Escape to the country

After the Naadam we were desperate to break out of the city and head to the hills. We had read about a monastery nearby which was a short bus trip away and then a days walk back to the city, a perfect length before heading on our pre-arranged trip. We got a local minivan to the Monastery, after avoiding people trying to get us to rent a whole van, in the end they pointed us in the right direction once it became obvious we were not going to play ball. The monastery itself was not so spectacular, having been destroyed during the communist regime like the vast majority in the country. Only 1 building had been re-built and the ruined walls gave some clue as to the original size of the complex.
We then lugged our bags up the hill, a bit harder work than we had imagined. I am not sure our fitness is perhaps what it could be. the rain started in the afternoon (a familiar theme) and so we made camp just short of the summit. The sky cleared a bit for the evening sunset which we saw from the Ovoo, a holy cairn on top of the mountain, before settling down for the night. The morning was much brighter and the going all downhill, though it did take 2 hours of trudging through thick bush and clambering boulder fields before we found the path down. We met some people a few days later who had never found the path and ended up by the fence of the presidents residence with machine gun totting guards!
When we hit the main road we hitched the 6km back to our hostel, the first car which passed stopped, and got ourselves ready for our 6 day trip.