Flying by the seat of my pants

As soon as we got to the blacktop, we stopped for some food here-

We had met a few other tourists at the monastery. Of them, two ladies from Belgium had a guide with them who spoke both English and Mongolian, and she was able to help bridge the gap between my driver and me. She was curious how I'd gotten there on my own, and what my plans are. When I told her what I want to do next, she suggested to both of us that he drive me tomorrow. We left it at that, but then sitting at lunch, I pulled out my Mongolian phrasebook and map, and we were able to agree on a plan, a price, and a starting time! I am so very pleased at how this has worked out- I was going to try to take a bus, and then perhaps another bus, or find a ride, but it had the risk of me getting stranded and/or losing a day. Also, on the bus, you can't stop for, well, anything much.

So at 8 am tomorrow, we are off to Dulaankhan to see the bow and arrow factory (we hope), then on to Sukhbaatar to see the market and maybe part of the town, and then finally, he will take me to Altanbulag, the town on the Mongolian side of the border with Russia. In Altanbulag there is an old Russian church, which requires crossing the border to see. I got a double entry visa for just this purpose- I'll go in, back out to Mongolia, and then cross into Russia on my way to Ulan Ude, probably the next day. I'm mostly winging it on this part of the trip.