DAY 168 SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 9 MONGOLIA

The guard woke us at 5.45am to collect our bed linen and the train came in on schedule at 6.35 to Ulaan Baator.  We were met as we alighted by a smiling guide called Emma and a driver called Arna.
They transported us to the Hotel Decor where we were allowed into a massive suite each to shower and change.

Malcolm took a quick nap and we went down to the dining room at 9am where we were the only guests.

All very posh and unexpected.  Emma collected us and Arna drove us in thick traffic on roads full of potholes out of the city.  At one intersection a truck loaded up to the sky with hay turned in front of us and leaned heavily.  We thought he was going to crush us.

Arna was wearing a Ferrari jacket but he rarely exceeded 60 kmh on these roads, but drove like he was in The Italian Job in his Hyundai people mover.  It took us two hours to go 60 km to the Tereje National Park.  As we entered the park there was a traditional mound and pole that people had covered in coloured ribbons representing the sky, trees, etc.

The valley below here was a complete contrast to the ugliness of the streets of U.B. and it was sad to see the trouble they were having transferring to modern city living.

It had been raining until we arrived at our camp but we were able to alight in the dry.  This is Emma getting out.

We were taken to the communal dining room and offered tea and coffee.  After that we went to our Gers and Emma and the local lady prepared our beds. There was a stove in the middle of the room.

We were fascinated by the hand painted decoration on the woodwork everywhere in the Ger.

We were also stunned by the beauty of the mountains surrounding our camp.

A large bird circled the camp. It was larger than a falcon and smaller than an eagle so we dubbed it a kite.  It landed on top of a tree.

The hills were composed of different shaped rocks and we could see all sorts of live shapes in them. We had an hour before lunch still so we climbed the hill behind the gers for a better view.

The other side of the mountain.
We liked the way the dining room was built in circular form like the gers. It had a big tree trunk supporting the roof similar to the one in our stairwell at home.

After a three course lunch of lovely local food we drove to Elephant Rock.

Then to a Buddhist Meditation Centre.

There were hundreds of illustrated boards with wise sayings for us to read as we climbed up to the temple. Some examples above.
We came to a wheel like a chocolate wheel and each spun to obtain a number that gave us a specific message over the final ascent.

We recorded this just for our friend Marcia. This one was Malcolm's number, 141.

Any suggested interpretations are welcome.  We drank some water from the mountain stream.

And crossed the bridge that ensures your passage to heaven.

But we still had to climb the 1007 stairs of the Elephant's trunk to be worthy of entry to the temple.
Magnificent view from the temple entrance.

We spent some time in the temple reading about the early Buddhist saints. Then we drove back to another delicious meal (all included) and spent a quiet night in the ger.