K23 Beijing to Ulan Bataar

The K23 goes beijing to Ualn Bataar. We are in first class and it is a very old fashioned train but has a certain charm to it. There is a dining car that serves lunch and dinner, the choice is limited but yummy. There is only one wine available "Great Wall Wine" but it was ok and even better at about $5Aus. There are many young people on the train and we meet our French neighbour Thomas very early in the trip. The train is decorated in polished wood and red brocade. The cabin is tin, what do you expect. There was a share bathroom between two cabins which was adequate (on a later train I would now describe the bathroom on the K23 as luxurious).
As we travel out of Beijing we see much poverty and squalor. People have a very hard life on this train line. We see people tilling earth that looks as hard as rock. The equiment they use could only be found in a Museum in the Western world.

The further we head out the more desolate the landscape become. There is only one colour to describe this scape "Beige". Miles of Beige. There are hundreds of plastic bags scattered across the Gobi Desert, hanging in trees like Christmas baubles.There are piles of rucbbish dotted across the landscpe. the only ray of hope was at one village the rubbish had been sorted so I am hopin ghtis is for recycling. The rubbish really made me feel uncomfortable and although I am not much of a  "Greeny" I felt ill at  the thought of what we were doing to the planet.

Having said that it is something everyone should see such a contrast to our society. It brings you back to earth with a thud.