For our train to Xi'an we chose to go hard sleeper, much to the dismay of the hostel owner! When we boarded we found that it was an open carriage with triple bunks again. We had heard some pretty bad things about Chinese trains so we were pleasantly surprised with what we had got. The train was spotless and the beds nice and clean.Because of the lack of space on the trains during national holiday we all got allocated top bunks, although it was quite high and cr...

We left Ulan Bator on a decidedly calmer train than the one on which we entered. In fact, it was a little taste of luxury! We had a TV for each bed, a plug socket and a carriage full of friends we had met while in Mongolia! We passed the time chatting, playing cards and reading - the journey really flew by. We even managed a few quick glances of the Great Wall as we passed through China towards Beijing. The difference between Mongolia and China is apparent a...

We were up early again ready for our trip to the Gobi Desert. We were in the same car that we drove around Olkhon in (much to Toms delight). We met our guide Bimba and driver Rucksha. Bimba is 21 and is working as a tour guide as a summer job as she has just graduated. She speaks perfect English which is a real novelty! Our first day was a 7 hour drive south of the country. The paved road lasted about a minute outside of Ulan Bator, after that is just 4x4 te...

So after our exciting train journey we made our way to the hostel. The first thing you notice is how friendly everyone is here, after Russia a smile was very welcoming! We had to wait a while before we got our room because it was so early so we just sat and chatted with other people from the train, it was quite amusing to swap stories about the now infamous "006" train! Whilst there we bumped into a guy we had met on Olkhon Island who was looking t...

Right, this is highly irregular, but the last train journey was outrageous I just had to write something about it. Firstly, we have arrived in Ulan Bator safe and sound. We have a couple of days here to potter about before heading out on our week long expedition through the Gobi Desert. The hostel seems excellent, and has a bit of atmosphere a couple of the Russian ones were lacking. Now, we left Irkutsk at 05:00 yesterday morning. A pretty uncivilised ti...