Crossing the border - takes 5 hours on a bus; 26 hours on a train! Why?

A few days ago now..

Train ran along the Baikal..gorgeous sunrise.. Had the cabin all to myself until Ulan Ude.. and was joined by two great guys from France.. Romain and Lucas! We had many laughs.. They made the tedious wait at the border much easier to cope with :)

So, yes, crossing the border DOES take a long time.. 3 hours and 30mins (that's just leaving Russia).. which is actually the norm (it can take a lot longer!) but not being able to step out of the train for half of the time and the toilets being locked..locked up in the wagon (stationary) wasn't fun..

All part of the trip I guess.. 

Then the landscape dramatically changes from forests to plane fields and rocky hills.  AMAZING..

We cheered on vodka once we had cleared all the neccessary checks (3 times) and the train started to speed through suburbs of Mongolia!!!!!!!!!  Gers started to appear; obvious to see that many people still live in them; the white tops only just poking out of the boundary fences..

Old train..

The last glimpse of Baikal - atouch of sentiment added by the dirt on the window...?

Russian restaurant car - More modern one this time

Just a few steps more...

Here we are! Good Morning Mongolia!