As I expected, it started to snow. After one hour of watching the snow falls I felt quite shattered and surrendered for rest, I was worn out yet so content. I always enjoyed sleeping onboard the trains whenever I had the chance to travel. Somehow it gave me a sense of ecstasy.
Although the compartment where I was sitting wasn’t terribly warm, yet my big fur coat and woollen cloths made it cosy enough. And as I laid my head on the window I could feel the train’s jolting back and forth, yet that didn’t hamper me from sleeping.
I was circumnavigating in a deep dream when I was awaken by the ticket inspector, which was so annoying. He endorsed my ticket by hole puncturing as I handed it to him then he gave it back to me. I put it back in my pocket and closed my eyes again.
"It was going to be a very long journey", I said, therefore it was unfeasible to sleep all the way through, and so I opted for reading instead and go to sleep when it gets darker. I grabbed my guide book and started reading, simultaneously visualising myself already in those places.
After hours of reading my eyes were no longer able to operate, it was almost 4pm when the night closed in its curtains, lights of the nearby cities illuminated in the darkness and chimneys were whiffing their white smoke up in the sky.
How I envied those people sitting in their cosy homes by the fire place watching the snow fall!!!
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Monday, 10 May 2010
Sunday, 9 May 2010
Wondering through the Mongolian Desert +++ Part 2
As I made way my towards Moscow’s central railway station, nippy winds blew past my face giving me the shivers of a cold winter. I must hurry and get my ticket as there was only one train a day that departs at midday. My rusty Russian made it difficult to communicate with the tickets vendor who spoke no English! Finally, having shown him my destination on the map, I presumed he understood, though I hoped he wasn’t selling me a ticket to China!
My Russian reading skills was better than conversation so I was able to read Mongolia on my ticket as I held it tightly in my hand, then hurried to platform 4 where the Trans-Mongolian train departs from.
I stood alongside the platform waiting for the train to arrive, the station seemed deserted. A few meters from me stood an old lady with beady eyes and a big black fur coat on, she looked in her 70s, though it was difficult to predict peoples’ ages in Russia as they all looked young due to the freezing temperatures all year round.
She stared at me as I examined my surroundings, I shook my head as a sign of hello however she shrugged and averted her eyes. “How rude”! I said.
A big round and tarnished old clock adorned the station’s platform wall; it has probably occupied it since the Soviet Union era! It was almost 11.50 and the train was not there yet, I started to get worried yet I surmised that punctuality meant little in this land perhaps.
Contemplative moments about my journey struck my head at two minutes to twelve when a massive noisy black train showed up. It was a big sigh of relief. I briskly grabbed my bag and was ready to board. The train was half empty; I guessed those passengers boarded from the previous city, I made sure to sit by the window so I wouldn't miss any of the stupendous scenery on the way to Mongolia.
Finally the train sounded its dying horn and left the station, I sat in a separate compartment observing the snow which literally covered every patch of the ground as the train moved forward, trees and houses were all lily-white. It was getting a little blurry as I could see the thick fog descending... It was probably going to snow, I murmured.
My Russian reading skills was better than conversation so I was able to read Mongolia on my ticket as I held it tightly in my hand, then hurried to platform 4 where the Trans-Mongolian train departs from.
I stood alongside the platform waiting for the train to arrive, the station seemed deserted. A few meters from me stood an old lady with beady eyes and a big black fur coat on, she looked in her 70s, though it was difficult to predict peoples’ ages in Russia as they all looked young due to the freezing temperatures all year round.
She stared at me as I examined my surroundings, I shook my head as a sign of hello however she shrugged and averted her eyes. “How rude”! I said.
A big round and tarnished old clock adorned the station’s platform wall; it has probably occupied it since the Soviet Union era! It was almost 11.50 and the train was not there yet, I started to get worried yet I surmised that punctuality meant little in this land perhaps.
Contemplative moments about my journey struck my head at two minutes to twelve when a massive noisy black train showed up. It was a big sigh of relief. I briskly grabbed my bag and was ready to board. The train was half empty; I guessed those passengers boarded from the previous city, I made sure to sit by the window so I wouldn't miss any of the stupendous scenery on the way to Mongolia.
Finally the train sounded its dying horn and left the station, I sat in a separate compartment observing the snow which literally covered every patch of the ground as the train moved forward, trees and houses were all lily-white. It was getting a little blurry as I could see the thick fog descending... It was probably going to snow, I murmured.
Saturday, 8 May 2010
Wondering through the Mongolian Desert +++ Part 1
It was January 1999 when I spent weeks of planning for my journey to the Gobi desert in Mongolia. Trying to set challenging objectives and stuff to explore in a far and cold land was not that easy, I could imagine the vast landscapes of the Gobi, the snowcapped mountains of Bayan-Ölgi and the dramatic gorges and sparkling lakes of Khövsgöl and the cry of an eagle sprinkled in the felt homes of the nomad .
Buddhist temples, mysterious ruins, abundant wildlife and legendary hospitality top it all off with a conqueror who started with nothing and ended up changing history.
Asia’s coldest desert (Gobi) covers parts of northern and northwestern China, and of southern Mongolia. The desert basins of the Gobi are bounded by the Altai Mountains and the grasslands and steppes of Mongolia on the north, by the Hexi corridor and Tibetan Plateau to the southwest.
Deserts have always been my fondest places. In my childhood I enjoyed playing with sand a lot and being in empty and vast spaces, yet that was nothing in comparison to this fresh and real adventure!
Having read how bitterly cold the climate can be, I made sure that my big fur coat was packed first! I remembered that I also needed my waterproof jacket and a good walking boots, plus tons of thin layers of woollen clothing. I dreaded to look again in my guide book especially in the climate section where it said that average winter minimals are a frigid -40 °C, nevertheless that hasn’t changed my determination and passion to discover new places.
At that time, there were no direct flights to Mongolia, therefore I had to fly to Russia and catch the Trans-Mongolian train from Moscow, which makes it a particularly exhilarating entry into the country!
Dalanzadgad was my destination, where I was to carry on my journey on the back of a Mongolian Wild donkey to the next village, spend the night over at one of the Nomad Ger tent) which is made of Bactrian Camel’s skin, then heading to the desert the next day. I was so thrilled and impatient to do this incredible voyage!
Buddhist temples, mysterious ruins, abundant wildlife and legendary hospitality top it all off with a conqueror who started with nothing and ended up changing history.
Asia’s coldest desert (Gobi) covers parts of northern and northwestern China, and of southern Mongolia. The desert basins of the Gobi are bounded by the Altai Mountains and the grasslands and steppes of Mongolia on the north, by the Hexi corridor and Tibetan Plateau to the southwest.
Deserts have always been my fondest places. In my childhood I enjoyed playing with sand a lot and being in empty and vast spaces, yet that was nothing in comparison to this fresh and real adventure!
Having read how bitterly cold the climate can be, I made sure that my big fur coat was packed first! I remembered that I also needed my waterproof jacket and a good walking boots, plus tons of thin layers of woollen clothing. I dreaded to look again in my guide book especially in the climate section where it said that average winter minimals are a frigid -40 °C, nevertheless that hasn’t changed my determination and passion to discover new places.
At that time, there were no direct flights to Mongolia, therefore I had to fly to Russia and catch the Trans-Mongolian train from Moscow, which makes it a particularly exhilarating entry into the country!
Dalanzadgad was my destination, where I was to carry on my journey on the back of a Mongolian Wild donkey to the next village, spend the night over at one of the Nomad Ger tent) which is made of Bactrian Camel’s skin, then heading to the desert the next day. I was so thrilled and impatient to do this incredible voyage!
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