Day #78: Horse riding again

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Although we didn't go anywhere today, spending two consecutive nights at the same base, it was a busy day. First we took a tour by car of the local area, which has some beautiful views of the River Onon. Then, in the afternoon, we went horse riding. When I went horse riding in the Gobi, the horses were relatively well trained and obedient: the worst they did was refuse to budge in preference to eating grass. The horses today were different (the guide explained that they have fewer tourists in this area of the country, so fewer tourist-ready horses) and mine was basically uncontrollable for a novice, so our guide had to hold the horse by a lead at all times.

I was initially disappointed because the ride in the Gobi was more enjoyable once we didn't have to be led and had the horse free, but I discovered the advantage was that when the guide's horse galloped, mine had to as well, so I experienced galloping on a horse for the first time (another consequence of the lack of contact with tourists here was that the guides were a lot more daring), which was exhilarating (and surprising, I don't think I ever expected to have that experience).

After the horse ride we walked to the river and paddled around (considered swimming, but it wasn't quite warm enough), and then after tea we played volleyball with a couple of university students from the city who are spending the summer working nomadically. The next day, almost every muscle in my body ached.

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