Sophistivacation

August 31st 2017 We were awoken, if only for 2 minutes, when the "Stove man" came into our Ger at 5am in order to relight the fire...it was our only desire! I got up at 8am and had an amazingly hot shower; it was so good compared to the freezing cold one on the train. We had all agreed to meet for breakfast at 9am so we could get an early start on the itinerary for the day. Breakfast consisted of an omelette on bread, salami, a pork type meat which consisted of intestines (it was delicious!), a hard boiled egg, a muffin, a slice of orange and watermelon and a sweet cake...all on one plate! After Breakfast, our first stop was turtle rock; yes, you guessed it...it looks like a turtle. It has no significance whatsoever, we asked, but it is pretty cool to see! After walking around the turtle (it doesn't look like one from the other side), we ventured to the Aryapala Buddhist meditation retreat. It was a beautiful place overlooking the valley below; note to self, must get fitt...

August 30th 2017 When we first booked our Mongolian stay, we opted to stay at Guru Ger Camp; it was a tourist camp with communal facilities but sounded pretty good from the reviews given by our travel agency. As we were travelling to our home for the next two nights, we were told Guru Camp was actually full which meant we had to be moved; both of us were a bit concerned as we had seen reviews of other camps. Turns out, we were upgraded to the Alungoo Ger Camp; this is the camp next door to Guru but is considered the "luxury" one - I was delighted! We were whisked straight to dinner as we had arrived late so we would be shown to our Ger afterwards. Dinner consisted of a starter (salad), main course (chicken and rice) and dessert (watermelon); it was pretty good but needed salt! We sat with Agiimaa and our driver at dinner, and talked about the plans for the next two days. We asked the guide and driver if they had wifi...jokingly....they do actually! She was also telling me tha...

We eventually arrived in Ulaanbaatar 4 hours later than planned; better late than never! Our guide, Agiimaa, picked us up from the station and told us she had managed to switch things around so all was not lost! Agiimaa spoke perfect English, she had studied in India and was super happy. She is definitely a very modern Mongolian; we listened to Ed Sheeren, Justin Bieber and the rest of the UK top 40. We immediately headed to an ATM at a supermarket as we needed to get some local currency and also some ingredients for a visit to a local family. After a 10 minute stop, we headed to the Chinggiskhan (Genghis Khan) statue en route to the Ger camp. The statue is 40 metres high and made of steel; it was paid for by their current president, a wealthy business man who has somehow made it into the presidency....remind you of anyone? We visited the museum at the bottom of the statue then took the lift up to the top so we could walk around the horses head! It was getting late and the sun was se...

August 30th 2017 The title of this next blog just about sums up Mongolia so far.... The Gobi stretches along the border between Mongolia and China whereas the rest of the countryside is made up of vast grass plains stretching as far as the eye can see! Most of the Gobi is not actually true desert and is made up of rolling steppe. There is the occasional little village with 4 or 5 houses and Ger encampments dotted around the landscape. Gers are nomadic dwellings where people still lead traditional lives, herding cattle and hunting with eagles.  We are still on-board the train and it is now 3pm; it appears we are also way behind schedule due to the border crossing on the Chinese side; not sure what the hold up was but we think we are delayed by about 3-4 hours. I slept pretty badly, but even so, I am up and looking forward to a shower; that was until I actually turned it on.... I knew there was no hot water from the toilet washbasin tap but I hoped the shower may have been at least l...

August 29th 2017 We arrived at the Chinese-Mongolian border just before 10pm. About an hour before, we were given a Chinese customs declaration form to fill out; this was a prompt to complete the exit Immigration form which we got as we passed through security at the airport on our way into China. We came to a standstill at a place called Erlian where Chinese customs boarded the train and came to collect passports, customs forms and immigration forms.  They then left with everything....... It was now around midnight when we start moving back and forth, going into and out of what looked like a huge warehouse; this is what they call "changing the wheel bogeys" or as we know it, switching the wheel bearings.  They have to do this as the gauge of the railway track changes - sometimes the distance between the two can be as much as 10cm. It is a noisy and jerking process which seems to go on forever so we decided to have a wee whisky to pass the time. For all you whisky enthusiasts...

August 29th 2017 Our carriage attendant for the next 24+ hours took us to our berth; it is a first class, 2 person berth with private toilet/shower. It sounds really luxurious, and it is compared to second class, but there is no hot water and the long seat along one side of the carriage also doubles as one of the beds. Aside from the fact that you have to be super tidy and stow all your luggage away, it feels pretty comfortable; I have now taken up residence in the little armchair beside the table. We left Beijing on time (11.22am) and ready for the journey ahead..... At first, we spent our time staring out of the window at the numerous apartment blocks; it is kind of hypnotising going past block after block knowing that the population of Scotland could fit into Beijing 3 times! It only took an hour or so to get out into the countryside and this gave me time to reflect on the last few days. I loved Beijing! The people, food, culture, parks, subway, the list goes on....Roll on next year...

