On our journey we are going to travel three thousand seven hundred kilometres. The road conditions change from province to province and depend very much on the weather which can change quickly. In the middle of September the first snow falls and at night the temperatures drop well below zero and road surfaces soon become icy.

When we refer to Mongolian roads, it can be quite misleading. The road can be a clearly defined track or merely a barely recognizable path in the steppe which only indicates approximately the direction of travel but doesn't necessarily indicate to the driver to follow it.

In the west there are several motorway service areas if a traveller is hungry. Such rest stops also exist in Mongolia and fortunately our driver knows them, even if they are often hundreds of kilometres apart. These rest stops consist mostly of a row of Ghers, or circular tents, and small huts that do not look necessarily inviting at first sight. But each of these tents is a restaurant, run by a cook who also lives there. In order to find the best restaurant, we trust in the taste buds of our driver, but we have to adapt to his personal taste. The closer we get to the capital of Ulaan Baatar, the more luxurious the rest stops become. No longer yurts, but real houses. But because there are so many of them, the restaurants compete with each other and that's why there are no a la carte menus there, but only one dish of the day, which nevertheless is always freshly prepared.

Two workers sweep the dust off the road so that it can be asphalted. But the wind makes sure that they will never be able to complete their work. However, should they succeed in the future will a journey on an asphalt road ever provide us with such an experience?