We have a long day of driving approx 400km to Ulaanbaatar so we get on the road by 6am. The traffic going into the city and within it will be bad due to it being Sunday so we’re hoping we might beat some of it if we leave early enough. Everyone’s a little groggy this morning and inside the Beast it’s quiet. Padraig and I are sorting through our numerous photos and John is nodding off. I ask Padraig how the ear amplifiers are working and he yells,
“WHAT WAS THAT? NO RECEPTION THIS MORNING! TOTALLY BLOCKED.”
Copy that. You’re not wearing the bloody hearing aids🙄
We stop for a quick picnic breakfast that the hotel packed for us of boiled eggs, bread, tomato and cucumber. Despite the early hour it’s warming up already and the midges are out in force. Between bites of breaky we’re swatting them away. We stop for gas and the Beast won’t start. Ganbaa motions to the boys to exit and give the Beast a push until it’s picked up enough speed that it’ll kick start. Success! And we’re off.
I’m quiet as I digest the memories of the last two weeks. Now that we’re out of the taiga it feels like the past week was a dream. Were we really there? Did we really experience all if that and meet all those people?
As we near Ulaanbaatar the traffic gets thicker, horns are honking and there’s an odour of exhaust and a pall of smog over the city. Civilization. I say my goodbyes to Unuruu and Ganbaa with big hugs and Unuruu says we were the best guests, more like friends and she’s feeling sad. I tell her we will meet again as I want to return to visit the Gobi desert and the eagle hunters.
I meet John and Padraig for a final dinner at a swanky restaurant on the 25th floor of a five star hotel. The views of the city are outstanding and we settle in to the cushy couches. Normally I prefer to travel on my own but I have to say, they may have changed my mind about that. I had so many laughs with them, where tears were streaming down my face, that I never would’ve had travelling on my own. They were easy travel companions and good sports about taking the piss out of each other. I tell them that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed our time together and look forward to another adventure together. Thank you for dinner Padraig!
I wake up with a start, disoriented. Where am I? The room is warm and dark with a glimmer of distant lights. The bed is soft and the pillows fluffy….
Home.
