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Although we loved our first leg of the Trans Mongolian Express, after 5 days we were ready to get off and experience the beauty of the Mongolian countryside.

We had a slightly disastrous start when our tour company for our horse trekking didn’t turn up.  We soon booked another one however and in the space of a few hours we were heading off on a packed bus into the wilderness.  Our guide spoke no English, was quite aggressive and loved to drink Vodka so the trip had it’s ups and downs.  We trotted past amazing scenery, interesting monasteries and Mark had his first gallop!

That night we stayed with a real nomadic family in their Ger (village of felt yurts).  The old man and woman who lived there spoke no English either so we just smiled a lot and drank vodka.  Our evening meal was a lovely soup but the main feature was, we fear, a goats willy which we somehow managed to swallow with smiles on our faces.  In the evening we herded cattle on horse back and watched the killing and skinning of a goat - an impressive and fascinating skill with not a drop of blood spilt.  At bed time the old dears tucked us in with a bowl of vodka and then we were lulled to sleep by the sound of the lady using her bed pan. All the other travellers we later spoke to stayed in tourist Gers with the luxuries of electricity and toilets but not us! As a result we became very proficient at pooing in the bushes!

The second day was a national holiday in our guide’s home town. The Mongolian boxing gold medalist grew up there and was on show for the crowds. After he arrived we saw some bouts of Mongolian wrestling, which Mark later tried and lost to our bus driver Sanja.  There was also a 25km horse race for kids aged between 3-12 and we saw them thunder past the finish line.  Unfortunately the rest of the day was spent waiting for our pissed guide to finish drinking vodka with his mates.

For the following 2 days we visited a different National Park and the scenery became even more stunning.  We hired a lovely guide called Hogi who was from a nomadic family and taught us loads about Mongolian history and culture.  On the final day we hired horses again and unfortunately what turned out to be a beautiful trek ended badly when Mark’s horse got spooked, reared and galloped off with Mark still attached.  He bravely held on for ages before making a planned exit in style and is still today sporting some very impressive bruises.  Like the saying goes though he got straight back on the horse and finished the ride.  Although we ended the trip a little shaken Mongolia was nevertheless a must see.