It was a weird morning this morning, i was shattered after staying up too late again. This time we had the excitement of the late night bogie change and $1 beers at the train station to keep us entertained (followed by the was it 11, 12 or 1 that we need to get back on the train at 11:05pm, thanks for that boys!) Once back on board we had to finish the said beers of course and put the world to rights. After sending everyone to bed at a very respectable 2:30am i settled down to scribble a few things down before i drifted off into my last sleep on the trans-siberian train.
I didn’t really want to go to sleep to be honest, last night i wanted to savour every last second of the transforming view passing me by. So i was in awe when i spotted the most electrifying view out of my window as i finished writing before bed. In the final stretch of desert like land as we entered China the crescent moon presented itself in the middle of my window surrounded by a posse of twinkling stars. The unpolluted sky of the desert allowed them to radiate a pure and crisp light and i just could not stop staring at them. I was sat there, knackered thinking “i really must go to bed” and grinning in awe at this most beautiful sight at the same time. It was impossible to capture the beauty in a photograph, it was a moment to savour. I felt very blessed as i went to sleep.
It was only a few hours before i had to be up again for breakfast, 6.30am this morning followed by lunch at 9.30! They clearly decided that they needed to feed us up before we were released into the wilds of Beijing and we were all issued with
Carriage 6 bunkmates speeding into Beijing on the final leg of the Trans-Siberian
vouchers for the meals before we went to bed. My early morning stargazing meant that i missed breakfast but that allowed me time to ballerina pack my bags (sitting oh so elegantly on top of the big one to make sure it could close!), somehow even though i took a load of stuff out they are still full to the brim. The Percy Pigs made a great gift to the wonderful conductor who kept us furnished with Chinese beer when we ran out, dinners when we missed the restaurant car and toilet breaks when i didn’t organise myself well enough to go before we came in for a long border stop!
Unidentifiable meat for lunch was welcomed and i sat with a Chinese family who stared in wonder that i was able to eat with chopsticks and proceeded to take pictures of me with the mother/grandmother and then not very surreptitiously selfies with me in as i ate. A bit weird but very sweet!
There was only an hour left to go on the train after that and there was an energy pulsing through the carriages as i walked back to the illustrious number 6. It was an almost nervous buzz of excitement that we would be arriving soon and all that brings in new sights, experiences and smells. The fact that we would all be able to jump into hot showers and baths after
Moscow to Beijing – final day, dunes turn to mountains on the final stretch
either none on the train or few and far between in the outer reaches of Mongolia. Mixed in with a sadness that the experience was going to end.
We were really treated on that final stretch, the landscape changed quite dramatically. From vast desert, subtlety rising to undulating grassy dunes, creeping ever higher until we were careering in and out of the 60 tunnels carved into the mountains that pepper the last few kilometres into Beijing. There were manic dashes to each side of the carriage as I spotted ever more stunning images to add to the hundreds that I had already snapped. Topped off as we rolled into Beijing station with a train full of Chinese soldiers next to their freight train loaded with tanks. I was a bit scared to snap them at first, but their stares soon turned to waves, which i took to be a pass!
First sights of the big city as the Trans Siberian train speeds into Beijing after 6 days on the rails.
Those magical first moments in Beijing were a bustle of photographs with the conductors and travel buddies that i had made. Several of the same pics on multiple cameras were being snapped on the platform as porters hurried in to see if they could help us out. For the most part people were sauntering off to the metro with their rucksacks, there were only a couple like me with monster roll on cases. Our Chinese ambassador Ling (taking the long way back to China after studying for a degree in Sheffield!) ensured that we were all sent on our various ways with clear instructions on what local dishes we needed to try while we were here and strict instructions to call if we had any problems at all.
I was so excited when i left to go to the hotel, the bustle of the city and the buzz of walking into a new place carried me through the crowds. I love that first stroll onto the platform, taking in the sights, sounds and smells of a new city. Beijing is a phenomenally fragrant city, with wondrous smells coming from almost every doorway as you walk down the street. I was high on the smell of all the food stuffs wafting up my nostrils as m guide took me on the short walk from the main street to the doorway of my hotel.
This turned to slight apprehension as we got deeper into a tiny alleyway or “Hutong” as they are called in Beijing, there was a bit of an “oh my gosh what have i done?!” moment, little did i know that this was an example of the maze of bustling streets that central Bejiing residents inhabit. A tiny oak door lead through to a tranquil courtyard hotel, with some traditional and new Hutong buildings. The perfect oasis from the busyness of the city. First stop was reconnecting with the world, as much as i love you all i did rather enjoy being out of the loop for a week on the train. The power on there barely charged my camera battery let alone transmit a wifi connection, but i know you like to know that i am alive and kicking.
After a lovely long soak get myself back to my sparkly self, i sat down for a quick rest. Stopping meant that tiredness finally caught up with me and i needed a quick power nap before i headed out tonight. The next thing i know, i wake bolt upright and it’s starting to get dark! Ooooops, but clearly i needed it. We went for a pre dinner drink and before we knew it was 12pm and we hadn’t eaten anything yet. Ooooops!
But when we did eat it was GOOD… ! 🙂
Ciao from a very tired cake lady, again!
x x
