Train Day 1 20th Feb
Beijing to Erlian
Early start left hotel at 5:45am for the train which departed at 7:27am.
Two berth compartment with a wash room will be our home for the next 6 days.
We have made it so homely with a tea and coffee pot and a our own little infuser (smelly thing!). There is a coal fired water heater at the end of the carriage, delivery boiling water, this will be our self catering kitchen for the week. 
Our compartment shares a sink and shower head with the next compartment, I have yet to find out if there is hot water.
There is a western toilet at each end of the carriage, it empties on to the track. Butt Freezing!
Delighted to find we have a power socket in the compartment and the bedding is fresh and clean. 
Glad we have brought our own travel towels
In the distance we saw the Great Wall, solar panels, wind turbines, coal mines, power stations and a farmer tilling fields by hand and driving a mule cart. 
First part of the journey was through a mountainous area, which then opened out on to a plane with fields and later to the edge of the Gobi Desert. We ran into snow, frozen rivers and ice about an hour out of Beijing. The sun is just setting over a bleak and remote landscape. We are toasty warm inside but guessing it is about-12 outside. The station staff who stand in military style to greet and dispatch the train look very cold, despite their heavy uniform coats.
The dining car today is Chinese and our ticket for this leg of the journey included 2 meals. No choice but tasty enough meat veg and rice and complimentary chopsticks! 
This featured blog entry was written by Valfowles from the blog Granny On the Rails.
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