Rest of Mongolia

After saying fond goodbyes to our host family, and of course Stu (there were tears on both sides), we set off on the seven hour return journey to UB. A further hour east we arrived at the Elstei tourist ger camp which was to be our home for the next two nights. After the enchanting wilderness of the nomadic camp this was clearly somewhat of a let down, the armed security guard and watch tower being a reminder that we were back in civilisation. On the plus side however, there was running water so we quickly jumped in the shower to try and rid ourselves of combined odour of goat and camel.

The next day we continued our education in the Mongolian way of life with a horse ride. As I had only been on a horse once in my life and Richard not since he was a wee tot, we started the day with some trepidation which was not helped by having to sign a form discharging the camp of any responsibility for death and injury and reminding us that Mongolian horses are half wild so must be treated with caution. We waited by the corral as the horseman rounded up our steeds, singling out the largest beast for Richard as Mongolian horses are in generally much smaller than those rode elsewhere. However, what they lack in height the make up for in spirit, which was duly demonstrated by one frisky stallion which leapt out of the corral followed by the horseman who had to gallop into the distance to round it back up again. Finally, once we were all mounted we were handed the reigns and set off at a comfortable trot towards our destination, a brand new giant status Genghis. If it hadn't been for the torrential rain this would have been an idyllic experience, galloping (well cantering at least) out over the wild Mongolian step - just us and the half wild beasts carrying us.

The statue itself is indeed large and there is a considerable amount of tourist development around it. They appear to be trying to create a tourist destination out of nothing. As the main appeal for us in coming to Mongolia is to marvel at the wide expanses , not to sit in a large hotel looking out onto modern manmade tourist tack, I fear they may be going in the wrong direction with this development. Although perhaps this is being done for other markets such as the Chinese (see later entry).

In the evening we celebrated Rachel's birthday with another Mongolian tradition - a disco. This nearly got off to a bad start with an iPod war – the Mongolian guides were insisting on dance music were as we were desperate for tacky pop. In the end DJ Ben saved the day and ensure that the dance floor was full all evening.

We ended our time in Mongolia with one final night in UB. Once we had got of the excitement of beds, pillows and hot showers in the hotel we headed into town to find somewhere to wash our stinking clothes. This failed but we did manage to find a pizza restaurant which although not great did provide a welcome break from mutton and noodles. In the evening somehow we were bamboozled into attending a Mongolian fashion and traditional arts show along with the rest of our group. Yes, this was as bad as it sounds. To end the day we were keen to try out a traditional Mongolian barbecue (apparently the warriors would cook food on the back of their shields). However, what we got was an branch of an American chain restaurant - probably some of the best food we had during our stay.