The Ger (That's Mongolian for home)

We pulled into camp as the sun was setting. In the middle of a wide expanse of flat land were a couple of gers - traditional semi-portable Mongolian homes made of sheep's wool felt and fabric covering a wooden frame - one of which was to be our home for the night. Not really sure what to expect when we got inside, we grabbed our gear and headed in.

Inside was completely different to what we could have imagined. Rich coloured carpets, wooden frames beds, a table and a wood stove in the centre to heat, it really had all the makings of a home except for one vital thing... A toilet! That was an adventure in itself and one that involved heading out into the flat, empty and treeless steppe a little ways away from the ger in the dark.

Our hosts, who were staying in the ger next to us, came in and offered us suutay tsay and khuushuur - salted milk tea and fried meat dumplings - which we happily munched on after our drive.