The guards stand at attention as our train leaves us at Datong.




Changing the bogeys in the middle of the night at the Chinese border: our entire rail car was detached from the train and lifted eight or ten feet in the air, with us in it, and a new carriage was slid beneath us to accomodate the change in the rails.



Back on the sleeper train across the Gobi, headed to Datong. We return to China, land of abundant, good food!



People feed the many pidgeons in front of the monestery. Made me think of Mary Poppins.



She is the green Tara, mother of all, mother of the earth, who heals and protects.






in the old, pre-Buddhist system of spirit gods, there are five colors that represent key spirits: blue for sky, green for earth, red for fire, yellow for sun and warmth, and white for milk. Today, people combine the old and the new, and it is common to see blue cloths or strings hanging in the home or here in the Buddhist temple in deference to the sky goddess.



One of the faithful.



This is in the temple proper.






The Buddhist monestery in Ulaanbaatar runs a school for boys.