The End - I did it

So, after what felt like an eternity this morning, the train finally pulled into Beijing Main Station at 1404 this afternoon. How can a seven day journey go past not too badly, but the final few hours seem to take years ?

There were so many emotions going through my head as we trundled through the Beijing suburbs and finally into our final stop - relief that we were finally there, convinced that it was the hardest thing that I've ever done, equally convinced that its one of the best things I've ever done, so very proud of myself for doing the Trans-Siberian Express all in one go. The longest train journey in the world, covering 1/3 of the earth's circumference, sevem days, 8000 km, and I did it. As the boy from New Mexico in the cabin next to me remarked, "you know, if you can do this, you can do anything'.

And that was exactly how I felt as I took this photo. That, and on top of the world.










Checked into my hotel not too far from the train station (delighted that the upgraded me to an executive room free of charge, they must have thought I needed it!) and then treated myself to the two things I had been fantasizing about for days - a hot bath and a McDonalds !

The bath was bliss (and the water was more than a little manky after seven days on a train using baby wipes as best as I could), as was the Big Mac Meal, after a week of eating pasta, soup, bread, ham, cheese & cereal bars.

Walked the 4km to Tianamen Square, the traditionally finishing point for all weary Trans-Siberian travellers, and that was me.


















Spent a few hours after that walking about, simply because I could, marvelling at how big the world was and how I could do anything I wanted after being cooped up in a tiny cabin for the last week.











A couple of beers back in the hotel to relax and round off the evening, and now I'm off to sleep in a bed which seems unbelievably appealing at this moment in time. Mainly because its huge, soft, and will not be rattling along at 50mph!

My journey on the Trans-Siberian Express is over. I did it.