Trip to Inner Mongolia - Day 1

We left for our trip at 9:00 AM from the Shenyang Railway Station. The train was not luxurious by any stretch of the imagination, but we had purchased the most expensive seats – sleepers - so we were quite comfortable. The sleepers are basically six small beds hung three in a row from the ceiling. The upper beds were quite high. The train ride was supposed to be 12 hours long, but it ended up being a bit longer because of the rush of people, it being National Day Holiday and all. We spent the time doing crossword puzzles, playing @sshole (card game), drinking pijyo (beer) and chatting. Some people also slept.

We arrived in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia in the evening. We settled into our hotel, which was actually quite nice, with in-room internet and a fancy shower (check out the warning on it!). There were also all sorts of free amenities for the taking, including toothbrush and toothpaste, razor and shave cream, etc. but we forgot to take them. As you can see, there was a phone in the bathroom for making important calls that just can’t wait. Afterwards, we all went out for a late supper of BBQ “sticks” – mutton, beef, chicken and potatoes. We went to bed as soon as we were back from supper as we knew it would be an early morning.