100 day ceremony

Days 10-11 Khovd, Western Mongolia.

It did not feel quite so cold in camp last night, thank goodness and so it was easier to sleep. It was a fairly short run to get to Khovd, Mongolia's second city. It has a population of just 31,000. That classes as a metropolis here. We left camp anticipating an easier day. We set off across the vast plateau with snow capped mountains around us and total emptiness through the western Gobi desert. After the day before where only saw about 5 people in over a couple of hundred miles it was amazing that until we were nearly at Khovd we saw hardly anybody. It is very dry and arid, well it would be being a desert! It is too dry for any animals and consequently there are no nomad settlements. We had the extraordinary experience of being a desert with a glacier fed lake of cobalt blue beside us and a backdrop of snowy mountains. Staggering. The only other place that I have experienced that is in Nepal where I was in a pineapple plantation with ringed with the Himalayas. There were still traps though and plenty of dips and corrugations and soft sand to get trapped in. We had our daily puncture but no other mishap. We saw some gorgeous Bactrian camels which was another bonus. Arriving in Khovd was interesting. Mongolia's second city is mainly made up of ger compounds, grim Soviet style flats and a few very fancy buildings that are Banks. Our camp tonight is only a few kms outside town but is in a totally deserted valley next to river. And ringed by barren mountains. There is a real party atmosphere tonight as tomorrow is a rest day. I suspect many gallons of beer and vats of wine will be consumed. Of course all the cars need attention of some description. Many have arrived here on lorries to get fixed at Mr Khans welding shop in the town. He will make more money over the next couple of days than he has made since the last rally went through three years ago. Adrian wants to get some welding done on our front cross member, more for peace of mind than anything else. The car is being jolted and pounded so badly and yet is proving a stalwart contender.

It is the morning of day 11, and the camp looks like a giant car repair compound. As predicted, it was a real party last night and all very jolly. It was a freezing cold night and so sleep was difficult. We are all having problems with cold at night. I bought some fur lined Mongolian boots in UB and have been very glad of them as at least my feet are toasty. They cause much amusement for the Mongolians who seem to find it very funny that an English woman is wearing their boots. Everyone here is very curious, unsurprisingly, and they always rush over to investigate us thoroughly. They have no compunction about putting their faces right up to ours and getting in the cars and pretending to drive. They thoroughly examine the cars and are very amused by the whole thing. It is all charming. Sometimes we are spoken to in excellent English, mainly by children. They are being taught very well as they have excellent pronunciation. I did some washing in the river this morning, a first for me. The water was freezing and I am not sure that the clothes are much cleaner. It is quite beautiful here. All around me crews are working on their cars. For some this is just general maintenance but, for others, more major repairs are needed.

Apparently tomorrow, when we drive up to the Russian border, is the most spectacular day in Mongolia. This is hard to imagine as we have had more natural beauty thrown at us than you could ever imagine. It is a long arduous day and we have to cross many rivers so, it should be quite interesting.

A Naadam has been organised for our entertainment this afternoon. This is Mongolian festival. I will tell you more about this afterwards.