catch up time!

our last day in mongolia was monasteries, monasteries and more monasteries!
in the mornng it was off to the gandan khiid for the morning ceremonies. these would seem to be watching the tourist buses come in and offload! we walked to the furthest temple...top of the hill...but it was worth it as the deity inside, janraisig, stands 26.5 metres tall. he/she is burnished gold and is enclosed in a myriad of hangings, cases of lesser gods and carved and painted columns and beams. everyone apart from us was mongolian and praying and walking slowly round spinning the huge brass prayer wheels. we took some discreet photos and left quietly.
i went up to the door of a datsan (temple) tucked away in the corner and was treated to the spectacle and sound of boy monks chanting. they sat in two facing rows surrounded by wonderful decoration in all the shades of yellow, gold, orange and red... i ducked away from the door and switched on my dictaphone unseen!
the rest of the complex was something of an anticlimax after all that! we spotted fellow travellers being led around in large groups and were glad we weren't, even if it did mean we might be missing some information! :)
after souvenir shopping, cd photo burning and printing (for our ger family), lunch on the pleasant veranda of the silk road cafe and bar (nice one, lonely planet!) i dragged lou into the choijin lama monastery that had been closed two days before. we did the first bit together and then he rebelled and sauntered down the path through the garden and past the schoolboys who had chorused 'hello' as we came in.
i carried on and did all six and particularly liked the temple of peace. there was one god who was yawning and stretching and looked as if he might scratch his tummy if i would just turn my back for a moment! :)
when i rejoined lou he gave me a drawing of two cars. a present from the little boys. ah, mongolia!