It has been nearly two weeks now since we arrived in Mongolia. The first week we spent traveling to Ulaanbaatar and what a week it was. We had some amazing camp sites, saw some breath taking views and had experiences that will stay with us for ever, the most notable was when we stopped for lunch one day. We had pulled the usual two hundred meters off the road and started to prepare lunch when also as usual, a horseman showed up to say hello and to make conversation. He was a young chap and he made quite an effort to make conversation but after some time made his goodbye and rode off, nothing was any different to what we would normally experience when we stopped in the steppes, but this time he came back and started making conversation again and after some time he removed a silver ring off his finger and offered it to me, I wasn't sure what he was giving it to me for, but he insisted that I take it, after taking it he indicated that I should put it on, I indicated that I couldn't take his ring, but he insisted that I put it on and keep it, I offered him something in return but he wouldn't take anything and rode off leaving me stunned at what had just taken place and now I wear his ring with a memory of Mongolia that I will never forget. We have found the roads to be quite good despite the fact that they are dirt with little to no grading. We had expected dirt all the way to Ulaanbaatar, but we had bitumen from Ondorkhaan to Ulaanbaatar, some three hundred kilometres. It was kind of good being able to cruise on blacktop, but also a little disappointing. Ulaanbaatar has proved a little disappointing, but it is the capital city and we didn't come to see cities and even more disappointing was Ben had his wallet lifted from his pocket, kind of undid all the good done by the country Mongolians and the hustle and bustle and constant manic traffic with its horn blowing is getting too much for us and we just want to get out in the steppes again. We have decided to give Khazahkstan a mis as getting another visa to get back into Russia will prove too hard, it has proved hard enough getting a Russian visa in Mongolia. Had I not had an Australian passport I would have been stuck in Mongolia beacause Russia will not issue a visa to a Brit in Mongolia, which we didn't know before we entered Mongolia. Fortunately I had my Australian passport with me and I was able to get my Russian visa in my Australian passport. We are so over Russian bureaucracy! Because we are not going through Khazahkstan we are able to spend more time in Mongolia and have extended our visa by two weeks and in typical Mongolian efficiency it took us less than an hour to do this. So we will be leaving Ulaanbaatar and heading West for three weeks of hopefully and undoubtably great Mongolian hospitality.