Day 35 - Chengdu-Kunming train

Took two immodium last night before sleeping, terrified the hotpot would hit me at a bad time. Say goodbye to the others, taxi to the train. Carriage seems quiet. Had a clear out as soon as the train started moving. Incredibly cathartic. Now to Kunming!

***

Cǎo ní mǎ [Tsao nee maah] - Chinese for "fuck your mother"

***

"Yoghurt explosion" and "bed pollution" will forever make me giggle.

***

Have noticed the lack of graveyards in China and Mongolia, also Russia. Saw a few small plots of steles (maybe 15m2) from the train window. Are Buddhists cremated?

Makes me think that the acres of graves at home are wasteful. Monuments to those that are gone, a sign of love and respect. In the Mongolian ger tents, they have a shrine to dead relatives, for private reverence. Perhaps this is better? But then we would be missing O'Connell's tower, Parnell's rock, Grandaddy's grave - nice for a visit and a prayer, so maybe one wouldn't want a constant reminder of the loss in the home. Or is it a constant reminder of the memory? The life.

Poor L. Hope her dad will be okay.

***

As I've come further east on my journey, one of the things that's noticeably worsened has been the traffic and ability of drivers. In SPB and Moscow, drivers often sped down the main drags. In Irkutsk, Sergei would protect us while we crossed the road. By UB, traffic lights had become only a guide line. The group was often split when some didn't make it across the road. In Beijing, the bicycles were everywhere, haphazardly using road, cycle lane and path, rarely with lights. In Xi'an, zebra crossings were negotiated one lane at a time.

One thing has been consistent: the taxi drivers are all lunatics. In UB and Chengdu we witnessed it from the passenger seat. But it must be a universal truth.

I've been warned that Vietnam will be even worse.

***

Chinese countryside rolling  by again. Small homesteads, allotments, corn. First solo leg of my journey, Chengdu to Kunming. I'd be more prepared for it tomorrow, but it has been foisted on me today. First pang of loneliness while shopping for one yesterday. Might try Skype home once I'm in Kunming hostel. Will take a day or two to recuperate, do laundry, get my visa for Vietnam, send a few emails and hopefully back things up online. Then on to Lao Cai and Sapa as quickly as possible.

Travelling alone is odd after a month of company. There's nobody to share experiences with. Is there a point to solitary joy? Yes, but I wonder how long I can be asocial for. Half the point of this journal is to share my experiences with others and future me.

Shower goodbyes to Dom and Kelly this morning. Almost perfunctory, formal. A hug and a handshake, "enjoy your travels", and then gone. What else is there to do, to say? Is it ever really goodbye when there's email, Facebook?

Missed Andy and Jake. Group goodbye for Seb & Nicci, Ali & Scott on a train. Only half of Team Swiss. Motleys in the morning, Brigitte at 5am.

No. Goodbyes of these magnitudes are never easy. Keep it short and sincere.

***

Paddy fields! First sighting of the trip! Makes a change from corn. Lots of vegetables too - green and lush looking. Simple life out here no doubt. Everything is relatively cheap compared to home, but I wonder what the standard of life is like for the natives. So far I've spent most of my time in cities, where everyone has the trappings of wealth, like mobile phones. Only in UB was poverty really thrust in our faces - neglected children roaming the streets.

***

The Chinese drive like Dubliners cycle.

***

Gambai - Chinese toast, means 'empty glass'

Ne hau peow liang - you are very pretty

Day 30 - Beijing-Xi'an train

Standing tickets are proving to be an experience indeed. Except for warnings against tourists buying them, and the potential of violence (apparently), we had no idea what to expect.

Coming into Beijing West was like entering an airport. We headed for platform 13, which was actually waiting room 13, which was like a departure lounge. Down to platform 8 for the train, passing soft sleeper and hard sleeper carriages, we got to our carriage, no. 8. It seemed like the majority of passengers were trying to cram in to our carriage. Once we got in, we realised why.

Picture your typical Galway-Dublin train, with maybe 100 seats. Then sell another 70 tickets. Luckily there are not many people with massive rucksacks like ours, but the aisle is still jammed. 20 minutes before the train pulls off, it is already chaotic. Everyone is standing around, so I take the initiative and shove the majority of my bag under a seat, and plonk myself down on the protruding tip. A man beside me copies my example, but we are hip-to-hip across the aisle, and it is not really wide enough. Our pelvises are wedged together. I gesture for him to shuffle forward a few inches on his small stool, and we can both sit comfortably, though we are still uncomfortably close! This is a feature of the standing ticket that one must quickly get used to.

