Russia Ends, Mongolia Begins......

Needed to catch the train to Mongolia at 9pm, so I headed out for the day to see the rest of Irkutsk. Beautiful hot day and all the time in the world. They had a suggested walk on the tourist map, so I just followed that. It was good and I got back to the hostel by 2pm. Went out to get some travel food and check on my go time at the train station. Spent the rest of the time just hanging out at the hostel reading and playing games. Got on the train and this time they segregated us travellers to a couple of cars, so I ended up in a cabin with a couple living in Scotland (Phil and Anne Marie) and a Dutch

lady. Great conversations and lots of fun. Left on time and got to the border by noon the next day. Then we found out the Russians can be kinda jerks. Ended up at the border for 8 hours (5 hours at Russian side). No issues they just didn't do anything and let us sit in the heat. Spent the first 2 hours off the train while they moved cars around. Ended up in the same order as before. Then on the train for 3 hours in 30 degree heat waiting for them to do anything. Finally after 2 1/2 hours they did the passport/baggage/cabin check and let us go. I guess kind of a parting shot at departing tourists. During my passport check the pretty Russian border official looked at my passport, then at me and said “You have lost weight”. Made my day even though I wasn’t happy with how they handled the border. We all had such a good time in Russia, it is unfortunate the officials had to play their little game. It really didn't matter in the end and it gives us something to talk about for years to come. Was a 45 minute trip across the neutral zone and then slightly over 2 hours for the Mongolians to do their checks. About 8:45pm we were on our way to Ulan Bator in Mongolia. So excited! Has always been a place in the back of my mind that I wanted to go. Arrived at 5:50am and caught a cab with some others to my hostel. Nice place with everyone doing the same things. Tried to book a train ticket to Beijing for August 24. Was

successful on the first try. Went to get money. Again success! Day was going really good. Had a fantastic lunch at a Korean restaurant. Korea and Mongolia seem to have a special relationship. Came back from looking around Ulan Bator with my new friends from Scotland and booked a 10 day, 9 night tour. Takes up most of the time in Mongolia, but it is what I wanted. I guess no diary until after I get back. Don't expect to get WiFi out in the Gobi desert! Really looking forward to camping out in the desert and mountains of Mongolia. Spent a lot of time in the cities around Europe and Russia. Going to be a lot of fun to get back to nature for a while. Hopefully all goes really well and the experience will live up to the expectations. Even if it doesn't it will be worth the effort.