After posting our last blog entry (in Dalandzadgad), we asked the family that ran the internet cafe for directions to a cheap hotel. Without hesitation they suggested that we stay with them in their ‘ger’ (a traditional Mongolian home/tent). Seeing that six family members already occupy the ger, we ask if we can pitch our tent next to it instead. They agree, but insist that we at least come into their ger for some food and tea. We are fed home made bread sticks and mutton dumplings, which we wash down with salted sheep milk tea (Mongolia’s favourite drink). This is an example of the Mongolian hospitality which we have experienced time and time again.

Following the route to one of Gobi’s ‘highlights’, we were once again disappointed to find that the famed Yolyn Am (Volture’s Mouth gorge) is nothing more than a tourist attraction designed to keep the local economy ticking over. Luckily we make a detour (not on the map) to a ‘really’ impressive gorge in Dugany Am. It’s no wonder that the tourist trail does not include Dugany Am, as the track that leads through the gorge is bearly wide enough for our bike and only accessible when the river bed is dry…

Just as we exited Dugany Am, we noticed that our odometer had stopped working. The rough tracks were finally beginning to take their toll. This did not stop us from reaching the sand dunes of Khongoryn Els, but would have a role to play in our unwanted detour two days later.
The Khongoryn Els dunes are the biggest in the Gobi, reaching 300m above ground in some areas. We were able to camp right on the sand at the base of the dunes and climbed to the summit for some cool pics…

Still without a working odometer we headed back north, our Gobi adventure coming to an end (or so we thought). The last town in the Gobi area and our destination for the day was the small village of Bogd.

The lack of an accurate way to track the kilometers traveled, contributed to us taking a wrong track at some point along the way. After hours of riding and thinking that Bogd was just over the upcoming mountain range, we soon realised that we had some way to go when the first locals we met indicated Bogd was still 81km away!! Our orientation now somewhat uncertain, we had to resort to stopping at each ger and asking “Which way to Bogd?”. Mongolia’s version of a GPS or ‘Ger Positioning System’ Our ‘detour’ had added an additional 90km to our route, but did provide for a stunning side trip…

With Gobi now behind us, the terrain is becoming more green and lush. Lakes and rivers marked on the map actually contain some water. One village in particular - Tsenher - had a large river running through it, so we decided it would be a good place to camp. While looking for a good spot along the bank of the river, we were once again invited by a local family to stay with them. They owned large numbers of sheep, goat, cattle and horses (which Iza got to ride…). In traditional Mongolian style, we were served rock hard cheese made from sheep milk and a local (alcoholic) drink called ‘Airag’. It’s made only from fermented horses milk…
This must have been our lucky day, as the family had just killed a sheep and prepared a feast from it. All of the sheep’s internal organs were cooked in a soup and shared by all from the one bowl!! We of coarse joined in, as did the 10-month old baby…

While on the road in Mongolia, we have also run into Yukiko - a solo motorcycle rider making her way around the world for the second time!! ‘Yuki’ is riding a Suzuki DR250. Some essential items she’s taken with her from Japan are soy sauce, miso soup, wasabi, rice and clothes pegs

Mongolia has captured our imagination and is easily the best country we have visited so far!