We are the only Westerners in the carriage, a fact quickly spotted by the English-speaking passengers. Within minutes, I am chatting to a girl called Emerald, Dom is asking if people have heard of Craig David, and Kelly is conversing in French. I soon have a list of recommendations for Chengdu, and an offer to try find better/cheaper accommodation, and a guide.

If this were Beijing, I'd be running away, but I've noticed and stated it several times - Chinese people are amazingly friendly. I'm perched on the corner of Emerald's seat at present, she insists on at least one of us using it. The only real downside so far is the complete inability to actually sleep at all, or even doze.

The natives lie with their heads on the tables, or else folded over in half, faces on their knees, their hair lying on the knees of the person opposite. They prop themselves up, three n a two seater bench, four on a three seater. Constantly cosy.

One incidence of over-cosiness - a fight broke out between two women at the end of the carriage, apparently someone touched off someone else while sleeping. One then started biting the other's head! Took a while to calm down. That was about 1am, it's 3am now, will try get some shuteye again.

[After everyone boarded and put their luggage in the overhead rack, a couple of attendants whisked through the carriage, and tidied up the rack so that there was maximum efficiency in the use of space. Great service!]

At the start of the journey. It's hard to give an impression of
how many people were there, because of all the people in the way.

Dom, much later into the journey. The digital clock was stuck at 01:10.

***

8.30am After a delay of an hour, we've just been told there's another hour to go. I *really* want to get off this train.

***

http://domcheeseman.blogspot.ie/2011/10/day-120-beijing-then-train-to-xian.html

Day 23 - UB-Beijing train

Sharing a carriage with Brigitte, Dom and Nicci. It's 9am, and they're still asleep. We had a late night thanks to the border crossing. Started at 7pm on the Mongolian side, finish at 1am Chinese side.

When we hit the Chinese side, the entire train was pulled into a huge warehouse. There, each carriage is raised, like a car at a mechanic's, and the bogeys (undercarriage) exchanged for new ones. This is because the Chinese rail has a narrower gauge. It was a long process, but at least one can look into the other carriages while it happens, to distract from the fact that there's no access to the toilet.

We had a little bonding conversation about first and worst dates. Smart bars, the zoo, a nice walk - were suggested ideal first dates. I shared the story of my date with Niamh Q, and Dom that his hot work colleague who stood him up. Managed to catch Hollie out with the ghost story about the dog who died the day I was born. hehe! She screamed and pummelled me with her lady fists!

***

The Chinese trains offer a far nicer experience than the Russian ones. The attendants are much friendlier - male on this train. They often wander the corridor with their ties off and shirts hanging out, and then they are immaculate at the border crossing in their spick and span uniforms.

In both Russia and Mongolia (and I'm expecting the same in China), the military are far more prevalent. Just wandering around the street. I could count on hand the amount of people I've seen in Ireland in fatigues over the last year, but it was not uncommon to pass ten soldiers walking with their sweethearts over the course of a day in St Petersburg or Moscow.

***

Speeding through the countryside of China now, very agricultural, lots of dry-looking crops, and the occasional motorway. Plenty of trees too.

The people are friendly and wave while taking a break to watch the train go by. Lots of corn, some sunflowers. Every now and then we pass an industrial complex, spewing forth smoke and fumes, evidence of China's economic power.

***

Travelling by train has been fun, though this journey has possibly been tougher than the Trans-Siberian. The border crossings make for unpleasant waits, particularly with regard to using the toilet. The timing of the Mongolia-China crossing ruled out any drinking games, so we had no entertainment in that regard. Instead we had a return to old-fashioned conversation, which was nice.

The train lets you glimpse a cross-section of the country, winding through wasteland and farms, snaking into the cities and out again. It's quite exhilarating to stick one's head out the windows and feel the wind batter the face and whip the hair. I wonder what I'll feel about train transport in Ireland when I get back.

***

Solar panels all over the place here - lots of houses have their own panel mounted on the roof.

