A cold Yurt or Ger in Terjli -

Arrived on time, walked to hostel to see taxi having it's battery charged. Coffee and off east to Terelj National Park as the sun was coming up. The first thing to go on a mongolian car must be the horn closely followed by the suspension- cars from Japan seem to be right hand drive & Mongolia drive like Russia on the right. Just over an hours drive on non English roads through barren countyside we reach our yurt- no English spoken- found loo & shower - uncertain where to eat- no obvious info on what todo- note to self "holidaying out of season expect no more"
Lunch in restaurant then a good walk along the river & up to get good views back to the yurt- haunting singing from a big group of locals out for the day. Wind is variable but always chill & drying.
Prepare for the evening on the Mongolian steppe - dinner in the restaurant Terijl soup yet more beef dressed up as mutton - very good though. Jacky has yet to get what she orders dumplings turned into meatball soup. Local beer ran out ! Asked for wood and coal came looking good as it's getting colder by the minute as the sun goes down. Pitch black out side our single clear glass bulb allowed us to read. Just after getting to bed and asleep the was a loud knock at the door and the coal man arrives to fill the fire. Dogs still barking. 4 in the morning another knock at the door you guessed it coal man again to fill the fire. Daylight and our fire has kept us warm and is still going. From the other yurts no sign of fires in overnight. No condensation !! Just about to walk but it started to rain. Managed a walk late on in the rain. Cards, iPhone, book & stoking the fire before setting off for eveining meal in the sleet. Hope for some more coal or in for a cold night ! Choughs with red beaks. Dinner of dumplings soup and 4 veg pasties - best so far + 2 bottled beers.
Invited to a warm apartment in main block by Julie, Rose & Snow a log house builder. First Mongolian to speak English after 8 years in USA. Accepted a beer & a tot of vodka. Snow flurries on way back to a cold yurt, man came to Stoke the fire, coal & wood - then again at an agreed 5pm by which time it was warm. Morning light covering of snow which soon started to go at low levels. Breakfast of sausage, chips, cucumber, tomato & rice. Decided on plan to do two short walks am & pm. Still heavy low cloud but blue sky rarely showing through.  After a read of 7 years in Tibet, the cloud lifted & by noon. We set out across the road and climbed up the ridge following a recent horse track - great views across the wide valley.  Choughs with red breaks again. Yaks or not yaks that is the question - answer possibly - hairy cows at the very least. Walked to exclusive hotel and past golf course retrived 3 balls - green greens. Ended retracing first days walk - much better end to the day- views and silence is stunning. Buuz and borsch shared - filled us both. 
Clear skies on our walk back to a warm yurt / no sign of the coal man all night. Wore my wooly hat so may be colder than I  had anticipated. Fire filled once at 3 am by Jacky on one of her regular visits.
Morning with about 8 degrees of frost and deep blue skies. Barking and noise most of the night but not too bad even I am in need of a shower & a change of clothes - only 26 hrs to go.
Breakfast of 2 fried eggs and a good conversation with a german teacher from UB and family about the local area. A great 4 hr walk and our first views of eagles, still bright sunshine and very cold. A gift of fatty lamb in a plastic bag - not a good idea to give back to the cook! - from  a slightly drunk Mongolian fag sales man. Company outing gone by 6 pm, all alone. Cold night, dogs barking, if staying longer they would be on the menu. Low on wood no coal man in the middle of the night. Camping in cold climes not on nowadays. 
Awaiting transfer to UB, unable to contact Gomez Hostel ! 11am is our appointed collection we shall see. Another glorious morning- crystal clear. Finished 7 years in  Tibet. Hopefully can swop for some thing else to read. 
Transfer to Ulaan Bataar.