Magnificant Mongolia

Arrived in Ulaan Bataar on Thursday, whohay, yay, yippee, yeah!!! Sorry for not updating blog, but sim card died in all the dust and heat. Total mileage: 7660 miles, we came 40th out of 300! The far west of Mongolia is unbelievable, vast mountains, all about 3000m high, scattered yurts, thousands of wild horses, pristine, vast, open and welcomimg. Incredibly hard driving - on the first day over the western border it took us 15 hours to cover 40 miles...impossibly steep roads, car feeling like its going to roll any minute, deep trenches and ruts that lock the wheels, rivers to cross. Found a human skull just lying by the side of the road. Our slow going meant we had to extend our driving time to 5.30am - 8.30pm, which means we have about half an hour to put the tents up (except the damn op-up tent boys...grrrr), and occassionally we have enough energy to get the stove going. Strangely, even though we are driving in arduous conditions the cars are doing fine. Dust in the fuel ump of the Roo held us up for 2 hours, we needed to adjust the mixture as we climbed higher and higher and as the petrol quality went down, dust absolutely everywhere...ears, nose, eyes streaming all the time, in our food, inches of it in the cars. Didn't realise that Mongolia is the 3rd highest country in the world, so it gets pretty cold at night. We have our camping routine down to a fine art now...Ad and I can have the car packed in 30 mins. Had a messy night drinking fermented mare's milk...it tastes like a shot of stilton mixed with bleach, but makes a break from endless cup-a-soups. Now in UB, which is a mental place. We all miss the space and peace of the countryside we have been driving through for the last 6 days. Some highlights include comng across a horseman hunting with a golden eagle...he let me hold it - it weighed a ton and had a small black hood over its head to stop it flying away. Another highlight: being invited into a guur for a Mongol wedding then also, seeing a family moving house - 5 camels with the yurt packed up on their backs,goats leading the way, followed by cows then horses then dogs bringing up the rear. Dropped the Roo off at customs depot yesterday...a sad moment. She is probable going to be given direct to charity as she is in such a good state. Saw all the other carsa which are wrecks...can't understand how we managed to have a smooth ride. It was the finishing party last night, and today we prepare for the 6 day train ride toMoscow.CAnt wait to sleep, eat hot food and relax!