***

http://domcheeseman.blogspot.ie/2011/10/day-113-train-from-ub-to-china.html

Train stops

Moscow - Irkutsk
Day 1: Yaroslavl
  Daavilov

Day 2: Sharya
  Panazyrevo
  Kirov
  Balezino
  Perm
  Ekaterinburg*
  Bahenovo

Day 3: Tyumen
  Karasulsk
  Ishim
  Omsk
  Barabinsk
  Novosibirsk*

Day 4: Taiga
  Mariinsk
  Krasnoyarsk*
  Ilanskaya
  Taishet
  Nizhnendinsk

Day 5: Zima
  Irkutsk freight
  Irkutsk

Irkutsk - Ulaanbaatar
Day 1: Siyudyanka
  Baikulsk
  Vydrino
  Ulan-Ude
  Naushki
----
  Sukhe-Bator (Mongolia)

Day 2: Dzun-Khava
  Ulaanbaatar

Ulaanbaatar - Beijing
Day 1: Choir
  Sainshand
  Zamyn-Uud
----
  Erlian (China)

Day 2: Juning
  Datung
  Zhanzhiukon
  Beijing

Day 22 - UB-Beijing train

On the train again, leaving UB, headed for Beijing. Border crossing and bogey change due tonight.

Last full day in the ger camp, we visited a local nomad farmer. He had two yurts, a curious mix of old and new - a satellite dish and fridge, powered by solar energy, while dairy produce dried out on the roof, covered in flies. They seemed roomy enough, but his existence probably isn't easy. There were some leftover presents in the bag in the corner, with a 'True Blue Aussie' flag protruding from the top.

In the afternoon we tried some Mongolian archery and learned how to play a game with sheep knuckles. Each side of the bone represents an animal - sheep, goat, horse and camel.

WINNARS!

***

In a fascinating and baffling move, there are some Japanese landscapers installing a waterfall feature here. Very friendly fellow in charge, enjoying his job.

***

We returned to UB the following morning, and half the city was obscured by smog. The traffic was pretty heavy, and we witness some crazy overtaking manoeuvres. Nothing compared to our taxi ride later that evening - our drive invented extra lanes at any opportunity. At one point, on a regular two way road, which already had two lanes of traffic going our way (not moving), he decided to drive the wrong way down the opposite side of the road. That's when we got out.

I thought Russian driving was bad, but the Mongolians are far worse. Crossing the street is a game of life and death and willpower. The cars do seem to stop when necessary, but the pedestrian cannot show a moment's hesitation. I think it might be part of the UB experience, to lead a road crossing.

***

Went on a walk with Lukas on our last morning in the ger camp. Underestimated it a bit, but got back in time for breakfast.

***

Went for lunch yesterday in Café Amsterdam. Dawa chose it, but it was an obvious Lonely Planet destination, full of English-speaking travellers. It was a glimpse into the future for me. There is a 'look' to everyone - a kind of semi-cool aloofness. I think I'll try avoid LP-recommended places where possible.

***

After that was a trip to the National History Museum. Everything was in English, which was superb, and it filled in lots of gaps in my knowledge of the history of Mongolia. It got a bit propaganda-ish toward the end. The communist takeover of 1921 is still called the Great Democratic Revolution.

Tar éis sin, half the group went shopping, and the other half of us went to see a monument atop a hill on the outskirts of the city. Celebrating the Mongolian-Russian relationship, the views of the city were excellent.

One could really see that UB is on the cusp of an economic boom. One modern glass building has been completed, and several apartment blocks are nearly so. There was even plans for a hotel right underneath the monument. Progress, I guess.

***

Step count at the war memorial:
Dom - 644
Kim - 607
Me - 615

***

Werewolves and Farmers, as played by Lukas, Regine and Brigitte
Cards are dealt - 4 Kings for 4 werewolves, 1 Queen for the witch, 1 Jack for the hunter, and clubs for farmers.

First night: all close eyes, werewolves open to find each other. Gamesmaster takes note of them, and witch, and hunter.

First day: all vote to kill one person, hopefully a werewolf. If tied, all vote again just for tied people.

Second night: all close eyes. Werewolves open eyes, and agree on a target to kill.

Repeat day and night until all werewolves are killed, or the werewolves have a majority.

Each night, after werewolves have selected their target, the witch may use her good or bad essence. Good will save the werewolves' target, bad will kill one person of the witch's choice.

If the hunter is killed, they will shoot another person, so both die.

***

Mongolian countryside is really flat scrubland, beige and brown. The sky is inevitably clear and blue. All in all, beautiful.

***

Passing through the Gobi. Just stopped in Sainshand, and walked the length of the train. Don't seem to be any Chinese people on the train bar the attendants. Might even have another Irish guy.

Long shadows in the Gobi

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http://domcheeseman.blogspot.ie/2011/09/sidenote_21.html
http://domcheeseman.blogspot.ie/2011/10/day-112-ulaanbaatar.html

Day 18 - outside Ulaanbaatar

[email addresses] - Germans who didn't drink vodka, but then did.

