Good news and bad news!

Here's the good news: we are off on a 2 week tour of Mongolia in about 20 minutes, so I thought I should write and let everyone know that I won't have access to the internet for that whole time but I promise to write when I get back! The 'tour' is really 6 people in a little 4 wheel drive van going out into the desert and the mountains to have a look around and commune with nature a bit... so I'm really excited.

We arrived in Ulaanbaatur on Sunday, after a 5 night train journey from Moscow which was absolutely brilliant. Travelling 1st class we had a gorgeous little cabin and sat eating sausages, reading lots of books, napping, and watching some stunning scenery out of the window. It was probably my favourite part of the trip so far - I was dissapointed to leave the train which does sound odd after all that time I know.

You might expect me to be uploading lots of photographs from my trip in Moscow and across Siberia (I took hundreds!!) but here comes the bad news: Last night in an internet cafe here I had my bag stolen. I was actually at the cafe in order to upload (and back up) the photographs I had taken for the last 2 weeks, but the system wouldn't work so I put my camera back in my bag to find somewhere else instead. Steven was booking flights and it was getting late so I sat with him for a while. Then I had that familiar sickening feeling all of a sudden - Where's my bag?? There was no one else in the cafe by this point and no way anyone could have got under the table infront of me surely?? I ran outside but it was dark and whoever had my bag was long gone.

I felt absolutely sick. I hope I'm not that materialistic, but I could only think of my beautiful camera, all those photographs, and the fact that I was about to see some of the most amazing scenery in central Asia without it. People who know how much I love having my camera will know how absolutely gutted I am.

Anyway, life goes on. I just want to say that amongst all the things I had stolen was my phone so I no longer have any phone numbers, so that includes friends, family, clients, anyone I met recently(!) so please email or message me here with your number.

I will definitely upload photos when I get back - Steven has promised me his little point and shoot camera for the rest of our trip so I'll consider it a bit of a challenge!

Much love to everyone and please don't worry. I'll be on the look out for a Mongolian urchin with a big professional camera with him :)