Rest Day. 2/11. Sajnsand (Mongolia)

Correction: We are 8 hours ahead of Ireland, not the 6 that I previously referred to. Was reminded of that today at 2 pm (here) when I rang home and woke people up. Sorry.

Nice sunny Rest Day with some wind, providing excellent drying over Sajnsand. Didn't have much of that to do today. Looked after Neots of it yesterday.

Here beside our hotel high over the town (provincial capital pop 19000) stand two ovoo, large mounds of rocks normally found on mountain passes. As an offering to the local spirits travellers toss a rock onto the pile, circle it 3 times and make a wish.

Also from this height compounds of permanent gers abound standing on permanent bases. Every Mongolian is a nomad at heart.

The centre of town is small enough and again it's difficult to distinguish between different institutions; signs don't help. You could be walking into a museum or into a bank or a private house. Once off the Main Street it's open country of sandy gravel.

Once I had gone to the PC Mall for snacks, necessary provisions I dropped into the local hair salon for a badly needed tidy-up. Good service for less than 3 Euro.

Mobicom was next port of call to arrange SIM cards for phone and iPad. So now I won't have to rely totally on hotel wi-if; I may be able to upload more frequently. The gent there spent the bones of an hour assisting me, very patient.

Back at the hotel it's a chance to re-pack for the two nights camping between here and Ullanbaatar, an average of 150 km each day. Also the bike needs a bit of a cleaning and oiling.Spent a while outside cleaning and while dealing with the rear cassette noticed there was play in it. Checked with Jordan and he reckoned it needed a 1mm spacer inside. Only had a 2mm one so I spent some time filing it down to the required thickness. All is in order now and ready for the road.

Went on the booze tonight. Not that type of booze but the traditional Mongolian dish, buzz of steamed mutton dumplings and salad. Another tasty choice.

And the body needs an early night with a good sleep before the alarm sounds at 5 am (that's 9 pm on Tuesday night in Ireland)

Thank God for a lovely day.