September 19

We were up early for the drive to Tsetserleg and the driver had a note with him explaining that we owed an extra US$100 because Tseren didn't add up the costs correctly.  No surprise there.  The drive was over relatively quickly, the highway is in fairly good condition and there are crews maintaining the road at regular intervals, the majority of workers being female.  Outside of Ulaanbaatar it gets very rural very quickly and there is not a single fence in site.  Autumn is well and truly here, cool temperatures and the yellow/orange/red leaves of the trees (what few left of them there are) made for great scenery.  Dirt turns to sand and then back again very quickly in this part of the world.  We had an afternoon to set up the bikes and check out the place, walking to the Buddha on the hill which overlooks the town with nice views of the area.

Asphalt!

View of Tsetserleg from the hill

The enlightened one

Mongolian town planning