We finally arrived in Beijing on Friday after our epic 2 week train ride, the blur of tourist attractions and bustle of the city has occupied our time since then. We had an amazing time everywhere we went. By far the longest and most arduous streetch of the journey came at the beginning -the 3 and a half day stint from Moscow to Irkutsk. Our tickets were on the aptly named 'Hard Sleeper' class, meaning four bunks tightly packed together,  no curtains or screens and the constanst dim glare of overhead ighting. At the end of each carriage is the samovar, a Jules Verne Soviet hybrid contraption of twistig pipes and uninteligable gagues that dispences the key ingredint of susinence onboard: scalding hot water. From this a consant stream of noodles and teas snake their way pensively past the cabins. Beyond he samovar is the toilet, metalic, basic. A flush operated by a foot bar at its base discourges the contents directly onto the Siberian permafrost. That they are locked twenty minutes before each stop seems wise. All is ruled and controlled by the Provodnistas, two fearsome ladies per carriage, working in shifts at scrubbing, mopping, dispensing tea & coffee (buy one, keep the mug for the journey) and barking curt Russian phrases at confused foreigners. Customer service runs somewhere between distain and insighting outright fear, though I swear I saw half a smile when two of our party nearly failed to get back on the train at a 30 min stop over. Nothing is private in this situation, snores and chatter blunted only by the ceaseless rumbele of the rails ever eastwards. Movements in and out of the top bunks & round fellow passengers become as swift and compact as the living conditions dictate. A seemingly infinite panaorama of Siberian wilderness rolls past the windows, birch tres by the millions, ramshackle huts, free roaming livestock, rusting vehicles, less snow than expected. Our total journey (Moscow - Beijing) falls just shy of 8,000 KM, the vastness of which consumes the view in every direction. Every so often we stop for anywhere between 20  mins o an hour, where Babushkas (RUssian Granmothers) hawk sausages, drinks, out of date noodles, home made food and smoked fish - the latter two of which we avoid, let we play  Russian Roulette with our constitiutions. Each opportunity to stretch our legs is seized upon, taking it in turns to guard possesions onboard. The nightime stops are long waits in sidings, our slep disturbed by staion announcements barked over tannoy and echoing off concrete and steel. 

The Russian restaurant car dining experience... not complete without the soundtrack of 'Winds of Change', meat, beer and the sensation of sitting on a washing machine.

The sop in Irlutsk (2 days) appears like an oasis in the Siberian widerness. We decamp to a chalet, to all appearences dropped from an alpine ski resort, perched on the edge of lake Bikal. The lake contains 20% of the worlds fresh water, remains cold year round and is indistiguishable in size from a sea. Waves lap the shore and dazzlingly clear waters allows crystal clear ice to form across the 40k width each January. We decline the offer of a refreshing dip and clense ourselves of the jouney in a Russian  banya sauna. A highlight was Omul, a fish native solely to the lake, similar in taste to rock, and ravenously depleted in number by two (be assured it's a sutainable stock!). 

The next leg of the journey (2 nights, 1 day) turns out to be in plush four birth cabins, the group can hardly contain its joy a the sliding doors with full length mirrors and, the total darkess they provide.  Old hands by now, we progress swiftly to Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia, where we stayed in a ger camp, a cosy round tent with a wood burning stove to keep us warm and lovely comfy beds (a nice change after train carriages).  We went to visit a mongolian 'nana' in her ger, she told us about her nomadic lifestyle and the animals she has, and gave us a selection of mongolian delicacies - fermented yogurt vodka (I'm never throwing away a week old yogurt again!), Mongolian cheese, and dried curds.  They love their dairy - milking everything that moves - goats, cows, horses and camels!  We also tried some archery and dressed up in Mongolian costumes, Andrew may as well have worn a whole ger as he bcame swamped in fabric - Chengis Khan was surely stouter than he. A two hour horse trek across the desert at sunset was so awe inspiringly beautiful as to defy description. Unfortuately Andrew's horse randomly kicked Helen on the shin, but shin guards prevented lasting damage.  We both felt like wimps next to the hardcore mongolian herdsmen! 

We went to Ulanbaatar the next day and fitted in a visit to the mongolian history museum which was fascinating - right from stone age through to present day. The central square which houses the government building jas a spectacular  view of the surrounding mountains.  Then we went to a mongolian cultural show with dancing, music, throat singing and contortionists, ther harpists left the hairs on our necks standing.  Dinner was at a  a mongolian barbeque restaurant which had a huge salad bar.  It was really tasty so Helen went a bit mad about all the fresh vegetables (haven't really had any since we left the UK), but the next day felt really sick and thew up 3 times from what must have been food poisoning.  You've got to be really careful with eating fresh veg and fruit, as it may have been washed in tap water, which we cant drink.  Unfortunately the food poisoning kicked in during the 6 hour border crossing where we were stuck on the train the whole time with no toilet access!  During the crossing from mongolia to china they literally have to lift the train onto a different set of tracks, as Mongolian and Russian trains run on a different track gauge to the rest of the world. So we were in the train whilst they were lifting it.  Helen was too busy throwing up though so didn't really get to appreciate it, Andrew was like a child with a train set.
Anyway, we then were on the train for another day, and saw some great chinese coutryside on the way to Beijing.  We arrived in our hostel which is gorgeous - we have an en suite bathroom and a huuuuge bed which is more than kingsize and is 3 feet high.  Its just what we needed after the train journeys.  We went to a tasty chinese restaurant in the evening, but the pictures and descriptions of some of the food didnt help Helen's still delicate stomach - duck webbings, jellyfish, chicken feet, sea cucumbers, tripe etc.  But we did order some delicious roast lamb, rice with vegetables and duck dumplings. 

We've been exploring markets, shops and Beihai park in Beijing so far.  Will be going to the forbidden city today, and hopefully the great wall tomorrow.  We've booked an overnight train to Xian in a couple of days so that we can go and see the terracotta army.  So more Chinese adventure updates to follow!