Hotel Mongolia Ulan Bator

... highlight as was watching the sunrise over Lake Biccal, which houses over 20% of the worlds fresh water.<br><br>Interacting with the people on board was also vital to tour enjoyment as everyone in the cosmopolitan crowd had good stories to tell about various travels here and there and the atmosphere was very friendly overall. At one point an elderly Portuguese man was escorted from the train by the Mongolian border police, scary times!

I was getting deja vu... <br><br>We were staying at our final ger, due to head back to Mandalgovi the next morning, 260 km across more desert, on camels for the first few km to the nearest village, with the rest of the miles by jeep. The weather had taken a turn for the worse and, even behind the relative protection of the horse shelter, we had had to fight the bitingly cold whirling wind to get the tent pegged down. It now billowed wildly and ...

... they are in the middle of negotiations I start rifling through all my ticket receipts. Miraculously, I see the Mongolia Beijing ticket amongst all my old used train tickets.... nice, but I'm still not on the train.<br><br>Now we all run back to the end or the train, find my carriage, the doors are shut, the platform's empty, train whistles are blowing etc this thing's about to leave. <br><br>The next carriage has an open door though ...

... good in the morning. But he pulled it together, and we got on the bus, at the muddy bus station at half past 7 in the morning. The bus was leaving at 8, so we watched as the locals got on, stashed their massive bags in any space that was available, and when all seats were filled up, about ten more got on, and lounged in the corridor. <br>We made our way out of the concrete jungle, and the apartment blocks started to get on friendly terms with the gers, and then the ...

I had a pretty good sleep last night, our tent was boiling at one point as the fire was just too hot but it cooled down after a while. I was awoken buy a Mongolian lady making the fire at 6am and saw that it was really good weather outside dso I decided to go hiking instead of lying in bed. I wasnt sure how long the weather would hold up as it rained so much yesterday, I managed to have a good few hours walking around ...

... coming and going, including two women from Hastings so how weird is that? <br><br>The whole staff turned out to see me off, even the disdainful security guard waved goodbye, (he'd been the horse guide of the ride of my life) and it was with a lump in my throat, and a tear in my eye, that I left such a beautiful place promising myself that I'd come back.. <br><br>The Horse Ride of my Life: a Dedication<br><br>After watching the horse handlers for a day or ...

... nothing I have ever been in. Rivers sprung up out of nowhere and were running down the middle of the streets and taking up entire sidewalks . Small lakes were formed in some parts of the streets, so much that once I was back in the bus it was funny watching people walk through them, up to their ankles in water. I bought a new pair of socks and sweatpants just so I could get out of my drenched clothing. <br><br>We also went a Mongolian circus, which ...

After about 9 hours of being held at customs control we finally crossed the boarder and arrived in Mongolia. Instead of the suspicious 'glare stare' we routinely had from Russian officials we were greeted with a beaming smile and a 'Welcome to Mongolia'. This was a shock to the system! All we could do was smile uncontrollably back at the officer and at each other. It was a relief to no longer feel like an ...

... the guy travelling with us out of bed. I knock on the ger owner's door, and when I hear a voice, I yell in Russian, "There's a man in our ger, and he won't go away!". She comes in, takes a look and leaves, but returns a moment later with our driver. He eventually persuades the dude to leave, and we say goodnight.<br><br>Not two hours later, I wake to a most inhumane sound coming from outside the ger. It first begins as a man shouting in the most ...

Hi Everyone, Sorry we've not been posting - the "world wide" data modem on the laptop obviously isn't! The only place it has worked outside western Europe was around Moscow and a phone call to the Phone company has confirmed it probably won't work until Turkey! Anyway, we are all well and enjoying a brief rest for a couple of days here in Ulaan Baator in Mongolia. We plan to head south tomorrow towards the Gobi desert and have also been joined by a great guy called Dennis ...