Blogs from Mongolia, Asia - page 81

Friday 2nd July – Beijing – Ulaan Bataar Our cab driver was waiting for us when we checked out this morning, and we made it to the airport with two hours to spare which was just as well as check-in seemed to take forever, but finally we made it through immigration. Our flight departed at 9.20am & although the plane was small, it was full. Poor Tony got stuck with a large American lady on his right, who wouldn’t stop talking to him, especially about horses. She was a crashing bore. The flight took over an hour, but as Mongolia is an hour ahead of Beijing, it was just after midday when we landed. The usual struggle to get through immigration, customs and baggage ensued, & as we were walking out the airport we got hassled ... read more

Sain Bainuu (Hello there). Well, since our last message from Irkutsk we've had quite an adventure indeed. Eric managed to get himself left behind at a train station on the way to Mongolia. Here's his version of the story: We had 50,000 roubles left, so at the last stop before the border, I went out to spend it at any shop I could find. I asked the provodnitsa (train attendant) how long the stop was; I asked 'pyaht naht zut minutes', which is 15. She though I said 'pyaht minutes' which is 5, so agreed with me. So I wandered off to spend our money (about $9 US), only to see the train pulling away as I tried to pay. So I ran after the train, but it was going faster than me. Just as I ... read more