Our train departing from Ulaanbaatar was already at the station when we arrived, but boarding didn’t begin until around 30 minutes before departure. When booking this trip, I booked second class for journeys that are around 24 hours or less, so for this 23-hour leg, we were in second class.
Old World Charm
The 305 train is markedly older than our ride from Beijing, but it has that old world charm. The interiors of the train are lined with well-worn wood and metal. Even though it’s old, everything is functional. In second class, there are 4 beds to a cabin. I booked the top and bottom bunks on the same side for me and Xav. Two Chilean travellers arrived shortly after. They became our travel companions for the evening.
Our train cart also hosted a group of Chinese/Mongolian tourists, who were full of energy and were walking up and down the carts chatting and snapping photos. So far on this trip, I haven’t been far from Chinese tourists. My people really are everywhere. The energy from this train is much more lively than the first journey that was filled with mostly European tourists.
Old school water boiler. Key to making that morning coffee!
Border Control
We settled into our bunks and took turns between reading, napping, and snacking. Around 10 pm, we pulled into the Mongolian side of border control. Agents boarded the train, we showed passports, and they routinely looked through our luggage. The process was straightforward.
The train continued for 15-20 minutes, then come to the Russian border. This time was much more comprehensive. The process took over an hour, and our passports were checked no less than 5 times.
There were agents who came into the cabin to check every nooks and cranny. Although it’s such a small space that I wasn’t sure what he’s checking for. Another agent asked us to open up our luggage. Finally, non-uniformed agents came by to ask questions about our stay in Russia. I gotta give it to this guy though. He made a joke with Xavier about his name being in the movie X-man. Border agents are human after all.
Fortunately, our Chilean friends were great conversationalists and we kept each other entertained throughout the long border-crossing process. They have both been traveling for over 8 months. They shared travel stories in China, and we shed insights on lives there as expats. Meeting other travellers is one of the great joy of traveling. They normalise the nomadic lifestyle and inspire us to explore new destinations.
Good Morning, Russia
When we woke up in the morning, our Chilean friends had already gotten off the train in Ulan-Ude. Since the train doesn’t arrive in Irkutsk until 2:30 pm, we had the cabin to ourselves for the day.
I made myself a cup of coffee in my collapsable silicone travel cup. As I sipped on my coffee, our train reached the infamous Lake Baikal, the largest freshwater lake in the world. The view was breath-taking. I counted my blessings to be able to wake up in such a tranquil setting.
Along the glistening blue water lined wooden houses and large pine forests. Idyllic Russian villages appeared one after another until we reached the sprawling town of Irkutsk. We arrived around 2 pm. Thank goodness to international roaming and Google Maps, I quickly found that we could take the local tram for $1 to our hostel. And off we went to explore our first stop in Russia!
Gotta get that morning coffee whatever way I can.
First peak of Lake Baikal!
This blog was posted with permission from Wendy Lee. To view more blogs from Wendy, click here.