***

11am, after the most blissful couple of hours of sleep so far on the trip. We finished playing cards at about 12.30am, and were woken by the provinista just before 5am. VT picked us up and after a quick ATM stop (where my card worryingly refused to work), our honcho left us at the hotel. So Ulaanbaatar is off to a good start! Had dreams within dreams, but have forgotten everything.

Departing the train

Spectacular sunrise in UB

***

We had the Russian-Mongolian border crossing yesterday. Stopped in Naushki for what seemed like forever, but there was a large sand dune to climb, and a neglected park. Started some volleyball with Alex, and we were soon joined by Brigitte, who had found some fellow Dutch travellers - Alice and Helga. Not long after that, a Mongolian man also started playing! Great fun!

Hollie, Nicci, Brigitte, Seb and Dom in Naushki

Kim climbing

Dom and I having a Lion King moment

Dutch and Mongolian

Volleyball / keepy-uppys

Jake and I duel on the tracks

Post-duel foot

Mongolian side of the crossing took less time, but was more painful because we were left sitting in the hot, dark carriage. But we all made it!

Mongolian military

Definitely optimistic today - Laura was texting me scores of Ireland vs Australia, but O2 doesn't seem to function in Mongolia, but found online it was 15-6 to us. \o/

***

http://domcheeseman.blogspot.ie/2011/09/day-108-train-to-ulaanbaatar.html

Day 17 - Irkutsk-UB train

The landscape outside the train has changed utterly - no more autumnal golds and reds, birch and pine intermingling and showing off their contrasting colours. No, now we have rocky wasteland, with sparse growth of red and dusty green.

We're on the train to Mongolia now, boarded last night after using the last of our roubles on a pint in Irkutsk. Sergei took us on one last walk through the forest in Listvyanka before we left, up to the site of a telescope, with more views over the lake. He showed us a few of the sights of the city in Irkutsk during the evening.

Selling fish at the side of the road 

As before, we have three full cabins, and one half. Myself and Andy volunteered to take those beds, and though we feared sharing with two Boris clones, we were pleasantly surprised to meet two German girls, Hannah and Alex, who have been travelling around Russia - Moscow, Tomsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk. They've couch-surfed and taken 3rd class sleeper trains. I am somewhat jealous of their independence, but four hours to buy a train ticket is crazy. Each type of travel has its pros and cons I guess.

Andy with Hannah and Alex

***

I keep getting the timetable wrong - border crossings, and boardings and alightings.

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http://domcheeseman.blogspot.ie/2011/09/day-107-listvyanka.html

Day 13 - Moscow-Irkutsk train (somewhere near Krasnoyarsk)

Adjusting to time difference now. Some antics last night when a couple of the Russians found an English phrase book. "I can ski well" was a highlight.

Trees are beautiful this morning - lots of golden leaves, split by the silver trunks of the birch, which seems to be the most common tree across Russian. Spent about 30mins this morn just staring out the window.

***

Briškula - a Slovenian card game, taught to by Natasha, part of the Adventure Taxi crew (also Jules, and Jack and Mya - https://www.facebook.com/theadventuretaxi).
* Everyone is dealt five cards, and a trump suit is picked.
* First player plays face-up, and everyone must try to follow suit.
* Any trump beats suit, and cards go from 2, 3, 4... 10, J, Q, K, 3, A.
* Player who wins the trick keeps the pile, and all take another card.
* At end, total cards in tricks won: J = 2, Q = 3, K = 4, 3 = 10, K = 11
* Highest score wins

***

Blob - a card game thought up by Dom, best played with 2-3 decks
* 12 rounds, each round has a magic number, starting with number 3, going up to A.
* The card of the magic number is wild, and can be used as anything
* 3+ cards of the same number scores zero (e.g., 3 sevens, or 4 Jacks)
* A running straight of at least 3 cards also scores zero (e.g. 6, 7, 8 of different suits)
* At the start of each round, players are given X cards, where X is the magic number
* A card is then burned from the top of the deck, face-up
* At the start of each player's turn, they can either take the burned card, or a face-down card from the top of the deck
* They then burn a card themselves, and the next player goes.
* A player knocks on their turn to signal they are ending the round, and then on their next turn the cards are revealed and totalled.
* Everything else scores as the number on the card, with J = 11, Q = 12, K = 13, A = 14
* Final scores after round 12 decides the winner

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http://domcheeseman.blogspot.ie/2011/09/day-103-train-again.html