Day 13: 12 July Khvosgol - Khovsgol

(Courtney on keyboard) 

Rode 20km, total 75km

We emerged form the tent after a very unsettled night at about 9.30.  By the time we had breakfast (tinned pineapple, sweet biscuits and black tea) and packed up it was 11am.  As we rode north the number of people thinned out.  About 40km from Khatgal the gravel road finished and the road turned into a very rough track. Things were going well until we had our first mechanical issue of the trip.  All of a sudden Eliza lost power and her chain had snapped.  

We found a beautiful place a couple of meters further on to stop, have lunch and then fix her chain.  After some ramen, we pulled out Eliza’s only (!) quick link and I gave Eliza a lesson in how to fix a broken chain.  

We rode a further 5 or so km until we found a beautiful spot to camp.  After the dust of the last two days and having escaped the crowds Eliza and I decided that a wash in the lake would be in order.  After a very quick skinny dip (the lake is very very cold) we then rinsed all our clothes.  The afternoon was spent admiring the crystal clear lake, the mountains behind us and the meadow full of wildflowers next to us.  A family of ducks occasionally made appearance, many baby ducks in tow.  

As pristine as all this sounds, soon after dinner we found ourselves hiding in the tent, trying to escape the many many flies and mosquitoes.  That night there was yet another thunderstorm.  Eliza and I were also struggling to cope with the very late sunset, darkness not coming until 10pm.

Day 14: 13 July Khovsgol - Khovsgol

Rode 20km unloaded, ODO reads 95km

We decided at breakfast to leave our campsite here and just ride an hour or two north.  We had used Eliza’s only quick link and although it would be very unlucky for her chain to break again there was little chance of hitchhiking back as only a couple of horse trekking groups had gone past so far.  

After a lazy morning we started up the track.  The riding alternated between stunning, easy cycling along a hard packed dirt track through pine forest and long boggy sections through meadows filled with wildflowers and sandal sucking mud that could not be ridden.  We made it about 5km before Eliza had enough of hauling her bike through the mud and decided it was time for lunch (more ramen).  After lunch Eliza headed back and I continued a further 5 km, the track seemed to get worse, the sandal sucking muddy sections getting longer and the track through the pine forest becoming very rough with many tree routes.  Although the cycling was tough even unloaded the scenery was amazing, the mountains to the west looming over me and the lake to the east super clear. 

Once I got back to our base camp Eliza and I had another lazy afternoon, doing a little tinkering with the bicycles but mostly lazing around.  The beautiful weather changed, with ominous clouds appearing over the mountains.  Although the thunderstorm sounded impressive the rain never arrived.  Unfortunately the breeze that had been keeping the bugs at bay disappeared and we once again hid from the sandflies in the tent.  I later donned all my rain gear to try and avoid being bitten whilst I cooked dinner.  

Day 15: 14 July 

Rode 20 km, ODO reads 95 km

Eliza and I seemed to be getting used to living with the very long days, opting for a relatively big sleep in again.  Although we were eager to get to town to eat some better food (we didn't plan our food very well this leg), I was reluctant to leave our picturesque campsite.  Once we were back on the gravel road it was an easy ride back to the bottom of the hill. Not long after the hill started we managed to flag down a 4wd, put our bikes and panniers on the roof rack (strapped down with only 5 bungee cords), squish into the car with 5 other people and we raced back to Khtagal.  We went back to MS guesthouse and pitched our tent in the yard.

One of the highlights of eating out in Mongolia is admiring the decor in the restaurants during the lengthy wait for your food.  It tend to be very gaudy, like a Chinese restaurant in regional Australia.  Booth chairs seem to feature a lot as well as numerous types  and styles of wallpaper within the restaurant.  The place we visited toady had no less than four types of wallpaper and large booths that had either large roses, red or black fabric, or even a combination of all three.  No one style is good enough, hence using numerous types throughout.  

Day 16: 15 July Horse Riding on the Eastern Shore. 

(NB: Eliza is taking over the keyboard to report back on the next few days)

Today we decided to have a rest from the bikes and went for a horse ride… this was just a bike rest not a rest from sitting on a saddle.  The Mongolians like to use a wooden saddle with a leather pillow over the top.  To the unaccustomed derrière a lot of discomfort.  

We went riding for about 5 hours on very well trained horses, wooden saddles and our very well dressed guide. 

His pink get up was something else and we had trouble taking our eyes off him, although when we did we managed to capture some of Mongolia’s delightful scenery. 

Horse riding was fun, however I prefer to be on a camel. I think Courtney likes the horse riding better.  

The first few minutes were relaxing on the horse, but after about 20 I found it all very painful, totally worth it though. At one point I felt like Chinggis Khan himself breaching over the mountain and looking down over the valleys.. (Insert pictures) I pretended I had an army of Mongols behind me. 

We had lunch by the lake and shared our tuna with the guide.On our way back to town we stopped off at a friends house and were given yak milk tea, yak cream and yak cheese.  Although a little weary (thinking it would be sour) to try the yak cream we soon both realised how amazingly delicious it was.  We both had a few pieces of bread slathered in this thick spread.  The cheese also tasted delicious, however it was dried and I was worried I was going to break a tooth.  The bread this was served with was the best bread we had tasted so far with a hint of sourdough.  Now, if only we had some scones and jam to go with the yak cream to make a proper devonshire tea.  A few photos for the moment and we were ready to head back to camp. 

Oh I forgot we saw some reindeer (furry antlers who would have thought!) it costs a few thousand Togra for a photo so sorry guys no pics. 

We had a nice meal at MS guest-house drank some beer with a lovely American which was surprising and went to bed in preparation for a big ride back to Moron. 

Just as a note, our arses and knees were extremely sore following horse riding. 

Day 17 -16 July  Khatgal to the Lake - or is it a Lake? 

Rode 62 km, ODO reads 185km

Today we rode 62km from Khatgal to the Lake. It was such a great ride! the road was perfect bitumen and flowed through the valleys like a snake.  

The day started off raining and windy, I was very apprehensive about leaving the comfort of the guest house, but after and hour on the road it was probably the best decision we have made in the last week. 

Heading off from Khatgal

Raining, but Happy.

Views from the ride. 

Bike shot. 

These signs were everywhere, Mongolia yelling at us! 

Heading to the Lake.

Gathering water.. or not. 

Camp site for the night. 

We arrived at the lake mid afternoon and from afar it seemed like another Khovsgol only a smaller. On closer approach we realised that the lakes shore was awash with a muddy green lacker and was very squelchy to get to some sort of clean water. 

We managed to fill our filter up and try and obtain some drinking water, however things just seemed to get worse. The lakes water was salty and not at all tasteful, even after filtering it was awful. This was much to our disappointment as we were relying on this water for a nice cup of tea and some dinner! without much water we cooked a sloppy spicy mixture of noodles, tomatoes and the few veges we had and opted for bed. The mozzies were also pretty terrible so a night in the tent reading was all we needed to end a rather large day on the bike.