MONGOLIAAfter a rather hairy ride to Beijing Main Station with the sticky tape the driver used in an attempt to keep the boot shut over our big bags (mind you the boot was very small)detaching itself after 5 minutes and the underside of the car grating on the road with the combined weight of luggage and people...we made it ...all wondering if this was setting the tone for the train ride...and as Sue's bag was the one that would have joined the Beijing traffic jam as it was on top she was particularly anxious! The train was waiting for us as was a stony faced railway employee at each carriage entrance and that pretty much set the customer service standard... the men on our carriage who presumably were there for the passengers, spent the whole time smoking (non smoking signs were pasted up on each wall)eating and sleeping and when we kicked up a stink about the smoking they just shut their door and the smoke seeped into the carriage through less direct means...I am sure they were glad to see the back of us(by the end of the trip we even had nicknames for 2 of them Mr Pork Bun and Mr Cane Toad...well after 30 hours in a confined space obviously we had nothing better to do).And the taxi driver in Ulaan Baatar who wanted 4 times the price for the fare is another story..we did feel bloody relieved to get to our hotel and have the hot shower that was absent from the train.After the vast panorama of the Gobi Desert with its camels and yurts the chaos and size of Ulaan Baatar was a shock....capitalism and all it's ugliness has taken hold here and a local taxi driver (a second one) after telling us how much he liked 'Crocodile Dundee" said things were not so good after Communism with rich and poor,homelessness and the class divide taking hold....more later Kath xo