Sunday 3nd June - Over the mountains.

Pics all out of order - from the top though:

Pic 1, Ger camp at Olgiy;











Pic 2, Yaks;










Pic 3, a lake;










Pic 4, unexplained guardian at entrance to Olgiy;










Pic 5, Birds - black kites I think, guarding the exit from Hovd;











Pic 6, over the pass, snowy mountains ahead;













Pic 7, our lunch stop

We left Hovd with some trepidation as we set out on what we've been warned is the most challenging road. As it turned out, the road was fine - it took us twelve hours to cover the 145 miles to Olgiy, but there was a defined (albeit rocky and corrugated) dirt road all the way, with bridges over all the rivers. The mountains gave us a welcome change after the desert sameness, and at times the snow came down to the road.

It was almost an anticlimax not to use the snorkel.

As we approached Olgiy we found a road block, with a small hut and a length of motorcycle chain across the road. A man sat on a rug listening to music, with a large book by his side. He demanded our signature in a book and 5,000 Togrogs (approx. $5). When another car arrived and paid him the T5k we were reassured and followed suit.

After an hour or more searching for the 'Eco Ger Camp' mentioned in our Lonely Planet guide, we settled for a small and pleasant Kazakh ger camp in the centre of town. Its drawback was that there was a beer guarden/disco on the same site, and there would be music until midnight. The plumbing was close to non-existent; long-drop loos we've come to expect, but there was a basin with the waste just flowing onto the mud floor, and the hose to the one tap was leaking in a high pressure spray of water that soaked anyone coming near. The staff reassuringly told us that the plumbing would be finished in two days (by when we'd be long gone). I got out a spanner and started to attack the hose myself, which galvanised them into action, and soon we had not only working water supply but also the basin connected to the waste, and electric light in our ger.

It was 9pm by the time we were ready to eat, and we had to persuade a Turkish restaurant nearby to re-open for us.

Should be at the border tomorrow.