On the way to the Gobi desert

We stocked up on supplies in Bayankhongor and drove further south.

Excited Martin standing on his car, don't know why 🤷‍♂️😂

After a lovely night in the middle of nowhere we soon encountered more and more camels. Somebody was really excited 🤣

The landscape gradually changed and it became more and more deserted, haha.
We also managed to loose track of each other, quite a feat in such an open and flat environment. But due to the dust which gets kicked up we usually did not follow each other close. The moment the tracks branch out its just guess work which is the "right" one and if the car in the lead made the same decision😂

The valley of the Khan

After our windy night we continued East and spent the night on the coast of lake Terkhiin Tsagaan were we met our friends from Zürich again. The trio now complete again we climbed the volcanic crater the next day and then drove on. Cruising on the paved! road we made good progress all the way to Kharkhorin. Founded by Genghis Khan as the capital Karakorum of it's mighty empire, not much remains standing nowadays. It is said the location was chosen as the gigantic Orkhon valley was the only place Genghis could assemble and sustain his army before going to war.
Following the Orkhon river we decided to take the scenic route through the mountains instead of driving around it on the freeway to Bayankhongor. In hindsight one of the best decision we made as this turned out to be one of the highlights in Mongolia! 🤩

Typical Mongolian Family : Ger & Prius