Our first stop was at Erdene Zuu Monastery in Kharakorim the Ancient capital of Mongolia. This temple was the first Tibetan Buddhist temple in Mongolia and was built out of the remains of the destroyed capital city after the Mongolian king went to Tibet and met the Dalai Lama. A fenced topped with 108 stupas surrounds the temple, which is so different from temples we have seen over the last year - here it was nice to see pictures of the Dalai Lama openly displayed (not banned).
We wandered around for a while, and then had a guide talk us through the main temple - with Franco educating us about history and religion as much as her!!! This isn't too surprising considering he has a Masters in this area - which would offer many explanations and stories as the trip went on. 
After lunch with the goats in a field behind the temple we made a stop in the town for beer to aid the relaxation we were hoping for when we arrived at Tsenkert Hotsprings - another 5 and a half hours later!! This drive included our first breakdown and being lost in the middle of nowhere. However there is always another friendly Mongolian to help fix the van, and a Ger to be found to ask for directions. Of course by the end of the trip we could give our own directions as they always seemed to be "chegerei" (go straight!).
Today we also experienced our first river crossing, which was a little more stressful for Bimba after a huge downpour including hail during the day. After the successful crossing we enjoyed watching yaks cooling down in the river (much more graceful than Franco splashing around after his runaway jandals)! 
Bimba sang away for us as we went bumping away past hundreds of squirrel-like animals we finally arrived at the hotsprings, where after dinner we relaxed with our beer before joining a Mongolian bonfire / disco!Adlibing for a 'long time'.
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