Beijing to Ulan-Bator in Car #1 (Cameron)

We uneventfully caught our 7:47am train to Ulan-Bator (a 30 hour trip). But it didn't say anywhere on our ticket that we were booked in the unofficial shirts-off car (aka: "train casual"). Most of our car-mates appeared to be from the Chinese army's airborne division, and shirt removal was the order of the day. Things were a bit different down in first class Car #6, where faux mahogany and air conditioning were clearly worth 2.5 times the "hard sleeper" price.

We scored a four bed berth for just the two of us, and were very comfortable. There was plenty of room for sit ups and squats, and to enjoy "milk + juice" drink and "jujube paste" filled sesame cakes.

We moved through rocky mountains to depressing industrial towns to spectacular grasslands and clear blue skies. Hundreds of windmills turned in the distance. In the middle of nowhere we passed a convoy of maybe 100 Chinese army vehicles: trucks, tanks, and large artillery.

In the dining car, the waitress immediately started unloading random dishes onto our table until we said stop. When the chef walked through the car 40 minutes later, everyone burst into applause.

We entered the Gobi Desert, and almost immediately ran into the middle of a sandstorm. Berths with windows open were sprayed with sand, and everywhere else the air was misty yellow and smelled like the beach.

At 9:00pm we reached the Chinese border town of Erlian. Customs checks were cursory and friendly, but we had to wait 3 hours while the chassis was switched to the non-standard Russian/Mongolian gauge. (The rails are a bit further (or closer?) apart; this was by design, to hinder foreign invasion.)

We were allowed to leave the train. On the platform, loudspeakers broadcast imperial marches, classical music, and Auld Lang Syne. We bought food from the platform grocery store: instant noodles, water, beer, oranges, and dried "California plun" (we passed on the tinned "dinner fish").

When we slowly rolled into Mongolia at midnight, soldiers with AK-47's stood at 10 meter intervals and saluted us. A Cocker-Spaniel drug sniffer scampered through each car.

Mongolia is much less humid than Beijing, but we didn't see the car thermometer go below 29 degrees. So I'm sure you're wondering: "How many large, thick, woollen blankets were they given in order to keep warm?" Eight.