Mongolia!

I would never have thought, twenty-five years ago, that I might be able to visit Mongolia as easily as I might visit Peru or Australia. The changes brought about by the fall of the Soviet Union were profound and far-reaching. 

The Russian/Mongolian frontier was harmless. We were there for a few hours, and apart from not being allowed off the train and not being allowed to use the lavatories, there was little if any inconvenience. Policemen took our passports away and brought them back again. A variety of Customs officials from both nations shone torches into dark spaces and rummaged about. No-one was rude. No personal baggage was opened or inspected. 

Not long after we set off - just long enough to visit the loo, clean our cups and start on the wine (it was late evening) there was an emergency stop and people were observed running up and down on the tracks with torches. We thought this was great, because it meant we were holding up the train behind us, which had pulled in whilst we were at the border. The train behind us was a REALLY posh train full of folks much richer than us - the dining car was a sight to behold, all chandeliers and gold trim. 

We had a fitful night's sleep on the train. I found it necessary to bed down fully dressed, as I was too tired to remain awake even though the Customs and passport formalities were not quite over. The bed on these Chinese trains is somewhat harder than that on the Russian ones.