The following day I run into yet more cycling tourists. They're Mike from Germany and Nichole from Switzerland. We make vague plans to camp together for the night but it doesn't happen. In the evening I notice lots of smoke clouds on the road but I can't see any fire and soon I realise that they're clouds of small flies, millions of them and they go into my eyes and mouth and soon I'm covered in them. As I can't find any discreet place to camp, I ask the occupants of a random ger for permission to pitch my next to them. Darkness sets in quickly, the wind is howling and I'm cooking some rice. Then the Mongolian herder comes out and asks me to try the meal I'm preparing and invites me in the ger for drinks and dinner. The ger is lit by a candle and the light from a wind up lantern. There are two freshly slaughtered sheep on the floor. The herder is carefully skinning and cutting up one of the sheeps. The woman is boiling meat on the stove. I'm offered the usual salty milky tea and bread sticks and I politely refuse to eat meat with the excuse that I'm full. Next day I come into the ger for breakfast and the woman is cracking the sheep skulls open with an iron rod. I bid farewell to these friendly people and hit the road. It's drizzling and very cold. If the Mongolian steppes are desolate, grey skies and strong winds make them look like otherwordly landscapes, where life is not possible. As I keep thinking how inhospitable and harsh Mongolia, there's always a ger in sight where I can turn to for a bit of warmth or hospitality.
At the end of the day, I reach Lun, 130 kms from Ulaanbataar and make a pit stop at a cafe, where a Mongolian geologist is helping me with the menu. At this stage, my staple food is 'tsuivan', a plate of noodles that can be prepared without meat. While I'm showing my map to the geologist, I catch of glimpse of Mike and Nichole, the cyclists I met the day before. We decide to share a room for the night and have a beer together. Mike cycled from Alaska to Patagonia and met Nichole in Bolivia. Mike's initial plan was to continue cycling to New Zealand but he went to Europe instead. He flew to Portugal and cycled to Nichole's, arriving during a snow storm. Mike and Nichole live together near Zurich.
80 kms before Ulaanbataar I take a detour to visit Khustain national park, where the famous Prewalski horses live. These horses became extinct in the wild and were successfully reintroduced in this park, where around 200 of them live. The road is very sandy and have to push the bike for long stretches but it's worthwhile and moving to see these horses roaming free.
The following day I arrive in Ulaanbataar. After three weeks in Mongolia, it's hard to believe how busy and bustling the capital is. Traffic is heavy, streets are busy, shops are plentiful and international restaurants abound.