Choco Pie

Graeme:
Responses to comments:
Chris - Indeed. And I think we have seen some Yak's, but only maybe 10? To make it relative, we'd have seen 500 horses and 1000 cows and 1500 goats/sheep. I'm not sure what the crops are to be honest. Some are ground vegitables like potatoes I suspect, with heaps of yellow canola I think as well.
Anonymous - Yeah pretty much, I read somewhere that it's important not to refer to them as Yurt's in Mongolia. Something to do with Russia... they really don't like the term. Check that fact however, it was probably written on an Internet.
Kerry - I really look forward to getting that book. Thanks heaps.

Scenery today has been for the most part really arid. If my map is to be beleived, where we are now is popular farming in the winter (lots of Winter Camps). It's evident with heaps of animal shelters, but no population to be seen. Passed maybe ten cars and overtook one?
We walked around Tsetserleg today for about half an hour today. We were looking for somewhere to dispose of our rubbish, buy a lemonade to replace the one consumed last night, and get a drop of fuel. We were greeted by the town policeman who wanted to check our passports, but seemed satisfied with our international driving permits. We visited a few shops, bought some bread and some choco pies... with complimentary lollies. The choco pies are like thicker wagon wheels but not as wide or as dense... quite nice indeed as I'm about to down my second. As we were leaving the store, we noticed the very same policeman flogging a young man over the back with his batton. The young fellow must have been giving him lip because he didn't run away, but willingly accepted more beating in exchange for attitude. We saw the young fellow later and gave him a nod with much kudos for fighting 'the man'. He was quite chuffed, as his friends were also impressed by his beating. One of the stores h
ad a internal celling about 5 foot high. It goes without saying that my entrance into the store bent over like a hunchback made the shopkeep crack up mid call.

We got a fill of diesel which was pumped by hand! Was probably the most expensive fuel so far, but they certainly earened it. They also took our rubbish which was grand.

A song that's been in my head for at least the last 24 hours is 'So you win again' by Hot Chocolate. Was Tom Jones in Hot Chocolate? It kind of sounds like him, but I wouldn't bet money on it.

Yesterday and today we've been asked for directions... from locals! Well, Mongolia locals, obviously not local locals. It makes us feel a little bit normal by not intuitively being able to navigate here. On the other hand, Oisin Hughes, a guy who rode his motorbike half way through Mongolia tells a story when he was being carted by truck. The driver would drive through the night, stop every hour, turn off the lights, wait for his eyes to adjust, get his bearings and continue again. How mind blowing is that?!

The last two days, the kilometers have just crawled by. We'd be averaging 20KM/Hr with stops. It's fine when the scenery is stunning, but when it's pretty 'samey', you just want to get to something more interesting. It's also crazy windy at our camp tonight which means no bugs. Mongolia doesn't seem to be plagued with bugs which is terrific. We parked next to some cool man made rock formation which does look kind of green, so it may indicate a water source?

Tonight we've realised that we will arrive at the Tsagaannuur border Sat/Sun which we assume is when it's closed. Can anyone confirm this?It just means we'll spend a bit more time at Ulanngom. We are dying to get to markets to get some coloured sash's. I wanted to get one for the car in UB but the markets were soooo far away and the public transport downright dangerous in all it's forms. I was hoping to get at least two; one for the car to get dirty, one to stay perfectly clean so the contrast between them would be Mongolia! Sounds like a very authentic souvenir but I'm running out of dirt and mud to get on it! Oh well, hopefully Ulanngom markets will yield some as it would be horrendously embarrassing to have to buy them online when we return. I'm surprised that they are not readily available. I asked in every store today, nope. They are everywhere, tied to bridges, trees and monuments - and I can't even find one!

Cassie's been feeling good all day, so thank you for your well wishes.

Position: 12-08-07 18:19:33 +0800 +0000
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