Hi all, we've just arrived back from a 5 day trip, travelling through Mongolia's diverse countryside, we've also just had a well deserved shower! Here's what we got up to:

We travelled in a Russian camper van with another couple who were coincidentally on their honeymoon too, we also had a great driver (who spoke no English) and a translator (see last point). We soon realized that Mongolia is still a developing country as 90% of the trip was off road, as the roads are getting constructed as we type.

There is a lack of fences in Mongolia as all animals roam free in their herds, some with shepherds, some not. The cows seemed to be the most stubborn and loved to stand in front of oncoming traffic. Cyril had a great knack of accelerating towards them and diverting at the last moment. A little animal fact to give you an idea of the scale of the livestock: There are 13 horses to every 1human! Obviously with all these horses around, we went horse riding a couple of times, great fun.

Every night we arrived with a different family and stayed in a Ger, a round tent with beds and a central stove. The wifey cooked for us and quite often the hubby gave us some traditional booze. Here's a list of the things we tried: Warm Cow's milk, Yaks milk, Fermented Cow's milk, Fermented Mares milk "Airaig", Strange cheese and bread. We even had a go at milking a goat! We really enjoyed learning about local traditions and their day to day work. The Mongolians are a very welcoming and friendly nation.

At this point we should mention the lack of electricity, water supply and sewage in the countryside, any fellow travelers be prepared! The toilets are literally a pit dug in the ground with 2 planks and a hole…another experience

We travelled to Oiigy Lake, the Orkhon Valley, Gobi desert and Terejil National Park.

A couple of highlights include seeing a horse race in Orkhon valley. Kim thought it was like a Pony Club meet! The riders arrived with parents, usually on motor bike (5 on one bike in 1 case), then the riders got their horse and went to the starting point. The parents had a bit of chat about sheep, goats etc and the race started. We followed the 8km race in our untrusty van, very fast; we'll try and put on a video of it.

The other highlight was seeing 7 birds of prey, circling and then eating a goat carcass. They had competition with a dog, but the eagles won. Our driver was great at spotting things and then we'd jump out and take a closer look. To see these birds was fantastic, huge wing spans and a similar size to an average dog, I think they thought we were there to steal their food, but we merely wanted a snap or 2.

So, tomorrow we head to Beijing on our last Trans Mongolian train journey, it's been a great adventure so far.