Clean Slate

Outside of the State Circus building, fresh sheep is for sale out of the back of a friendly dude's car. The sheep was raised organically, which is the traditional Mongolian way. Who knew the lads from Liverpool were honored in Ulaanbaatar? I like this building's style. The State Department store building: good for shopping, better for Mongolian made goods and perhaps even better for people watching. This is a sweet silver tea set that is out of my price range at the moment.                            You can even get Mongolian warrior gear. Another sharp but pricey Mongolian made item. Both the buckle and belt are Mongolian products.   An exquisitely intricate silver bowl made in the land of Blue sky. No need for this cozy headwear in the South. My choice for a deel, Mongolian traditional outfit, to suit our girl. An orange one for Enkhii. ...

Well we got back safely from Mongolia with all of our luggage and gifts. It was a wonderful visit and I have a plethora of photos to share but will try to do so in small doses. Many people think half of the fun of a vacation is the journey and I would agree with the caveat that young kids make a rough journey less fun in a short period of time. Qur first driver had mechanical problems on the day we left. So he was out. Our next driver could not drive into the city as his license was blocked on that day. Certain cars by license number are restricted from driving in the city on each day to reduce congestion. So another driver took us on a wild ride to the city outksirts to rendezvous with the new van & driver. The ride through Ulaanbaatar traffic was a bit like this...  We packed all of our gear into the van that had padding for a rough ride and luckily we had a variety of snacks to keep the kids busy and fed as we raced to our meeting spot with...