Day 7 - Terelj National Park

I woke up at 9am and had my breakfast, which consisted of egg and jam sandwiches. At 10, it was time for me and Darren to go our separate ways. I said goodbye to him, and that I enjoyed having someone to talk to for the last two days.

I was picked up by my agent and from here we proceeded to Terelj National Park, an hour's drive into the wilderness. There's a lot of open space in this country. It was a cold day as well. We stopped by a service station to pick up some supplies - I got myself two big water bottles.

The scenery along the rest of the way was fantastic, and I got out of the car a few times to take some pictures. Lots of green, many plain hills, some valleys, and cows in paddocks. We passed several ger camps - I was going to be staying in one.





Once we got to the ger camp, I was escorted to my ger. It was pleasant! Very interesting place to stay for a few nights. It was a large tent situated on a circular concrete block, and there was a furnace in the middle where I could light a fire if it were to get cold - and it was a pretty cold day, so I had one of the camp attendants bring me some firewood and newspaper to get things started.







As I could see, there was a lot of exploration to be done in this area. Having two days to myself here, I'm going to make use of this beautiful and aspiring part of the world. These mountains, a short walk away, closely resembled those of the Alps.

First of all I was to have lunch. I was treated to a unique, cultural dish. Salad, Mongolian egg soup and meats. Four courses - I was full and spoiled.

After that, I took a hike. I headed straight for the mountains. The whole day to myself, to explore. How wonderful, I thought.







I wanted to get to the top of these mountain peaks. It seemed to be a very hard, long struggle, despite the mountains being so close. Uphill walking is strenuous; and plus it was raining a little bit, so I thought perhaps I might not make it up there today; I would try tomorrow. Hopefully the weather would be better.

Instead, I decided to explore other surrounding parts. The area reminded me a lot of Canadian-type scenery. Pine trees, and the like. I've heard that bears patrol these areas too. From different viewpoints, I had a look around for other peaks that I could possibly climb. Tomorrow will be the day.







When I was done exploring for the day, it was time to have some dinner. I had some nice dumplings. Afterwards, I headed to my ger, had a fire going to keep me warm, put my iPod on and lay down on the bed relaxing. It was a great time and place to relax - possibly the best I had experienced. I loved it. This would make a fine place to sleep for the night - and the fire just makes it so much more intriguing and adds to the atmosphere.

At night time, I went out and had a look at the starry sky. I had never seen so much stars in my life. It was beautiful.