The Monastery

Today, we trekked to the monastery on the eastern part of Ulaan Baatar. Once we arrived, we were free to go our separate ways, so I spent most of the day sloshing around on the muddy streets of the ger district. I walked side-by-side with child-monks in their red and yellow robes and old men and women dressed in traditional deels past make-shift wooden fences and felt gers dulled by the city dust.

As I was walking, I encountered a house with a filthy glass window behind which were two little girls waving at me frantically. Their giant grins gave me permission to take their pictures as they stood there in their knock-off American shirts. The images are a bit blurry, but I love them anyway.

Now, I'm kicking the mud off of my shoes and preparing for our 3-day trek into the Gobi desert!