Go to Khovsgol Lake --7/30

Our next camp is on Lake Khovsgol, so we are flying to the nearest large town, Moron (sounds better in Mongolian) and separating the group into 4s and taking 4 off-road capable minivans to the lake camp. Roads in this north central area of Mongolia are either brand new and pretty good or non-existent in varying degrees. We stopped in a market for snacks and found some really good 3.5 oz chocolate bars for about 75 cents. I am hoping we can stop there again on the way back to UB.

The route to Lake Khovsgol: yaks, hills, trees, and gravel for a future road.

The 4 hour drive was punctuated with nice new asphalt and rutted gravel or dirt roads. If the driver thought the existing tracks were bad, he would create a new one. The best part of the drive was the scenery: verdant rolling hills with more and more trees as we drove north. We also stopped every hour or so for potty breaks, tho none of the facilities met my 3-star minimum criteria. The last part of the drive was the worst! The tracks were muddy and deeply rutted and we drove about 5 miles per hour to keep from shaking the car and passengers apart.

Today's view from our ger -- not too shabby

When we arrived, we found it was worth it. Each camp has been nicer than the last and Ashihai is no exception. The gers are all perched on timber platforms and face the lake. We got a queen sized bed again, but this one has a 4 inch foam mattress, a HUGE improvement over the 1 inch padding on the last big bed. The bath and shower facilities are nicer too and this time we are close to them instead of far away. We settled in and took a walk around the lake, the largest source of fresh water in Mongolia and the 14th largest in the world. It looks beautifully clear from the rocky shore, and Jim found a bunch of rocks for me, most of which I tossed back in the interest of not blowing thru our airline weight allowance.

Rock scavenger heaven -- too bad Mom missed this. I remember the piles of rocks she collected on trips when I was a kid.

Evening brought a rainstorm after dinner. The staff  covered the top vent to prevent leaking, which makes the ger very dark and claustrophobic, so we left the door open for light. This had the unfortunate effect of making the entry pretty wet. Oh well!