Mombasa to Nairobi by Train

After spending more time than intended on Zanzibar island it was time to make our way back to Nairobi. We'd heard about an amazing but very unreliable train journey from Mombasa to Nairboi. We decided we'd go to Mombasa with the hope of getting the train from there to Nairobi. Worst case we'd take the bus if we couldn't take the train. You couldn't book train tickets online and when we got to the train station they were closed. Luckily they had a timetable posted on the wall so we found out that there was a train leaving the following day.

Mombasa Railway Station

We arrived the following day to find a queue at the station. It was January 1st so there were new prices for 2012 but the staff hadn't been given the full details. As a result they were not selling anything tickets, good news for us as we hung around and eventually got a ticket when they did start selling them.

Mombasa to Nairobi Train

As expected the train was late departing. We went for 1st class tickets which was a private compartment and included dinner and breakfast in the dining cart. I could see why some people are sometimes disappointed with the train journey as they probably have misconceptions as to what first class is! The train is from the 1960s and the compartments haven't been update since then. Almost everything was functional and it was clean just perhaps a little worn.

Compartment on the Mombasa to Nairobi Train

The train crawled slowly through Kenyas famous Tsavo National Park. We didn't spot any wildlife although it was still quite an impressive journey with some amazing views. We woke up to an amazing sunrise with Mount kilimanjaro in the background. I decided to enjoy the sunrise rather than scramble to find my camera but I got a shot of Kilimanjaro later in the morning.

View of Kilimanjaro from the Mombasa to Nairobi Train

Meandering through the Tsavo National Park on the Mombasa to Nairobi Train 

Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia

Salar de Uyuni is the worlds largest salt flat, approximately 4,086 square miles. It also contains approximately 70% of the worlds lithium reserves. The main reason most people visit the town of Uyuni is to do a trip to the salt flats. Like most bus journeys in Boliva 5 hour ride from Potosi to Uyuni was painful, this wasn't helped by the fact that I was sitting on the floor on the isle of the bus, the windows didn't close and for long stretches of the journey the road disappeared. It was -8 when we got to Uyuni, something I wasn't prepared for. It was a strange desolate town which in some ways reminded me of some of the remote towns I visited on the trans-siberian railway.

Uyuni, Boliva

We had hoped to hire motorbikes or quad bikes or even a 4x4 to do our own trip to the salt flats but we soon realised this wasn't going to be possible. No body was willing to rent bikes or quads or 4x4s. We had somehow managed to lose the business card of the company we'd hired quad bikes from in La Paz. These guys had said to call when we got there and they'd sort some bikes for us. We couldn't find them and no one we spoke to knew of them or knew of anyone who'd hire bikes. They all said it was too dangerous. So like everyone else we signed up for a day tour to the salt flats.


First stop on the tour was at the train cemetery. This is quite an odd tourist attraction but it serves as a tourist attraction all the same. In the 1940s when the mining industry collapsed, partially due to mineral depletion many of the trains were abandoned thus producing the train cemetery.

Train Cemetery near Uyuni

Once we got to the salt flats we realised why they didn't allow you to go there yourself without a guided tour. There aren't exactly roads, signs, petrol stations or visible landmarks to guide you and 4,086 square miles is quite a large land mass.

Limited landmarks

No sign posts!

We stopped for lunch at Incahuasi Island (also known as Isla de Pescado) explored it, took some photos and then had time for the customary Salt flats photos.

Isla de Pescado

Rolling a giant crystal ball

They have big Pringles in Uyuni

Ulan Bator and the blackmarket

For the train journey from Irkutsk to Ulan Bator we were sharing with two Mongolians, a business man and a student. We spend most of our time talking, listening to music and reading. They were very interested in our trip and what we had planned. They were also very helpful with advice on Ulan Bator and what we should and shouldn't do. They were very worried that we were arriving in UB and that we didn't know anyone there and didn't have any accommodation booked. The guy said he would take us to the guest house that we were planning on staying at and he also offered to meet us the following day to bring us to the black market to buy warm clothes. They were very worried that we were not well prepared for the cold!


It was -37 when we arrived in Ulan Bator and the coldest temperature I had experienced so far on the trip.  Luckily the owner of the hostel we were planning on staying at was on the platform waiting to see if there were any tourists on the train so she took us directly to the hostel by car.


Soon after we arrived at the hostel we were joined by 4 swedish guys (Oskar, Dr. Albin, Robin, Jakob) and a dutch girl (Kim).

New friends in Ulan Bator

We decided to walk to a monastery that was nearby, but by the time we got there we were all freezing even though we were well dressed.

Early morning outside the monestary

We went back to the hostel pretty quickly and put on all of our clothes and headed for the black market to buy some warm clothes. We were planning on camping for 2 nights in a ger tent in the national park so we would need warm clothes for that.


The hostel owner suggested we take a taxi to and from the black Market. He wrote two notes for us explained where we wanted to go and how much we were willing to pay to get there and said to get driver to agree before we got into the car. The price was 2,500 Tugrigs which is €1.25. We couldn't see any taxis on the street or in traffic but eventually a car stopped for us. Turns out they don't really have taxis as we know them instead random people will stop and you pay them as you would a real taxi. There were 5 of us but that didn't seem to bother him so he took us to the market.

Entrance to the blackmarket

At the black market we bought some fur hats and gloves. They sold everything you could think of at the market from camels to puma runners to socks.

The BlackMarket in Ulan Bator

We were looking for boots also and eventually we found some things that looked like outer socks. Lots of people are the market stalls were wearing them so we decided to buy them. The stall owner was very excited and happy when we were buying them and tried his best to speak to us with his limited English.

Fur hats, gloves and boots.

We were the only tourists at the market but once we started wearing the boots we became very popular. As we walked around people were smiling at us and saying hello and telling their friends to look at us. Anyone who had English spoke to us and most asked about the boots. Eventually we realised that we were doing some funny by wearing these boots but we didn't understand what. We left the market after about 3 hours and walked for about 10 minutes before getting a "taxi". The hostel owner had advised us to do this as he said the taxis around the market would try to rip us off.

The smiling and staring continued as we walked down the street. At one point some guy stopped in traffic let his window down and said "they are not for walking boots", started laughing and drove away.

Stupid tourists and their not for walking boots

When we got back to the hostel the staff there thought our boots were very funny and confirmed that they are not meant for walking, instead you wear them if you are going to be standing in one place for a long period of time, such as if you were manning a stall at a market.....

Buying a Russian train ticket when no one speaks English and you don't speak Russian

Originally my intention was to travel by 2nd class train but after talking to other people in the hostel I decided to buy a third class ticket for the overnight trip from St Petersburg to Moscow. I went to the station and bought the ticket myself which is quite difficult to do in Russia as none of the staff at the ticket counters speak English and they are not exactly friendly or helpful.


With the help of a guide book and the hostel staff I was able to write in Russian the type of ticket that I wanted. I went to the station, queued, said in russian that I didn't understand Russian and handed in the page. It all worked fine, she wrote down the amount so I knew how much it and once I agreed and I gave my passport and that was it.

Ordering a Russian train ticket

The guidebook explained how to read a Russian train ticket so I was able to confirm that everything was correct with the ticket. Take a look at the ticket below and you'll see why you needed a guide to read the ticket.

My Russian train ticket