We left Beijing the following morning after visiting the Great Wall to head to Xi'an, the oldest Chinese city. It would be a 13 hour train ride, this much we knew. What we didn't know though was the difference between a 'hard seat' ticket vs. a 'hard sleeper' ticket. Basically there a three classes of train travel in China. A soft…
Cloudy Day at Badaling- Great Wall of China
December 27, 2011
On our last full day in Beijing, we had planned to catch a morning trip to the Great Wall at Badaling which is a touristy section but the closest part of the Great Wall in relation to Beijing. It would be our last chance to visit the wall since we had booked a train already to leave the following morning so…
Backpacking Beijing, China
December 26, 2011
Upon finishing our Trans Mongolian trip, we were set to start our adventure backpacking Beijing around seven in the morning. Of course I was still backpacking with my two Swedish friends and I really had no idea they would be such a spectacle to the Chinese with their blonde hair. If you've ever wanted to know what it's like to be…
Ending my Trans-Mongolian Trip – Ulan Bator to Beijing, China
December 24, 2011
After spending my last bit of time in Ulan Bator, I was headed back on the train to finish my Trans-Mongolian trip. Only this time, I was now traveling with a couple friends that were taking the same train as me. After the border crossing we had to go through another stop where they raise the train carriage and then switch…
Backpacking Mongolia in Terelj National Park
December 23, 2011
There were six of us heading out to go backpacking in Mongolia at Terelj National Park. The started out that morning in a small van. The plan was to spend two nights and three days in the park with a nomadic family about three hours outside of Ulan Bator. At over 1.2 million acres in size, Terelj National Park is home…
Week of Travel in the Capital City of Mongolia
December 21, 2011
It was shortly after 6 AM when we finally arrived into Ulan Bator, the capital city of Mongolia with a population of just over one million and home to Genghis Khan. After just ten minutes off the train, I could definitely tell we were no longer in Russia. Everything was different... the people, the buildings... and the many smiling faces. We…
Irkutsk to Ulan Bator, Mongolia on my Trans-Mongolian Trip
December 21, 2011
This next leg of my Trans-Mongolian trip was probably the most crazy. We had to go through two border crossings. The first was on the Russian border. This was the part where they bring on the dogs, check under seats, look under the train, etc. They're looking for everything from smuggled Russian dolls filled with drugs to border jumpers. The process…