The Border Crossing from Russia to Mongolia

We had read in our tour literature that the border crossing between Russia and Mongolia is a once in a lifetime experience, and they were right...

Our train journey and border crossing from Russia to Mongolia would have been slightly more pleasant had we had carriage attendants as lovely at Irina and Tatyana. Unfortunately, we were stuck with two catty Mongolian women who were quite content on making themselves at home at the cost of their passengers. They decided that we didn't need access to the two bathrooms on the carriage, so they closed one for their own private use (and the use of their family members they had on the journey) and made everyone else go to the toilet at the far end - the one they didn't clean or resupply with toilet paper. They were also quite protective of the hot water...they had to literally stoke a fire in a stove underneath to heat it up, and when they decided to let the fire die at the border because of the heat, they filled up their thermos canisters to use it for themselves (and their family) while it was empty for everyone else. If you were lucky, asked nicely or begged, you could get them to give you some.

And then there was the Mongolian guy who brought on board his pet Chinchilla. He hid the little creature in his bag and then kept it in the compartment...except when it occasionally snuck out into the corridor. He also was carrying about 10 boxes of fruit back over the border to sell and decided to store them in our friend's cabin while boarding and then have the boys carry everything for him back to his own compartment. A very quirky guy to say the least...and characteristic of this train journey where tourists mixed with the locals.

After a night on the train from Irkustk, we arrived to the Russian border town of Naushki at 1PM. The temperature was pushing 100 degrees Fahrenheit, with no fans or aircon on the train. It was scorching hot with no where to go to cool off. This wouldn't have been such a bad deal if it were a speedy passport and visa check, but that is not what the Russian bureaucrats have in mind. For the first few hours, we just sat there...luckily they did let us off the train to wander around, but there wasn't much to see. About 5 mins walk away there was a small market set up in metal shanty shacks selling clothes, underwear, and shoes (no thanks)...and one stand selling noodles and a few bottles of water. Otherwise, there were only a couple block buildings housing a waiting room (which was slightly cooler than outside or the train) and a bathroom that you had to pay to use.

Side note: The toilets on the train are closed during the entirety of the border crossings - makes sense considering the "residue" is deposited directly onto the tracks. This wasn't such a bad deal at the Russian/Mongolian crossing because there was a bathroom, but at the Mongolian/China crossing (where you couldn't de-train), a few of our travel mates almost peed into their empty cups of noodles. We luckily had used the facilities just before they closed them, so were ok.

So back to the Russian border...there were hours of sitting and waiting, fanning ourselves and finally soaking our towels in the bathroom sinks with cold water to put on our heads for relief. After about 5 hours, immigration officers came onto our carriage and asked for passports. They checked each one very carefully, asking our names and examining our photos. They then took them away for another two hours. When they finally returned, they handed back the passports and then searched each compartment - under and above the seats - for any stowaways or unreported goods.

Luckily, we didn't have any trouble, but we did find out from an Australian couple who got put on our train last minute that they had tried to enter Russia 3 days before their visa allowed. They were promptly taken off their train and put into a locked room for 18 hours with two make-shift beds while their passports where confiscated. They were let out two or three times briefly to go to the bathroom, walk around and buy water (all while the Russian guards teased and laughed at them). When our train came, they put them on it to deport them back to Mongolia until their visa was valid. Lesson: pay VERY CAREFUL attention to the instructions on your visa and follow them! One cannot enter before or leave after the dates noted...at least not in Russia (or China for that matter).

After a grueling 7 hours in the unbearable heat, they finally let our train cross the border into Mongolia. But we were not yet home free...we still had to get clearance from the Mongolian side. Thank God in Heaven, this side of the border was much quicker - taking only 2-3 hours - and there was more to see at the border. Once we arrived, they boarded our carriage promptly to take our passports and after about 45-minutes came back to return them. It was finally getting into the evening and cooling off slightly. After we were all checked, they let us off the train for about an hour while they pieced it back together and added some more carriages (they had separated the train into pairs of carriages for the border crossing to do two at a time). There were a ton of people on the platform selling and buying sweets, snacks and water. We bought an ice cream, only to find out it tasted like sour milk. I gave mine to a local boy who was delighted at a free ice cream. Finally, we were on our way for another 10 hour journey to Ulanbaatar.