Disneyland

Day 27: Ulaanbaator (MNG) – Erlyan (CN). Amy Lee's haunting voice built to a crescendo as the band kicked in for the last few bars of 'My Immortal'. Listening to my mp3 player, the warm afternoon sunshine filtered through the window of the train making me feel a little drowsy but I resisted the temptation to close my eyes, preferring instead to remain fixated on the remarkable panorama that lay before me. The music of Evanescence provided the perfect backing track to this endless expanse of wilderness and I just starred in wonder at the beauty of the Gobi Desert.

We were on the move again; aboard the 08:04 Trans-Mongolia Express to Beijing, a journey of about 18 hours. With the train speeding through the heartland of Mongolia, devouring mountains, pastures and deserts, we gained a real sense of how isolated and sparsely populated the countryside of this enormous country really was. In the ten hours from us leaving the nations capital to the sun setting beyond the horizon we couldn't have seen more than 50 people.

With the memories of the Russian border crossing still fresh in our minds, Karen and I were a little apprehensive as towards midnight, we approached the southern fringes of Mongolia. But thanks to a Chinese desire to upstage everybody else along the Trans Mongolian railway the formalities for entry into China were not just easy but actually quite entertaining, in a 'Disneyland' kind of way! As the train inched toward the little border station of Erlyan, we were greeted with the sounds of the Vienna Waltz, Auld Lang Syne and the Theme from Titanic blaring from the tannoy system – so loud in fact that the waiting customs officials had their hands firmly pressed over their ears to prevent their eardrums from exploding (or was it to restrict the grating sound of Celine Dion's voice?). Fairy lights around the station and enough neon to cover the Magic Kingdom added to this surreal image. But the border guards were courteous and efficient and after another change of bogies to align with the Chinese railway network, we were on our way again.

Our only disappointment of the day was the lack of 'Character Breakfast' opportunities in the dining car! M, I, C, K, E, Y, M, O, U, S, E!