Slow Travels on the Trans-Mongolian Railway
The route we chose for the start of our trip is the Trans-Mongolian Railway, traveling through Russia, Mongolia and China and is the first mode of transport on our ‘mega-moon’ trip (‘honeymoon’ doesn’t really cut it!). It takes two days to get to Moscow from the UK by train. Four days from Moscow to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia and then another day to get from Ulaanbaatar to Beijing. From Beijing we are continuing to travel through Asia by land. So why such a long way round?
Tom and I took another long trip over 5 years ago and it was absolutely incredible. We completely fell in love with backpacking travel and the value in taking a pause from the ebbs and flows of life at home. This trip did, however, rack up some serious air mileage as we attempted to cram in as much into our year as possible zipping between continents. Since then we have been busy developing our careers which has led us to appreciate the value in slowing down and taking our time. We have also become more environmentally conscious so we decided to do some research into the impact of our choices for travel.
If we had flown into Beijing from the UK we would have emitted around 0.7 tonnes CO2e or carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (from Newcastle via London, 5319 miles) compared to train travel at around 0.06 tonnes CO2e (stopping in our planned destinations, 6736 miles) as calculated by www.carbonfootprint.com. Although the train journey isn’t the shortest route, the impact on the environment is more than 10 times less in terms of CO2e (this factor compares the impact of various greenhouse gases on the basis of their GWP or global-warming potential).
I am also currently researching the best way to offset our emissions from this trip so if anyone has any suggestions for charities, please do not hesitate to comment. I will come back to this in a later post for anyone interested in doing something similar.
The longest time we spent on a train was four days from Moscow to Ulaanbaatar. The concept of being on the train for such a lengthy amount of time was a little daunting but also exciting. I’m a big reader and love any excuse to tuck myself away to read uninterrupted. I have also become interested by the concept of boredom being significant. We have very little to no time in any states of boredom due to modern life distractions. Whether it is scrolling through social media whilst waiting for the bus, podcasts playing in your ears when walking around or the TV blaring when relaxing at home. Our minds are consistently occupied. So much so we struggle to switch off, to be creative or simply eat a meal without extra stimulation of the mind. Podcasts that I have found particularly interesting on this subject include:
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Dr Rangan Chatterjee- Feel Better, Live More podcast, specifically episode #70 ‘Why Sleep is the most Important Pillar of Health with Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology, Matthew Walker’. The conversation covers the importance of rest and suggestions on how to improve your sleep.
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Venetia Faulkner- Talking Taste buds podcast: ‘Michael Millar: Can Meditations Save the Planet?’ Venetia also promotes taking 48 hours offline each weekend (@48hrchallenge on instagram), highlighting the joys of less screen time and being more present.
The journey has been an invaluable experience. Looking out the window at the vast expanse of Siberia was my entertainment with no Wi-Fi, TV or other distractions. I enjoyed the simplicity of each day and felt the spikes of guilt about underproductivity slip away. I do believe this is something we can consciously begin to weave small amounts of into our normal day-to-day lives. There are lots of good tips in the podcasts I have listed above, such as reducing screen times and introducing a meditation practice (Insight Timer app also has lots of free meditations and some Yoga Nidra which is a great starting point).
The decision to take the slow road to Beijing also provided us with some unexpected highlights. Warsaw with its vibrancy and optimism born out of its difficult war-torn past; Moscow and the powerful Kremlin beside the colourful St Basil’s Cathedral; vast, beautiful and welcoming Mongolia.
Maybe it can be best to move slowly and mindfully, being aware of the impact of your choices and exploring unexpected destinations…