The next morning we woke up late felling a bit worse for ware with heavy stomachs. After playing a bit of rugby with the locals we set of about 2. It was good road until about 40km from the next village. Off road tracks didn't suit big sal but she dealt with them well. Me Dutchy, and stew admired the views from the roof. A storm hit us out of nowhere, so we got back inside the van and procedded to get B-A-T-T-E-R-E-D battered, battered!! The road became undriveable so we stopped for the night. Rob didn't like the look of the roads so him and Helen headed back to ub early the next morning.
This morning we set off at about midday. 120km of dust track and 150km of good road stood between us and the lake. Not knowing what we had let our selfs in for before the point of no return meant we had to continue. A series of winding dust/mud/bog tracks took us longer than we anticipated averaging 20km an hour, it was going to be a long day. On route Dutchy asked us the date. It only turned out to be his birthday and he didn't realize!! Another night of B-A-T-T-E-R-E-D battered battered would be in celebration!! We stopped for the night in Moran. Just over 100km from the lake. While in the van some local wrestlers challenged us to arm wrestling. Stew cleaned up!
Finally we arrived at the lake after a 2 hour drive from Moran. The lake was huge. Known as the blue pearl of Mongolia, Stretching 136km long 262m deep with a total area of 2760 sq km it is the 14th largest freshwater source in the world! Crystal clear waters surrounded by Rocky Mountains. It was well worth the drive. We settled down for the night in a ger camp. Me and Dutchy heard music coming from the next camp. We went to investigate, only turned out to be a mongolian disco. We got right involved and was professionals at the mongolian dance by the end of the night.
From what locals had told us bird island was well worth a visit. So we booked on to a boat tour and we were off. The boat was pimp, kitted out with leather sofas and a shit hot sound system. Suited us down to the ground!! After the 2 1/2 hour drive we made it to the island. Quality views all around the lake. Going for a swim was the best part of the day. Very very cold but bearable. Stew dived in off the side after asking the drive if it was deep enough. '5 meters deep' it clearly wasn't stew appeared from the water with a bloody head f ing and blinding. It was only 1.5 meters deep. Ouch. More mongolian dancing followed this night, after a few to many vodkas Me and stew had a minor alteration, but all was good in the morning!!
The next morning more swimming and a spot of fishing was the last of the lake for me. Me Dutchy and Sanchir were driving back to UB while Stew, Emily and Louise would stay at the lake for a couple more days and fly back. We set off just after 5 drove till it got dark then stopped for the night. Knowing we had a full day of driving ahead of us we got up at 6 and hit the road. There was a few dangerous situations but big sal handled them excellently. One of which was a 6 m wide river with a boggy bank. Just floored her and hoped for the best, luckily we made it. The scenery was unbelievable on the way back stopping only a couple of times at good spots. We managed to arrive back in UB just after 9 absoloutely shattered.
Me and Dutchy were felling a bit sore from the previous days drive. So we booked into a mongolian massage. Well recommended both came out after the hour long session felling refreshed. A trip to the black market was next. Equipped with our dell ( a dell is a mongolian gown nomadic family wear) we were done. I said my goodbyes to Dutchy, top bloke mind.
The lake was awesome, the drive wasn't but the views and scenery around the lake made up for it. Looking forward to traveling south and exploring the gobi.
Safe dunny
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