August 29th 2017 After waking up a 7.30am, I felt rather itchy and a bit narky; it appears I was "eaten alive" the previous day. Between us, we have around 30 mosquito bites (please note, I have about 20 of them!) And before you ask, yes I did use insect repellent, just not everywhere! But as they say, the show must go on....we headed for our last Chinese breakfast before embarking on the first leg of the journey to Ulaanbaatar, capital of Mongolia.  We checked out of the hotel around 9.30am intent on going to the local supermarket to stock up on the necessary goodies. I waited outside while Iain stocked up on noodles, noodles and more noodles.....there were also a few bottles of water, Sprite and Pepsi to keep us going. As I mentioned previously, our hotel was just a stones throw from Beijing Central Station; this came in really handy for check-in. It is only possible to get into the station with a ticket, so this meant a ticket and passport check before we were even allowed...

August 28th 2017 My feet were killing me but I was determined to find Great Leap Brewing! It is a microbrewery in one of the Hutongs and has a great selection of ales made mostly from local ingredients.  We arrived about 3.30pm and were the only people there; we decided to have a pint each and sit outside and enjoy the sunshine. A Chinese couple arrived shortly after and ordered a flight to share....this was next on our list! While I was waiting for Iain to bring back a flight each (I don't like sharing!), I logged onto the wifi only to find Sharon had sent me all the pictures from the tour earlier.....75 to be precise! I am actually really grateful as she managed to capture some moments that we would not have been able to...5 star review on the way, once I get wifi again! Anyway, back to the beer flight, this is what we had: 1. Silver Needle White Ale 2. Fruit for Life Citrus IPA 3. Chesty Puller IPA 4. East City Porter I was reasonably merry after the flight, but we thought we sh...

August 28th 2017 It's 7.00am and I feel refreshed after sleeping for around 10 hours! After a quick shower, it's our first experience of a Chinese breakfast. Instead of going for the usual western breakfast, although I did have bacon, sausage and beans, I also had some fried rice, noodles and samosas.... At 8am, we met our guide "Sharon" for our next tour. This was no normal tour, I was about to become a Beijinger for the day!  First stop, the subway to take us to Jinshan Park....Actually, subway, then bus, followed by a "brisk" walk in 25 degrees at 8.30am! On the way, Sharon asked me if I was a kindergarten teacher, I apparently look like one; she was quite dismayed when I told her otherwise. We finally arrived at the park, ready to do some Tai-Chi as this is what the tour stated. Instead, we ended up walking to the top of the hill for a birds-eye view of Beijing; we were right above the forbidden city as the hill was built to protect it from the wind and ...

August 27th 2017 It's now 2pm and we are slightly less sleep deprived, showered and dressed appropriately for the weather, that is, raincoats and hiking boots. We sauntered downstairs to the hotel lobby and met with our tour guide for the afternoon; his name was Roy. He told us his real name but as he said, Roy is much easier to remember! We headed to get a taxi to our first stop on the tour, the Lama Temple. After trying to hail a cab for 5 minutes (there were loads but none of them wanted to use the meter), Roy thought it best we take the subway. We were a bit daunted at the prospect of this but now realise that it is the most efficient and cost effective method of transport in Beijing.  On entry to each subway station, you "voluntarily" (really means "must") put your bag through the security checkpoint; after that, you can buy a ticket. We were herded from one line to the other, through the mass of people; it's like London at rush hour, only its rush hour...

August 27th 2017 Most people normally think of New York as being the city that never sleeps; i can assure you, it's actually Beijing! We arrived on Hainan Airways flight from Manchester into Beijing International Airport at 4.30am on Sunday morning. I was expecting the airport to be reasonably quiet at that time but I was in for a huge surprise. A mere 2 hours later and we were bartering with a taxi driver to take us to our hotel; it appears they all refuse to turn on the meter so bartering is a must! After a 30 minute journey costing 200RMB (about £23), we arrived at our hotel (Howard Johnson Paragon Hotel) a little terrified; apparently driving in one lane and within the speed limit is not the done thing! It also started to pour rain so we were hoping we would be able to check-in and have a shower to revitalise ourselves; that was not to be!  It was now 7am and there was a monsoon outside; we decided to go for a "wander." We ventured around the front of the hotel and fo...

It is currently 10.03am on Saturday 26th August and we have already been up for 7+ hours. That being said, I am now sittng in the Aspire Lounge in Manchester Airport Terminal 2 enjoying a nice cold beverage......We have just commenced stage 2 of our great adventure having travelled from Edinburgh Airport early this morning. As I write this, I realise that I haven't actually told you where I am going.... And usually, it is a reasonably simple question to answer.....not this time! So here goes... We (Iain, my better half, and I) are about to embark on the Trans-Siberian Railway experience with a few add-ons here and there. And this is where the story begins......cue the song "9 Million Bicycles" by Katie Melua  If you don't know the song, google the lyrics and that will give you a clue as to our first stop!

bucket list noun informal  a number of experiences or achievements that a person hopes to have or accomplish during their lifetime. Most people have a bucket list in some shape or form; I do too, but i prefer to think of the positive aspects of having one, rather than the original connotation of compiling a list just before you "kick the bucket."  For me, my list has always centred around travel.  I was very lucky, that as a child, my parents used to take me on exotic holidays, to far and away locations, and I blame them entirely for the travel bug that I now have.  That being said, I would like to point out that I am not your average traveller.....It is fair to say that I prefer the "finer" things; hence "Sophistivacation" was born! Tomorrow the adventure begins....