Sunday 29th August
Final run into Ulaanbaatar. Stopped just outside at the large town of Zuunmod for our second Antipode in Mongolia (again see spot on map before tonight’s ‘camp’) – covering our bases to make it easier to ensure we can find the opposite point in Chile – before finally arriving in UB.
Driving through the green hills we noticed there were a few more small groups of gers in this lush part of the country, then as the hills started to part before us we would see the beginnings of the city, as a small number of buildings grouped together came into view. Drawing closer and with the hills moving behind us the whole city began to open up on front of us until it was stretching for what looked like miles wide in front of us. It’s amazing to think that one third of the population of Mongolia live here in UB.
Of course navigating a strange city is always a new trial. We knew the GPS location for our destination but turned too soon and found ourselves driving through the very muddy and bumpy roads of some of the townships. Got out of there again and finally found our destination, the Oasis guesthouse – recommended by other travellers we’ve met on the road – and booked ourselves in.
We’ve loads of work to do over the next few days – sorting out parts deliveries from the UK, internet stuff, cleaning the Gobi out of Landy, fixing this and that, 10 days washing, sort out an extension to our Mongolian visa (yes, it will expire if we don’t), you name it. Oasis has all the facilities we need – plenty of water, café, laundry, plenty of shops nearby, somewhere to sleep, secure parking, and they are used to people dismantling and repairing vehicles in their car park. All in all a good set of reasons to stay where we are for a few days.
Campsite – Oasis guesthouse
Distance travelled – 155 km
