We woke this morning to another warm and sunny day. We were told to be outside reception by 8:30, so there wasn't a lot of time to get sorted. We played Russian Roulette with breakfast again. this time I received some eggs I didn't want, 2 sausages and a trumpet!
We collected our bags and lugged them downstairs and got a first look at our bikes. we were not particularly impressed! we had been told that they were all only ONE ride old. Clearly, this was not the case. They didn't look shagged, but I reckon a good wash and some fresh tyres would have gone a long way to boosting our moral!
Anywho, we jumped into the transport vehicles and headed out of town. Our first stop was at a village we had donated money to, to help establish gardens and homes for these folk to become more self sufficient. We needed an 'official' to show us through the compound, and as it was still a 'holiday' time (these guys have more public holidays than we do!) there was no one available, so we took a couple of pics and continued on.
Our next stop was at a supermarket, where we were invited to buy supplies of chips, nuts and other nibbly things to get us through the next couple of days. Onion found some appropriate snacks!
With shopping in hand, we headed to a 'truck stop' and had lunch at the restaurant there, while the crew un-loaded the bikes and got them ready. by the time we'd finished eating, it had warmed up to the high 20s and no one felt like climbing into riding gear...but we did. We selected our weapon of choice (and adorned them appropriately) and prepared to head off.
Mindae (or ride leader), took us out pretty sedately, allowing us time to get used to the bikes and riding on the right (wrong) side of the road. The tarmac her was pretty good, so we settled in quickly and were soon exceeding the speed limit as we mooched along. This ride was only going to be around 200ks before we got into our camp, so we thought that given we were on bitumen, we'd get there quickly. Wrong! After only a short while, the road surface turned to a pot-hole infested nightmare, with some craters big enough to swallow a Volkswagen! We swerved all over the place, trying to get a clean run, dodging on-coming traffic that was doing the same thing. It was harrowing, but we eventually got back onto some clean road for our final run into the camp at Elsen Tasarkhai, on the edge of the Little Gobi desert.
This camp was to give us our first experience of sleeping in a gir (which is basically Mongolian for home). the tents are very sturdy and waterproof and although being basic, very comfortable.
There were camels and horses available to ride (if we wanted), but no one was interested.
The run into camp gave everyone the opportunity to play in the sand. Most did, but I hate sand, so I didn't spend much time in it. just enough to remind me that I hated sand!
We settled into a few beers before dinner and then ate. A sheep had been freshly butchered behind the shower block and then cooked up for some other travelers. They invited us to join them for a taste, so we did. then we drank vodka together. Then we stopped cos it was starting to get ugly! we decided to go for a walk up the sand dunes to watch the sun go down. it was very pleasant.
So, first day on the bikes went without a hitch and we settled into our girs for a relaxing night, to the sound of wild horses snorting outside.