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…

We set off at 7.30am to make a start on our long drive to the Gobi, however, after a stop at the bakery (its a packed lunch today), the supermarket (more water) and the petrol station (for each van to fill both tanks and a spare can) we didn’t roll out of Karakorim until 8.45am.…

Well, I have had a couple of hours sleep… It was an interesting night including a 1am walk into the wide yonder to use the “toilet”. At about 5.30am it was evidently morning, the family were up and getting the horses ready for Nadaam, there was a trip to provide water for some kind of…