I must just share these couple of pictures with you. As I've said before, Sotto and Bridget happily join us for meals and at lunch yesterday Sotto was just too hot so he doused his napkin in cold water and stuck it on his head - I just love Bridget's face though; it's like "what are you doing"!
Throughout the trip we've noticed that Pudu has quite a large appetite but last night's dinner was even more huge then before.
I was a little concerned that our gentle teasing could be construed as "fat shaming" which of course can cause issues in the future - as is widely reported in the West. However I think my fears were allayed as apparently when someone asked him what he'd be doing after the end of the tour, he replied that he'd be resting and eating to build up his strength for the next one.
And a snap I took of one offering on the buffet - I think I'd be stick thin if I lived here as somehow adding neither Balsamic Vinegar nor Lemon Dressing could ever persuade me to eat this!!!
A Barley Ball is apparently a traditional, high energy, nomadic travel snack and staple food made by mixing finely ground roasted barley flour with hot liquids and fats, then kneading the mixture into compact, calorie-dense balls by hand.
Today we have a 6-7 hour drive back to UB so there'll be even less to show. We firstly stopped back at Tsagaan Suvarga as the morning light is supposed to be incredible, but actually it was far better yesterday afternoon.
I'd asked Oogii if it would be possible to take a photo of him, Pudu and the drivers and so he kindly set it up for me (of course everyone else then wanted to take the same shot too). l-r: Bridget, Oogii, Pudu and Sotto - 4 great guys.
Then Oogii decided he wanted to take a group photo of us all but why he had to go quite so far away I can't remember.
The drive was uneventful and we stopped at the airport for lunch - I know, a bit random, but the traffic into UB will be heavy and we're due at a traditional folklore concert around 17:00. It was a sound plan but unfortunately the one and only restaurant at the airport didn't have much food. Several of us chose pizza but there was only one left, other options were also out and when I asked to just have a plate of chips this was refused - I HAD to have a burger too. Oogii tried to explain that he'd pay for the burger not to be served but even that wasn't possible so in the end I had no choice. And the service was so unbelievably slow we almost walked out!
Back in the outskirts of UB and another example of fenced off lands.
There are also large herds of ponies around, raised of course primarily for their meat. Mongolians eat horsemeat during the winter because it is high in fat and protein, generating the body heat needed to survive temperatures dropping to -40°C or lower.
Quite why there is a Rubik Cube on the side of a building I don't know.
There are lots of these Cottonwood trees in the city.
The Silk Road Complex Monument was erected in 2015 in the middle of a major road junction. The life-size bronze statues of a camel caravan honour the historic trade of the Silk Road.
I'm not sure I'd want to leave my semi-rural ger to live in a high rise like this one. What the government's plans don't take account of is the fact that many just cannot afford to heat these new flats with clean electricity hence they don't want to move from their ger.
We were back just in time for the folklore concert but unfortunately photography wasn't allowed without a £20 permit. The theatre itself was quite lovely and intimate and Oogii arranged for us to sit in the virtually empty Royal Circle so we had an excellent view. The show lasted about 1 1/4 hours and featured the horse-head fiddle (Morin Khuur), throat singing (Khoomii), long-song (Urtyn Duu), contortionists, traditional dance, orchestral music, and authentic folk arts although I must admit to nodding off at one point (probably during the long-song which is not only long in length but also each syllable is held for a long time).
I did sneak one or two shots.
The show's finale involved the full orchestra of traditional instruments playing Johann Strauss Sr's "Radetzky March" and it was absolutely brilliant
Back to the Hilton to check in and curiously dinner isn't included tonight - it makes me laugh, you're paying £xxxx for the holiday so adding another £xx for one more meal isn't going to make a great deal of difference. As it happened Ian and I weren't particularly hungry after our larger than wanted lunch at the airport so we went to a little shop nearby and just bought a few snacks.
A couple of snaps from our hotel room.
