So this is a bit more like how I imagined Mongolia - vast plains covered in snow, surrounded by mountains and with the occasional frozen lake dotted about the place. I'm not going to start gushing about landscapes, but it is pretty spectacular. We're staying at a ger camp smack bang in the middle of it. A ger, or yurt, is basically a super insulated little round hut made from felt and other warm things, and is fitted out with a little wood/coal burner in the centre to stop you freezing to death in the night (the temperature has settled around minus 20-25 degrees for the last few days). Our little 3 person yurt is actually rather lovely, with nice sized beds, a sink and a little table. It usually pretty warm, and there is a lady who pops by during the night to chuck a bag of coal on, then we all lie in our own sweat for an hour or so before the temperature normalises again. It keeps everyone alive though, which is the main thing.

On the way here we stopped off at a giant silver statue of Ghengis on a horse. Apparently it's the largest horse statue in the world, and in the room underneath the horse there is a ten metre high boot, which is apparently the largest Mongolian traditional boot in the world - although I'm not sure there is much competition for this record.

Its pretty peaceful out here, and days are spent drinking tea, sledding down hills, flicking sheep ankle bones (it's a game, and bones are no longer attached to the sheep), visiting old ladies in other gers and eating/drinking the weird cheese and fermented horse milk they offer, riding Rastafarian horses who really don't want to be ridden, pooing into holes in the ground behind doors which could fly open at any moment, visiting bhuddist temples. That sort of stuff. And then drinking some vodka.

Everyone is pretty relaxed when we leave two nights later to return to the bright lights of Ulaanbaatar, which has an actual ski resort where you can spend the whole day for about £20. Turns out you shouldn't go onto really really steep slopes when you've only skied once before. I'm fine, mum. I had a plan to go and find a Mongolian disco, just to be able to say I'd been, but dinner quickly escalates into debauchery, and after various karaoke attempts, a few vomits (not me thankfully) and a truly spectacular performance from Odka, everyone somehow finds themselves safe and sound back at the hotel. Probably for the best, our train to China leaves at 7am. This really doesn't fit in to any kind of timeline, but I'd like to give a special mention to our bus driver- I'm going to go out on a limb and say he's the coolest man in Asia. Goodbye Mongolia, its been an absolute pleasure.