We got into Ulan Batarr this morning before 11 and wow…. What can I say?

Mongolia IS amazing… And we’ve only been here for a day! We got wing seats on the plane - duds if you wanted to see the scenery, and well we did want to see that. From the glimpses we had, it was full of snow-capped mountain ranges interspersed with wide open spaces.

Then suddenly a city appears from the middle of nowhere - the capital! NY Times called it drab, I wouldn’t be as harsh, but it is not very inspiring. With a mixture of Soviet-style blocks, (to my untrained eye) colonial buildings and shiny glass ones, and signs in Russian, spoken by decidedly Asian people in Korean-sounding tongue, it is a bit of a mixed bag.

The city has over one million people, a large population considering the whole country has no more than 3.5 million, according to our guide. 70% live in what is called Ger District which has no running water or toilets - the poorest of the poor.

Unemployment is apparently at around 60 to 65% and with vodka so cheap - the only legacy of decades of Russian occupation - most youths get into trouble instead of going to school or work.

But once you get out of UB the expansive beauty of Mongolia appears. Beautiful snow-capped mountains - yes them again - are just by the side of the road and the harsh winter has left many streams and ponds frozen. Sheets of ice glisten in the sun and the Tuul River with its candy-coloured houses was just stunning.

We also visited a massive 30m high Genghis Khan statue made of stainless steel. He looks like a very cool dude but since no one knows what he looks like - there were no pictures or descriptions of his physical appearance - it was just an interpretation.

There are more animals than humans along the roads we travelled, a bonus of coming in the off-peak season. We’re staying the night in Terelj National Park at a ger owned by a local family right next to a frozen river that curves its way through the landscape, surrounded by birch trees.

Tomorrow we’re going to cross that river on our 4WD to get to the next pit stop which could involve horseback riding. We’ve never done it before but are game, let’s hope the horses are too!