Why did you do that?

Many people ask me "Why I decided to go on the Trans-Siberian Railway?" I often think to myself why not?!?! I tend to struggle on the spot when answering this question because there are so many reasons why I decided to travel from Moscow to Beijing by Train. After doing a lot of research and reading many blogs, the route we took is known to be the most interesting Trans-Siberian route to take. The weekly Trans-Mongolian train leaves every tuesday night from Moscow to Beijing. This 7,621km, which is equivalent to 4,735 miles, takes 6 nights to complete. Many people will ask, "How bored were you?" The truth is, I ran out of time on the train, I wish I had more time on the train. The scenery took up a lot of our time. This train crosses Siberia, cuts across Mongolia, and the Gobi desert, then enters China. When an individual chooses to travel by plane, they often lose the opportunity to experience what nature has to offer. We had the chance of seeing Lake Baikal, the world's deepest freshwater lake.  Heading south from Ulan Bator, more grassy steppe and wild flowers as the train heads for the Gobi Desert. Many times you can spot yurts, the tents used by the nomads on the Mongolian Gobi. The scenery was breath taking and I would not have changed it for anything.

"Pekin"

 Train Number 4 

Departs at 21:35

 Emma and I right before we boarded 

 Platform 4 

 Was so unreal 

 Our first stop 

 Train tracks for days 

 Our route- Moscow to Beijing 

 Just helping out with the coal 

 Some of the food that was offered at the stops 

 Another stop 

 Our best friend!

 We made it to CHINA!!!!!

Beijing Railway Station 

The end of the journey=(

Home at Last

After three flights and countless hours, I am finally home. I slept all day Sunday and finally woke up this morning at 7:00am. Back to reality... already doing laundry and unpacking... Not as fun as traveling the world. Take me back! Goodbye adventures, that is for now! Emma and I are already making a list of our next adventure! 

Chocolate, toothpaste, and my bed...YUM!

In the middle of the night Sophie and I got a little hungry and spotted some chocolate. We decided to open it and have a few peices. When I woke up I had chocolate all over me and all in my bed. Five minutes later I lost my toothpaste in my bed and couldn't find it. Well lucky me, it was in my bed right along with the chocolate! Thank goodness I was able to get new sheets. 

Hello from London

I was trying to post my blogs from China and was unable to, due to the restriction of the government. 

I was just trying to post my blogs and they were all deleted=(((. I will have to retype them. I will have them up shortly. Luckily, I kept a journal

Miss you all

Update from Kenzie

I'm having a great time. The train is powered by coal and is one used during the Cold War. I have had a lot of time to read, relax, and reflect on life. I haven't had any wi-fi for a few days so I sent info by text to my mom to post. 

So I have realized I was much to worried about clothes for the -10 degree weather at stops and didn't pack appropriately for the 85 degree train, an all wool wardrobe has been challenging. We are eating granola bars, noodles, & water. Tomorrow we will cross into Mongolia and they will switch out our Russian dining car for a Mongolian dining car. 

We will see the worlds oldest & deepest freshwater lake called Lake Baikal. http://www.lakebaikal.org/

Our view consists of birch trees & miles  & miles of snow & sometimes houses. We spend most of our time reading. 

I continue to be excited about what adventure is around each corner. I will update more when I have wi-fi.