Hello from Mongolia!

So actually a lot has happened since i last wrote, i dont know where to begin!

We arrived in Irkutsk and had about a day and half to wonder about the city and enjoy the first days sunshine. It was about 26 degrees which was a welcome break from the rain in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The city was fairly small but really nice and the builidings old wooden homes which were really beautiful. I got some fruit from the market with some others and then saw a nice park and sat there watching the Russians do there thing.

The following day we got up to go to the Decemberist Museum- a museum about the history of some people who got exciled from St. Petersburg. Expecting it to be another pleasent day we were pretty shocked when it didnt get hotter than 6 degrees all day! I guess thats siberia for you. However the musuem was really interesting and really worth a visit- plus it was a rarity to find a museum that had an english guide!

After the musuem we ate lunch and got a train out to Ulan Ude where we were going to Lake Baikal- the largest and oldest fresh water lake in the world.

We stayed with a local family which was amazing and it was really nice to be out in the countryside seeing the cows walking freely on the road and local people going about there days. We stayed there for 3 days and one day even expereinced a banya- a russian sauna. Bearing in mind it was again like 6 degrees outside we got into the sauna- the temp reached 80 degrees and then we went down a slide into the lake, which was bloody freezing but so worth it!

After our 3 days we were back to Ulan Ude and then onto Mongolia. It was a early start with a 13 hour bus journey ahead. As expected not much to report on that day- although we did meet some guys at the Mongolian border who had driven all the way from Edinburgh...it was really wierd to see UK number plates.

Once in Ulaan Baatar (where I am now) we spent the night and then travlled out to the countryside where we rode horses to our 2 homestays. We had lunch with a local family in a traditional ger and then rode the horses for another 2 hours to where we woulde spend the night. The ride was so much fun and the senery amazing! (actually think it looks a bit like Dartmoor Helen lol) but people v diff lol. We got to canter the horses helmetless down massive streches of nothing....no health and saftey inspectors in sight.

That night we had an archery lesson and a massive fire by the river and got to grips with the bush toilet...I swear finding a toilet like we know as a toilet at home is a novity. We slept in the families ger that night - got really cold but they gave us plent of blanckets and this morning we rode the horses back to the car to take us back to UB. We actually rode the horses to the supermarket which was pretty funny and though rivers...felt like i was in a wesstern lol.

So tonight im in UB (Ulaan Baatar) and tomorrow morning we have a day an half on the train before we got to Beijing aroung 2pm on Friday.

Let let you know how I get on from there!

Take care all xxxxxxx