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 acceptable to dig up someone's final resting place so as to remove and display their most treasured possessions?

We braved the dehydrated, squashed instant noodle pots for lunch, give me mutton any day, and packaged a box of warm weather gear to send home by post, though the language barrier at the post office was so distinct that it's highly likely that someone in darkest Siberia is soon to receive a surprise load of dirty washing and a very well thumbed guidebook for New Zealand.

We had a final supper with Emilie and said our sincere good byes, wishing both her and Simeon the best of luck with their exciting ongoing adventures. We both truly hope that our paths cross again, providing, of course, that they both make it back from their ongoing outer Mongolian expeditions. With our bags packed, and alarms set for silly o'clock we fell asleep with a surprise revelation that we were going to miss Mongolia.