Back from the Ger camp!

So I'm back from the Ger camp in Mongolia... it was pretty awesome, loved it.  But no sooner do I look at the bbc website and I see that Kevin Davis played for England... what has happened?! ... listening to the football ramble to get my dose of football banter... but anyway... ... ... I think I left off in Irkutsk, or lake Baikal or somewhere... ...

The train between Russia and Mongolia took ages! We were at the Russia part of the border for about 5 hours and the Mongolia for about 3-4 hours... plenty of time for reading and the like... I managed to get myself in the same cabin of the train as Kate and Anna through a bit of negotiating with the woman who ran our carriage... she said I could go in the cabin but I had to buy something from her little on board shop... I had to negotiate... I asked for a Bounty, but she said I needed to buy 3... ... I bought them but felt a bit perplexed by the whole thing... apparently 3 Bountys is the going rate!

Ulaanbattor is a really interesting city in many ways but it isn't really a big tourist destination I think... the architecture is just like Russia... there's even a statue of Lenin... but the major difference was the asian faces filling the city (I should have probably predicted that one)... but also, people smile here then in Russia:) ... I'm not suggesting that Russians arn't happy or nice people, just.... if you smile randomly, well, you're probably a bit crazy... the only unprovoked smiles I got were from female uni students in a Pizzaria in Irkutsk... and then when I returned the smile they laughed at me... people smile here, it's nice:)

... Our guide during our time in Mongolia is really nice, her name is Odka and she's been really helpful and all that... The customs here are unusual... never accept anything with your left hand, always right... don't point at something, motion with your whole hand... if you show someone the sole of your feet/sole it means your itching for a fight/argument!

Our first day we went to see a live Pillipino rock band in a night club... ... but I need to go to get food now so I'll expand on that later... food then the national culture museam and then to some cultural dance show... so I'll catch you all later!