well, I know I said I'd have a blog entry up about my mongolia adventures right about now, but when I made that claim I wasn't expecting my laptop to die on me! Looks like it couldn't handle the rigors of the traveling lifestyle, and the hard drive crashed. Luckily, I was able to salvage all the data, and after spending a looooong day running around Ulan Batar like a maniac from computer shop to computer shop, I was able to get a replacement hard drive and transfer all the data over, so I should be good to go. Needless to say, all this time spent trying to get my laptop fixed was time not spent on processing my photos and writing the entry, so I'm afraid that will have to wait.
The good news is that I should have plenty of time to prepare my blog entry over the next few days, as I'm taking the trans-siberian railway to Russia. I leave Ulan Batar, Mongolia, in about 5 hours, and 5 days later I will emerge in Moscow. The 5 day, 4 night trip is going to be . . . interesting. I don't think I've ever been in one small space for anywhere near that long, so I'm hoping it doesn't drive me stir-crazy. I've prepared as best I can - loaded up on snacks, stocked my kindle with books, and got my laptop in working order. Hopefully there will be some interesting people on the train as well, as books and a computer alone are not really enough entertainment to last for 5 days.
Due to time constraints I was unable to do the long process of applying for a tourist visa, so I had to settle for a transit visa instead, which means I have to go straight to Moscow, and then pretty much leave ASAP. Luckily, in regards to a transit visa "ASAP" means "in 2-3 days", so I am taking advantage of this to wrangle 6 hours in Moscow, and a day and a half in St Petersburg. It'll be great to get to see Russia, even if most of my viewing will be from the train.
Anyways, you won't be hearing from me for a while, since I'll be stuck on a train. But when I get off I should have plenty of stories and pictures, so keep posted!
the various trans-siberian / trans-mongolian routes. I've already done the Beijing --> Ulan Batar route (purple line), and will be starting in Ulan Batar, en route to Moscow (purple and red lines), then heading up to St Petersburg (black line)
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