Following the sun to Buddha

... and it snowed again. This time it could have been less fun, as we had to drive 400kam East. However, very strangely, the snow is super localised and only lasts 2 or 3 km.

We stopped for lunch at another Soviet style restaurant, this time with two large murals, one clearly budist, the other?? ? We must stand out, as the other guests took our photo, without asking. First shots just us, then with them. It made me think that I hadn't seen a single other European child in the last two weeks, so maybe we do stand out a bit.

The drive today is through wide valleys, flanked by hills and mountains. It gets greener, and the number of dwellings goes up a little.

We passed through Erdenet, which is a town of 100,000, and is the 2nd biggest city in the country. It was founded by the Soviets for a collective in the 1930s. Most of the houses are quite nice, each with a wooden fence and garden. On the other hand, the industrial area is ugly and stinks ( coal power station, etc).

We thought we were staying in or near Erdonet, but luckily, the driver had other ideas. We had asked him to take us to Amarbayasgalant monastery tomorrow, but he decided to go today.

That added 45 minutes of bumpy off-road, at high speed to the journey .

It was worth it. The valleys en route are beautiful, and the location of the monastery is outstanding, as are the Buddhas and Stupas.Läs mer