Monday, August 27, 2007

Railway Blues

No, it's not the name of a John Lee Hooker song... It's the description of my feeling as I sat in my hotel room at the Suhbataar railway station on the Russia-Mongolia border.

Hardship reveals your true strengths and weaknesses. My weakness is an inability to cope with shit food. Initially, I felt like I could probably wait 5 days in this dusty one-yak Mongolian border town until my Russian visa commenced. However, after two meals of floury noodles with mutton and sploshes of tomato sauce at the only restaurant near the station, I couldn't hack it any more and left.

Obviously, my strength is an ability to adapt (and sometimes realise when it is time to throw in the towel).

This is the beautiful train station that was my home for two nights.

Just in case the Mongolian immigration officers hadn't heard, this handy poster reminded them all (in English of course, which not one of them speak) that Osama bin Laden is a bad guy, and should not be let into or out of Mongolia.

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