Out of the desert at the 4th attempt

We headed out of the desert today, but not without event. It's a 450km drive on dirt track roads and completely off-road. According to Maps, the route does not exist.

In the morning, we said goodbye to the Amaraas family, and then we headed to see the red cliffs ( see photos). The place is famous as the first site where dinosaur eggs were found (oviraptor)

Halfway through our ride out of the desert, we also visited an abandoned budist monastery ( see photos).

I think what might stick most in the memory was the long, at times unsettling and wild, journey out of the desert.

En route out of the Gobi, we had a series of problems. For example, there was a sandstorm. We got lost. It rained we got lost. We needed fuel, but the first three petrol places were all closed or abandoned. At a fourth, we were assured that the petrol pump was in use, but nobody knew where the attendant was. A tip that she might be at the tiny pub turned out to be wrong. So we camped on her doorstep until she eventually arrived. We gave her a lift in the car back to her workplace. The smell of alcohol meant the tip to look in the pub had a reason behind it. Nevertheless, she saved our day, as we filled the tank and two extra 20 litre canisters.

The driver doesn't use GPS. Instead, he uses distant landmarks and the sun, and when we get lost, we look for nomad settlents to ask them the way

About 2.5 hours later than planned, we arrived in Kharakorum. This time we stay in a hotel. It has no heating, but the desk boy finds us an electric heater. Unfortunately, Lennox knocked it out in his sleep, so we all woke up rather chilly.Read more