We pulled into Erlian, fairy lights and classical music blaring, and handed in our passports to the Chinese immigration police. During the two and half hour stop in Erlian, the carriages are lifted of the Chinese Bogie, or under carriage, and placed on a wider gauge Mongolian/Russian Bogie. As is polite the bogies are exchanged under cover of a shed. Robert chose to stay on the train to see what it felt like, and I went to the tax free shop at the train station to load up on provisions. A cold bottle of Tsingtao beer helped while away the wait on the platform, as I chatted to some residents of erlian, and some other passengers.
Back on the train, final inspections, looking for any Chinese trying to hide in the toilets or undercarriage (quite specific search) and then more formalities before getting the passports back. As importantly they could then get the train moving and open the lavatories, as by this stage most peoples bladders were full of beer, and peeing in the hot water kettle (there is one in each carriage) almost became the only alternative
By this stage it is midnight, and everyone is tired. An hour later we arrived at the Mongolian border, more searches, more passport and customs checks, and finally lights out and the land of nod.
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Location:Erlian -Chinese border
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