Ulaanbaatar

Against all odds, you have arrived in Ulan Bator. Your trusty mechanical steed is in shambles, but it has born you across nearly a whole continent, through an often inhospitable landscape. You are impervious to mountain-dwelling bandits, the vicissitudes of nature, and have unwittingly become a master automotive mechanic in the process. But what of the city itself? Ulan Bator is a major transportation hub between China and Russia, and is the capital and largest city in Mongolia.

Sukhbaatar Square is often listed by visitors as a worthwhile site, the central hub of the city. The Ghandan Khiid Monastery is elaborately, ornately decorated, and is the largest monastery in the country, housing nearly 500 Buddhist monks.

Time to do it all again next year..... but on a motorcycle this time, by way of Ukhta in northwestern Russia. Samarkand is too played out, too full of of tourists. The Northern Route beckons as an even grander adventure. Did I mention that motorcycles are allowed, but must not have an engine displacement about 125cc? That is right, many Vespa models are disqualified for being OVER-powered. Because everyone wants to be stuck in Siberia on a broken French moped.