We got into Ulaanbaatar just after lunch and were met by honcho Toya. We checked into our hotel to find that the hot water had gone down that morning, so the eagerly awaited showers had to be taken in cold water! That afternoon, she took us on a tour of the city before we went to a dance show. I got told off for trying to take photos (they charged you per photo!) It was very colourful. We then went to a Mongolian BBQ where you select the food you want and take it to the stove and they cook it in front of you! It was delicious!
The next day we headed off for the Ger Camp in Gorkhi Terelj National Park. 
Our Ger Camp was in the middle of nowhere and there were practically no other Ger's around. It was bliss! The inside of the Ger's had 4 beds around the outside and a fire in the middle (which was lit at night and re-fuelled during the night to ensure that we didn't wake up cold!)
The next day we went and visited a nomadic family who were living near by to find out more about their life. They had 2 young daughters who showed us their Ger and gave us a traditional drink called 'airag', which is fermented mare's milk. It did not taste good but we drank it all the same!
That afternoon we did what all the great Mongolians did - got on a horse and went for a ride! The horses obviously had a set route and it took a lot of effort to get them to go a slightly different path! But it was still good fun!
We then went and climbed a near by hill which gave us a great view of the national park and emphasised the fact of how isolated we were! We were followed up the hill by a dog but had no idea where the dog came from!
The next day we walked over to Turtle Rock - a rock that, unsurprisingly, looks like a turtle! We climbed up the rock until we got to the centre of it. Toya then showed us a small gap in the rock which we had to squeeze through. It was worth it though as it took us out onto a ledge that overlooked the valley!
In the afternoon, we went horse riding again and this time, the horses
came to us - bit of a surprise when a horse passed by the front door of the Ger! My horse decided to have a stubborn ten minutes and wouldn't go any faster than walking pace, despite the other horses galloping! Typical!
We also had the chance to dress up in traditional Mongolian fashion - I managed to get the man's outfit!
We spent a bit more time enjoying the scenery before heading back to Ulaanbaatar where there was a frantic dash to get our laundry done and to buy supplies for the next train journey.
We got the 7pm train for Irkutsk and spent several hours at the Mongolian-Russian boarder before we were finally allowed to carry on our journey!
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