I was up early again and packed up. It was only myself and the Grandfather awake for the first hour but then the rest of the family got up.
I really enjoyed playing with the little puppy and the kitten. No one else seemed to be animal lovers at all, in fact the little puppy was kicked and thrown all over the place.
The Grandma was not very different sober to when she was drunk last night. She continually muttered in Russian, talking enough for both herself and her husband (with the tracheotomy). She was not happy about me taking photos but her husband was very happy to show off his Grandson. It appeared that he pretty much did all of the work with the child will the mother and the grandmother just watched from a distance and enjoyed chilling and watching TV. The child always ran to his Grandfather and, like his Grandfather, did not utter a word. It was very interesting watching the family dynamics.
I had some of my normal homemade cereal for breakfast (oats, raisins, peanuts and a little sugar) but was then offered some lamb stew. It was good to try but very heavy on the stomach first thing in the morning! Very kind of them though.
The Grandfather and his Grandson came out to say goodbye. He had been really lovely and I liked him a lot. The women of the house were rather distant and strange though. Very nice of them to invite me to stay however. I really enjoyed staying in a Siberian house again to see how people live. It is nice that the Siberians have been welcoming as well as the Mongolians.
I was on the road by 8.30.
These are a couple of photos of the town I stayed in. The wooden houses are very pretty from the outside. No bathrooms inside but they do have electricity and running water (unlike about 50% of Mongolian houses i.e. the Gers). 
I was really enjoying the ride up a pass when an old guy (one of the friends of the family I had stayed with last night) drove passed me an stopped ahead of me and gestured that I should put my bike in his car boot. It was really nice of him but I was enjoying the climb and the views. I said no and continued. He waited for me at the top with his boot open and again suggested that I put my bike in the back! No cyclist would ever suggest to another cyclist to ride down in a car from the top of a mountain you have just climbed.... He obviously did not get the imminence enjoyment out of racing downhill after getting to the top! 
The views from the top of the pass was great but not as good as in the serious mountains yesterday. These are more foothills now. Although I had gained an altitude of by 10am :-) 
The vehicles in Russia and Mongolia are great! I love these old motorbikes and side cars. My Granddad used to have one when I was growing up. I have seen loads in Siberia. You very rarely see old vehicles like this in the UK any more. 
I knew that today would only be a half day as I only had to bike 45km to the town of Onguday. I had to stay there because I needed to register my visa at a hotel. Onguday was the first major town that was likely to have a hotel that was good enough to know how to register a tourist.
I arrived about 1pm (having had lunch about 10km out of town). There is a lovely river right next to the town and a rickety old foot bridge. The town itself was reasonably big with about 10 shops in the middle. It took me a while to find a hotel as I am not yet sure what they look like in Russia. Each country has a different style of sign and building type for hotels and it takes a little while to work it out.
I eventually found one - and no one spoke English but basically they said they could not register my visa. It was very fortunate that a Policeman was actually visiting the hotel for some reason at the same time that I was there. He very kindly gave me a lift to the Police Station and took me to the front of the queue to the right person to register my visa. Apparently, hotels should do it but the ones in this region they do not (only good hotels in the big cities) and so I was very fortunate that this Police Station agreed to do it for me. Once I had that done I felt like a big weight lifted from me!
The Policeman also let me connect to the Police station's internet connection and upload some photos etc for about 1 hour when they then needed the computer back. It did not turn out to be too much of a problem that I could not continue to use their connection as my phone's internet speed is actually very good in this town and I could upload photos without any problems (3G).
It took me several hours to do all of the jobs I had to in town. I did some food shopping, bought some new headphones for my ipod (mine had broken), paid my fine at a bank (for camping too close to the Russian border), put some credit on my phone, searched everywhere for a place that sold gas that would work with my stove and failed so ended up buying a new Russian one (huge but works with gas I can buy everywhere) and generally had a wonder round town.
When I got back to my room I really enjoyed eating freshly baked Russian bread. It is something that they do very well. It is available in all of the small shops and is very tasty. They also have some lovely cheeses. I have not had cheese very much at all on this journey and just fancied some with fresh bread and some apples and grapes. Ummmm :-)
I had a long, hot shower when I got back to the hotel. It was my first in weeks (I have been swimming in rivers and lakes to keep clean). As most homes don't have bathrooms I don't think that the quality of pumping is up to much in this area. The shower head was broken and would not attach to the wall so I had to hold it and the shower cubical was on an angle and falling to pieces. Never-the-less it was a lovely hot shower. I really enjoyed washing my hair and feeling really clean!
It was really great to have an evening in a hotel room without going anywhere. I was not in the mood for catching up on my blog and instead spent hours on the phone to friends and family. My Grandfather in the UK is in hospital at the moment and I am really worried about him.
It was the first time in ages that I had a good speed internet connection and I could contact home (3G on my phone).
I had a great chilled evening and decide that I do not want to go anywhere tomorrow. It is about time that I rested in one place for at least 1 day and catch up with friends and family and write my diary and blog entries in piece and quite.
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