Its 6.50am and I am at the airport. I am tired. 5.15am alarm, my final (cold) Mongolian shower and a 6am taxi to the airport. Very quick to check in (as opposed to the people in front of us in the queue), straight through security, and then in search of breakfast. Ulaanbaatar airport is tiny…

An early start (I feel most of my Mongolia posts have opened on a similar statement) to drive the 30km west out of Ulaanbaatar to Khui Doloon Khudag which is location for the horse racing. As we know, horses are very important to Mongolians and horse racing a serious business and around 30,000 horses will…

Today is the Big Day. Its Nadaam day (well, the first Nadaam day). We had a massive lie-in so it was 8am breakfast for an 8.30am departure. Well, even though the hotel had been told (apparently) the timings it was 8.40am before a plate of cold fried eggs, toast and a salad were presented to…

I am quite pleased that was my last night in a ger. I have not slept well and woke up to no water in the bathrooms – it came on eventually, but just as we were about to leave. Today it is a straight drive back to Ulaanbaatar as the Nadaam festival starts tomorrow. Although…

7.30am and we are back on the road (well, the off roading). Today is going to be a day of rocks, big rocks. Our first stop was Tsagaan Suvarga which translates as “white stupa”. To be honest, I can’t see it – apparently its like many stupas? All I can say is that its no…

7.30am departures seem to be very much the done thing in Mongolia. So there was I at 6.30am this morning in the communal bathroom with people perkily saying good morning to me and engaging in chat. No. Too early. I was better after I had eaten my eclectic breakfast: Today, we are driving along a…

Its 7.33am and we’re on the road. Breakfast this morning included the usual egg and bread, but there was a bowl of very tasty (slightly spicy) congee. Today we’re driving the furthest south we will go on the trip and another day where the van was loaded with my bag at the bottom. This is…

Today is Monday, and I can not believe I am already half-way through my trip. It is a classic it has done really quickly, but I also feel like I have been away for no time at all. We are going to spend all day here so I decided that it was time for a…

Another early start (to beat the heat) and we were on the road by 7.30am and heading deeper into the desert to Khongor sand dunes which are the largest in Mongolia. Now as dedicated readers will know, I have a history with sand dunes involving a minor sobbing breakdown in China. I am hoping to…

I would like to retrain my body that it does not need a trip to the toilet in the early hours of the morning, even if it means I get to take great photos: It was a 7.30am departure and a 6 hour drive to Bayanzag. However, it’s more commonly known, certainly by non-Mongolian speakers…