Day #71: Return to Ulaanbaatar

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Last night we stayed in a really beautiful setting with a delightful family on the floor of their ger. It took a while to fall asleep because the light in their ger attracted many moths, and once the light was turned off they began falling onto the floor with a tapping noise, or onto us, which was disconcerting to begin with. Our only goal today was to get back to the city, but we did have time for a final walk through the landscape before setting off, which I really appreciated as I will be in the city for the next few days.

They journey was punctuated by van issues - air in the brakes, then a puncture - but we then reached the tarmac-ed road into the city. I didn't notice the pollution especially when I arrived in Ulanbaataar for the very first time, but coming back from two weeks in the countryside, I found it hard to breathe at first. From our direction of arrival the first things we saw were power stations and belching chimneys, so it may have been partly psychological. We arrived in rush hour and it took a long time in the noisy heat to get around the city and back to the hostel, then I had a shower and long rest.

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