Wednesday 16 September

It gets cold about 4am and I don't really sleep after that, but am pleased when someone comes to light a fire again. Malcolm tops it up. I get up before 8:30 and walk up to a small pagoda on the hill. It's spitting very lightly. It's cold, but so pretty and peaceful. The yellow leaves are like gold. Breakfast is nice and afterward I finish packing my bag and go for a walk up the hills surround in the camp. Malcolm has another go at archery with some others. I hear him hit the board so he must be improving in last night. At 10:30 we load up in the bus and head back to the city. Apparently the nomadic lifestyle is less popular with the younger generation and they are staying in the city, causing it to grow well past it's designed size. There is bad poverty there. We stop by a rock formation that is supposed to look like a turtle. I kind of see it, but I think it's like the stars. You can see all sorts. Back at the hotel we get new rooms and they are not as nice as the previous ones. But on the 12th the floor. Malcolm takes a nap and then we have a snack. About 4pm we head into town. We stop at the fair trade shop again as I cannot find my wall hanging band and fear I accidentally threw it out. Then to the supermarket where we catch up with the German couple. After supplies we stop for a drink at a cafe. There is a machine that looks like a fancy ATM, but it turns out that it's a bill paying machine and we can't read Mongolian to get our card back. Eventually helpful security man helps and it's safely back. Opps. Back at the hotel we have about 30-40 min to prep before we meet for dinner. One of the group is leaving us tomorrow. We have a nice meal, mainly vegetables (the same ones!), noodles and dumplings. Then we head back to the hotel and decide not to go out with the other drinking. Mal checks out all the cool TV channels. Various versions of national geographic and the like. I'm researching Ecco dome houses. It smells like the ventilation system is bringing smoke into the room, but I eventually fall asleep.