The distance between Ulaanbaatar and Irkutsk is just over 1000kms. We had travelled almost exactly this distance between Shanghai and Beijing in just under 5 hours. So by that logic our current journey should be long finished. It wasn't. It takes 33 long hours. The reason being the monumentally slow border crossing, even without the bogie change required at the China-Mongolian border.
In this case we stopped for about 2 hours on the Mongolian side whilst papers were inspected and our compartments inspected by Customs. This predictably led to a flurry of activity by the Mongolian women who tried to secrete their Chivas Regal anywhere they could. The carriage attendant came to enquire about the tire which was smilingly returned to her with a feigned lack of understanding of her desire to keep it in our possession. No thank you.
From the idle speed of the Mongolian processes things slowed down considerably in Russia. After passing through 'No-man's land', marked at either end by secured zones with guard towers, we stopped and stood at Naushki station for more than 7 hours.
The customs duties were repeated in just over an hour leaving another 6 when nothing at all appeared to happen. We all wandered off to see the town only to discover there was very little of it. Beers, vodkas and noodles were purchased. Our first Russian word was read and understood - Cafe!
But after another hour waiting on the platform we came to our first conclusions about Siberia: it's too hot and there are no jukeboxes. It must have been about 20 degrees with blazing sunshine and we were rugged up to the eyeballs in the expectation of polar deep freeze. To pass the time we paid to use the toilet for a quick wash (with a rag on a stick). On emerging we noted our train had been whittled down to a single carriage that stood lonely by itself on the centre track. We were allowed on but it was over 30 degrees inside the carriage so we went back to waiting in the Naushki dust.
By 4 o'clock in the afternoon our carriage was hitched up like a foster child to a set of Russian cars and an engine and we were invited back on board. As we wound further into Siberia we noted the increasingly wooded landscape changing.
Small timber houses for which the area is known appeared in contrast to Gers on the Mongolian side. And we even caught first sights of snow and ice. It really was Siberia! We drank beer and vodka with the boys and tried to forget that we had to be up at 6am the next morning in Irkutsk.
