Juulchin Gobi Ger Camps Ulan Bator

... Marketa unfortunately couldn't bring herself to go near any of it. We then said our thankyous and goodbyes and headed over to the family we were going to be staying with for the night.

We had a mild panic as the van got stuck in a snowy ditch and we all had to get out and push it out, but got there in the end.

This family live in a set of three gers connected together. Amazing structures, painted beautifully inside, and get incredibly warm ...

... etc! There’s a big monument at Karkorum that shows a map of what was apparently the largest empire ever. The main attraction though is the old monastery that dates back to 1200s but it was about -5C so we couldnt make ourselves particularly interested! We stayed in another ger camp that night and were treated to an amazing performance of Mongolian throat singing which was hilarious! So much so that Sarah couldn’t contain her laughter and had to run out ...

The Route:
Arrived Ulan Bator, 7:30am, Thursday, Sept 17th
Depart Ulan Bator, 8:05am, Sunday, Sept 20th
Arrive Beijing, 2:04pm, Monday, Sept 21st

FIRST MORNING IN MONGOLIA
I had a shocker of hangover as I got off the train after only 3 hours of sleep and way too much vodka the night before.

The hostel I'd booked picked me up at the train station and drove me to the hostel. The guys in my cabin, Dom, Max ...

... contre pour un estomac européen comme le mien c'est la déclaration de guerre gastrique immédiate. Le repas était constitué de très bonnes pâtes maison avec du mouton et nous avons même eu droit au yaourt de yak en dessert, si joliment conservé dans sa bassine en plastique à l'air libre, mais vraiment délicieux. A la fin du repas le maître de maison a sorti une bouteille de vodka, ce qui nous a permis de nous familiariser avec la coutume mongole qui stipule qu'il faut au ...

... of our boys also started dating one of the Korean girls, it was very cute they exchanged emails and what not.

We also went to visit a new Monestary on one of the days with all of the foreigners. However, I was not able to enjoy it with everyone else. I woke up the morning of with a stomach ache, decided not to go to breakfast and ate a banana instead. The banana stayed in my stomach for probably about 2 minutes. I felt better ...

... We hiked not very far up a hill to this small building and looked around. Again the outside was not much, but the inside was beautifully painted and colorful. Even the ceiling was beautiful and interesting.
We then walked back down the hill for lunch and hang out time, Afterwards we got back on the bus and drove to a small ger in the middle of nowhere where we would go horseback riding. Mongolian horses are very small, but they look at them as if they are ...

... Some seemed unable to make up their minds, and wore modern clothes, but still retained the leather horse riding boots. Even our driver, who lives in UB, told me that when he was younger, he used to ride a lot, and seemed to know exactly what to do when he stopped to help people set up a ger. People here ride horses like they ride motorcycles - completely effortlessly. Many times I saw men riding something behind a fence or other structure, so that ...

... juniper powder, holy water, cash. By far the most intriguing offerings were the barley cakes, which were formed into fantastically decorated shapes, evoking gods both serene and angry. The cakes are made once a year for a specific festival (the guide didn’t say which) and they stay on display all year. Then, a few weeks before the festival comes around ...