It was almost eerie waking up without the smell of rancid mutton or stale smoke in the air but we coped. The day was spent doing busy work, washing clothes, writing post cards, booking flights and trying to work out exactly what on earth to expect in Japan! We did tour the Mongolian equivalent of the Natural History Museum though in my opinion it was a little too focused on grave robbing, or 'archaeology' as they termed it. How far posthumously does it become acc...

We all slept surprisingly well, packed in like muttony sardines until the youngest nappyless child decreed that it was time to get up. The felt of the ger ensured that none of the human alarm clock's wailing was lost and after half an hour Mum upped and exited the ger leaving the screaming fungus laiden child to its misery. After a few choice words from a semi-comatose Victor, silence returned and we managed another half hour in our sleeping bags before the pare...

We left the family and headed back out of the valley the same way we had arrived 2 days previously. The route was winding, bumping between the aggressive rocky outcrops and with the Eurovision playlist in full unstoppable glow we realised what a luxury it had been to stay 2 nights with the last family. We passed a mare and very new born foal which Eegii diligently stopped to check, trying to get it to latch on, which was surprisingly well tolerated by the wild, i...

The dog spent most of the night barking at his own echo but fortunately we were allowed a lazy start. After breakfast Emilie showed Bob how to make friendship bracelets and following half an hour of intense concentration Bob proudly presented a powder blue chain. After, we walked to the partially frozen lake, half a kilometre away, and photographed the reflection of the snow capped mountains and surrounding trees in the still water, dotted with mini icebergs. A c...

The chill of the morning was crisp on my extremities as I set about relighting the ger's fire in the early grey light. With a small pile of 'briquettes' starting to glow I layered up and slipped outside, heading up the bank to the ridge, past the main ger whose chimney was trailing a slim wisp of smoke. As I turned around, the broad valley stretched away into the half light, bordered by the far ridge, which was highlighted by pale blue sky and the bright suggesti...