We spent the day at the Oasis preparing paper work for our future visa needs, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Iran. And in addition watched a couple of the European bikers pack their bikes into crates for shipping. It was interesting that the shipping process must be relatively common as the guesthouse had a stack of panels stored away from which the shipping crates were quickly assembled.

The Oasis is a comfortable and interesting place. During our short stay here we have met as many as 8 motorcycle riders from various parts who are at various stages of their journey. We met a guy named Dimitri who is attempting to travel around the world using only human power (NexusExpeditions) even to the extent of walking across the Bering Strait. We had a couple of long conversations with one of the founders of the Oasis (Sybil) who has been in UB 18 years and among other things told us how when she first arrived here there was only one restaurant/cafe in the entire city. We learned that the Oasis was initially conceived as a bath house and washing facility for locals and was an effort to improve hygiene and health and that the cafe and guesthouse were added to the idea before building started. Finally our days here have been relaxing and have certainly highlighted the appropriateness of the name - Oasis (ОАСИС). It certainly is an oasis of calm and comfort in the sea of chaos that is the rest of Ulanbaatar.

The Oasis is on the eastern side of UB, it comprises a two story building that houses the guesthouse, cafe, bathrooms, laundry, hairdresser. In the yard are 7 yurts for guests and a small parking space that could accommodate maybe 8 Landcruisers (if packed carefully). They have their own water supply (from a well on the property), a coal fired water heating system, and a generator to overcome the frequent power outages. Finally, a necessity for all travelers, they have wifi internet.