one there.  So, I'll finish about yesterday before I start on today.

Before I boarded the bus, I talked to a British couple who were also on their way to the Cameron Highlands.  When the bus arrived, it was the worst one in the station.  We were all a bit skeptical about the ride, and it was nice to experience the bus ride with someone.  After a brief stop in Butterworth, we had a two hour drive to Ipoh.  The journey was extremely beautiful - tons of palm trees, hills and rock formations.  When we got to Ipoh we were supposed to have a 30 minute bathroom break.  Somehow this turned into 1.5 hours because there was a mechanic working on the bus.  While I was sitting, I noticed some bugs crawling around on the window and the seat in front of me.  It was really disgusting, so I moved a row behind to sit with someone else.  We never found out exactly what was wrong with the bus but we eventually got on the road again.

More green hills as we wound our way up the road towards the Highlands.  As we got close to Brinchang (a town in the Highlands), traffic starting building up.  There were so many tourists!  It was insane.  By the time we arrived in Tanah Rata it was almost 3pm.  A guy from the guesthouse was there waiting for me; it was such an easy arrival.  When I saw the dorm room, I reminded myself that I hadn't really done a dorm yet and would just have to settle in.  There are ten beds and the bathroom and shower are a walk outside.  The women at the front desk were so friendly and helpful, and I found out that the Rafflesia, the largest single flower of any flowering plant, was in bloom.  The flower only blooms for about five days before it dies.  I booked the Rafflesia full day tour for today.

When I went out around 4:30pm to explore Tanah Rata, it was already pretty chilly.  The books say that the Cameron Highlands are a respite from the heat of Penang and KL, and they aren't kidding.  The town itself is pretty small and mostly filled with mini-mart type shops selling souvenirs and there's even a Starbucks.  I went to the Indian restaurant recommended in both my guidebooks for dinner at 5pm since I hadn't eaten lunch and ordered chicken curry and naan.  Sadly the chicken was very boney and I kind of picked at it.  The naan with dips was tasty, so I mostly had bread for dinner.  While I was eating, I noticed a guy sit down on his own outside and when I finished dinner, his chocolate cake gave me the perfect excuse to say hello.  We ended up talking for a couple hours.  Brian's from Seattle but currently living in Beijing and has done some traveling in the region, so I was picking his brain for ideas.

By the time we left, it was 8:30pm and cold and dark out.  There's a short cut back to the guesthouse, which I took at a quick pace.  The guest area was full of people, so I sat down inside with a couple I'd met earlier in the day.  Jenny and Bob are from England and recently quit their jobs to travel.  We had a nice conversation before I worked on my blog and enjoyed a piece of chocolate cake.  I didn't get back to the dorm until 11:30pm and everyone else was already asleep.  So I quietly got ready and climbed into bed to snuggle up and get warm.  I slept pretty well, given the circumstances.

This morning I was up a bit early since people in the dorm started stirring at 6:30am.  Father's has a nice restaurant and I actually had a real breakfast, two fried eggs on toast before my tour left at 8:45.  A French family of four from the guesthouse was on the tour, and then we were joined by the Dutch woman from my bus yesterday and a French couple.  Our first stop was the Orang Asli village, native dwellers of the rainforest, about an hour from Tanah Rata.  It was a little hokey, they showed us how to use a blow pipe and we walked around to see a few bamboo houses.  Pretty uneventful.  From there we drove a few minutes and then turned on to a dirt path for some off-roading.  I think its the first proper off-roading I've done.  The ground was super muddy and we were bumping all over the place.  We had 20-30 minutes driving like that before we hopped out of the car and walked the rest of the way to the famous Rafflesia flower.  Apparently there are about 25 flowers in the forest but they all bloom at different times.  We only had to walk 45 minutes to see one, but sometimes you have to walk a couple of hours, just to see a flower!  But as I mentioned already, it is a famous flower.  Theresa told me about her experience with the Rafflesia flower when she and John were in Borneo so I felt I had to see it with my own eyes.

The walk through the jungle was MUDDY!!!  It was pretty disgusting and very hard to find good footing where you wouldn't sink into the ground.  Parts were solid, but the mud got all over my shoes and the bottom of my freshly cleaned pants.  I was not a happy camper.  There were lots of trees and plants and dodging branches, and I didn't take too many pictures because I was so focused on where I was going.  We had to cross a bridge (if you could call it that) made of bamboo branches.  It held up, but you really had to hold on and watch your step.  After about 40 minutes, we arrived at the spot, the location of the Rafflesia flower currently in bloom.  Just a lone red flower in the middle of the trees.  I got my picture with the flower, just like everyone else.

Before walking back to the car, we stopped at a short waterfall where I tried to clean my shoes off (unsuccessfully).  Our next stop was a small Indian restaurant on the side of the road for lunch.  There really wasn't much on offer and I ended up with mostly rice and bread, with some curry to dip.  From there we headed to the BOH tea plantation.  This was the view of the Highlands I'd been waiting for - rows of tea plants on rolling hills.  Our driver, Ravi, actually grew up on the tea estate so he took us on a walk through the plants for a fabulous view of the area.  There are about 150 workers who gather the tea and are paid based on the weight, only 20 cents per kilogram.  With the current machines, they can gather up to 250 kgs per day.  The estate we were at had 234 hectares, but the entire land of BOH amounts to 1200 hectares.  After our climb in the tea plants, we went to the factory to learn the process of tea making and had time to enjoy some tea overlooking the surrounding area.  They didn't have the Afternoon Blend so I tried some type of tea which already has milk and sugar.  It was pretty sweet.

We climbed back into the van and made our way to the butterfly farm where we saw some gross looking insects before walking around the butterfly house.  Our last stop was the strawberry farm which serves various desserts involving strawberries.  I sampled the Strawberry Ice Cream Special, vanilla ice cream with strawberries, strawberry syrup and whip cream.  YUM!  It was a sweet end to a long day.  By the time I got back here it was after 5pm, we'd been gone for eight hours.  Since it wasn't too cold yet, I got in the shower, which actually was hot for a majority of the time.  They have a hairdryer in the other part of the guesthouse, so I took advantage.  It's so cold that I couldn't bear the thought of sitting around with wet hair. 

Jenny and Bob were sitting in the lounge when I got here.  We talked for a bit before I ordered dinner, a somewhat flavorful spaghetti bolognese.  I didn't feel like venturing into town.  And after eating I've been slowly writing this, with Sunshine Cleaning movie playing in the background.  I also decided to taste the scones with strawberry jam and whipped cream.  I think I'm spoiled on scones though; they weren't nearly as good as the Lanesborough's.

Tomorrow I'm meeting my friend from the bus (pretty sure her name is Daniella) to walk around the area.  There are lots of trails to take, but I think we'll take an easy one after our muddy hiking today.