Still in Mongolia . . .
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The train ran out of food shortly after leaving Beijing. Needless to say, when we finally arrived in Ulan Baatar about 30 hours later, we all poured out looking for something to eat. Fortunately, some Mongolians were ready to oblige with loaves of bread selling for two dollars each. No one mentioned yen, rubles, marks, francs, or whatever. Dollars were the medium of exchange, and English the language medium. |
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The next afternoon
when the train pulled into the first station in Russia, I witnessed something
that I had not seen in two years of living in Japan -- a crowd of people
with a variety of hair color. Here in what still looked like Mongolia,
these Caucasians suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Looks like the arrival
of the Trans-Siberian train was a big event for them.
These Russians were thrusting their rubles into the windows as the Chinese hawked cheap clothing that they had brought from China. I had been puzzled a few days ago by seeing Chinese cramming oversized luggage into the train. Now I knew why. It was their little business. Black leather jackets were showcased in the windows, though I didn't see any Russians with enough money to buy them. |
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