The tour started at 9:00. We were met by our driver and guide (a 22 year old female). Before we had cleared UB we had had 2 near misses in the car. We were in an ancient 4x4 that did not get above 80kph. Given the state of the roads - mostly dirt - this did not matter too much.Once we had got out of the city the scenery became stunning - rolling hills and endless steppes. There were lots of animals - herds of sheep, goats, cattle and horses - with the occasional nomadic tent (ger). We eventually arrived at the night stop - this was some gers next to the sand dunes. The owners had their own ger where the driver & guide slept. The place was a little cold as the weather had taken a turn for the worse and the roof had a hole in it to let the stove pipe out! The owner was in the process of killing a goat - not for us, but for a wedding tomorrow. The goat was butchered and the meat hung up. The innards (kidneys, liver etc.) were boiled up. Fran watched them empty the stomach - I couldn't watch. Dinner was rice, fried potatoes (cooked by Fran) and Soya meat. We had a cold night in the ger - It got really cold once the fire went out.Next day we woke up early due to the cold. At breakfast, I found out what happen to the goats innards as we had a strange looking soup for breakfast - fortunately there were other options.First stop was the dunes where Fran had a ride on a camel. The camel was a very good looking beast - off-white with soft fur - like a teddy bear.After this we moved on to Karakorum - the ancient capital of Genghis Khan. We arrived there and found a place to stay - another ger but this one run a bit more commercially. We went down to the town to go round the Erdene Zuu monastery. This had been built on the site of the old capital - all that was left from Genghis Khan were a few stones. The monastery itself had been severely damaged when the communist government purged the monasteries in the 1930s. The buildings themselves were interesting - the Mongolians are very close to the Tibetans from a religious perspective with lots of prayer wheels and statues of Buddha.After the tour we went back via the town - which was quite basic. We wanted some water but got taken to the butcher instead. I didn't venture inside as it was likely to turn me vegetarian - not a good idea in Mongolia. After dinner, we were taught a Mongolian game which is played with a set of bones (back bone from a sheep I think). It had complex rules which I won't explain but needless to say the locals won.Next day, we stopped by at a monument to Mongolia. It was on the top of a windswept hill. The monument wasn't up to much but the view was spectacular - over Mongolia's largest river. We then had a long drive - it started on tarmac then became unpaved, then it was on a track. We had a stop at another ger -for us to try airag - fermented mares milk. The owner's were primarily horse people. He had been a famous rider - the Lester Piggott of Mongolia. We watched the lady making the stuff - it's basically yogurt that is allowed to ferment. A bowl of it is passed round for you to try - not very hygienic. The taste is quite sour - a bit like lime yoghurt. We were also offered dried yoghurt - something to chew on. (another one I passed on). The ger was basic but at least had power via solar panels - he needed that to charge his mobile phone! When we left the ger, we headed off into the wilds rather than going back to the track. We ended up with no sign of civilisation for as far as you could see on something that made a farm track seem like a motorway. I was convinced the driver was lost but we eventually found our way back to a small town. It was through here to a lake - the route was over a dried lake which was a little rough. The lake was quite beautiful - we opted to camp rather than stay in the ger as it was full of flies. Next day it was up early as we had a long drive to UB. We had a quick stop at a ger as the driver wanted some fermented mares milk for his wife. First part of the journey was over very rough tracks and we hardly saw another vehicle. We eventually hit some good road - only to come across a large flock of birds (crows and vultures) attacking a dead horse. We arrived back to UB about 6:00 pm - just in time to catch the local rush hour. We had a welcome shower followed by dinner at a Cuban restaurant!