Final Entry

Well, as you can see from Tyler’s last post the Think Fast Move Slow team came literally to a grinding halt. The mind and body were willing but the machine was weak, we made it in the Fiat about 11,700 km’s, through 11 countries if you include two runs through Russia and 7 time zones before final mechanical failure, short about 1000 km’s. Here is some additional colour for the team’s final days. As stated Tyler and I left Khovd August 12th later than anticipated due to the general application of cheap vodka, we had the Fiat loaded up and tied down with two additional jerry cans of premium fuel from one of the Norwegian teams along with a few handy extras from their tool selection. We pulled out of town where due to our slow speed the ambulance and the Scottish/Swedish (Chris and Lisa) teams soon left us far behind, we averaged 35 kmh for the first 210 km’s, clearly no comparison with the other two teams speed. During the first 200 km’s we passed some great variations in landscape, at one long section the road separated sloped mountain and windblown rock on one side from tall savanna grasses waving in the wind on the other side (hundreds/maybe thousands of square miles of savanna), though here the road was brutal with a particularly ugly stretch of large pitrun. Mongolia is filled with very difficult roads which every so often have welcome reasonably smooth sections where you can get up on the big wheel. We hit one of those, a long uphill piece that I was up in 4th gear as the hill got steeper I shifted into 3rd, I thought I had missed a shift so went to 3rd again. The shifter popped out and Tyler and I looked at each other. Damn. Tried again to get into 3rd and then 4th neither worked just 1st, 2nd and 5th, we crested the hill where we stayed in 2nd gear, when we hit about 210 km’s the transmission/clutch started grinding and howling, we pulled over in a driving rain and hail. Pulled out the tools and tore out the console to get at the shifter and misc. to no avail. We knew a bus was coming to Altai from behind us so loaded everything we needed into our backpacks for a quick get away (before we realized what taking the bus actually meant), after being unable to find what the issue was and the grinding having dissipated for a bit we hopped back in and got into 2nd gear to see if we could still get a few miles. We were 220 km’s from Altai and nothing but the odd GER in sight or the ever present large dogs, so getting help anywhere in the region was a challenge. Off we went in 2nd doing about 35 or 40 km’s an hour, not touching the brake or the clutch for fear of complete failure. We hit potholes, rocks, deep ravines where dirt and dust flew over the roof from the front end digging in, we selected any track that looked okay where we could avoid stopping. We made it 70 km’s more before the grinding and howling returned in a big way, we pulled over, the Fiat would try to move even with the clutch in while making a hell of a racket. Pulled open the hood went at another round of trying to find the issue with any and all linkages, no traffic in the last while by the way. Tyler and I discussed the options, the major one being no one would have anything other than hay wire to fix a Fiat in Mongolia, and even major Russian cities had nothing for this car. So after 20 minutes we made the decision to carry on until the Fiat was done, up into 2nd gear again and off, plowing through any and all obstacles, of course this tactic eventually had an impact, I picked a diverging track and came through a ravine and encountered two large rocks just a bit too close together to get through, the only option was stop, go into the brambles, I chose to hit one rock on the used tire side, really hard. Tyler popped his head out the window to see the front left rim was badly dented but the tire stilled inflated, a minor miracle considering the rock was the size and shape of a large John Deere tractor battery. We kept going averaging about 35 kmh as it got darker and still no sign of any traffic. In Mongolia they advise not to drive at night for a whole host of reasons with the top of the list being you can get lost real easy, we kept going and finally hit a long uphill stretch (about 40 km’s long rising into the mountains) this certainly felt right so we stayed at it with the transmission/clutch howling. The plan was to reach Altai, we finally met a vehicle after 6 ½ hours but it still was not clear if we were on the right track, we thought once we hit a crest and started down we should be in Altai, we hit the designated mileage and still no sign of the city, drove another 15 km’s and still no sign. As we had hit the crest (just a guess as it was midnight and no moon) we pulled off 100 ft away from the road and set up the tent and cooked a quick meal of noodles (amazing view of the night sky and stars). 15 hours on the road.  August 13th, woke up very cold, I crawled outside to see the ambulance parked right beside us not 20 feet away with a tent pitched, I could not believe it I must have been completely out as they drive a diesel and set up right beside us. (No sign of the Scottish/Swedish team car) I took a moment to look around, Mongolia seems to have so many spots where it feels like you are on top of the world, and this was one of those. North fell away to mountains 30 or 40 km’s away, south was about 20 km’s away to mountains, and then just the curve of the earth east towards Altai. The plain we were on was covered with small clover like plants that gave off a very pleasant smell when you stepped on them. I was froze so I started the Fiat, the engine started fine but just grinding and howling which only stopped by holding the clutch in, this of course woke everyone else, I warmed up for a couple of minutes then shut down and hopped into the ambulance to get their story. They should have been in Altai about 3pm the day before not showing up after us, apparently they took a wrong turn around noon and ended up in the Gobi, heavy sand smoked the other car so they abandoned it about 100 km’s back. Anyway everyone was cold and hungry so we packed and made a start for Altai, as stated we made two tries to get the slowrider going and made it about 200 feet in total, the ambulance backed up hooked us up (they had a permanently attached tow rope pulled inside the back door by now) and towed us into Altai and straight to the Mongol Rally mechanic/drop zone. After a quick round of translations, mechanic looking and team discussions we gave the mechanic the cut throat sign and called it a day, it would take weeks to get parts for the car to repair the clutch and transmission (likely a week just to get an order out). Into the neighboring restaurant where we ordered 9 bowls of local soup, excellent by the way, the translator filled out the proper paperwork for the car drop off. Tyler and I loaded up our gear, Tyler bargained hard for a few jerry cans and gas (good thing as we needed the additional local currency to pay for the bus) the ambulance loaded up and headed to Ulaanbaatar and we headed of to the bus stop.Over to the bus station for the 24 hour bus ride where it was 60,000 local currency each for a ride (I assume that we were paying the foreigner price not the local one) after two counts we only had 119,500, we gave our best beaten down looks and the guy gave us the go ahead. As Tyler said before bus is a general term, this was a 12 passenger van, it took two hours of haggling and misc. stops before we got on the road at noon. As we figured out the final seating arrangement (with 20 people in a 12 passenger unit this takes some effort and negotiation) Tyler and I were seated behind the driver and facing backwards, I knew I wouldn’t make it a block before getting sick, I asked a young woman facing me to change, she jumped at the chance. The reason why became evident when she got up, she was sitting on a cardboard box with a rolled sleeping bag for padding and no back for the spot. So off we go, I have two young women laying against me one on each side, no back to my spot, a tall young man’s knees jammed into my back and my arms up on either side keep myself from falling through into the back. What started out as quite uncomfortable soon turned into an excruciating exercise by the time we made the first stop after 2 ½ hours for a leak break. We pull over after crossing a good sized river, everyone out for a leak from the pounding road, the wind was blowing about 50 mph so that worked well for everyone especially the women. Back into the van where we stopped for lunch, Tyler and I had no local currency so no lunch or snacks or fluids as our orange juice bottle had gone missing in the van somewhere. Back into the van, where I endured another round of berating by an older woman and her friend who made zero efforts to inconvenience themselves but were very happy to provide directions to me and others about how to organize so we could fit 3 people into the space of 1 ½ while our knees alternated to fit. This time I was a bit better organized and made it an additional 7 ½ hours supporting two young women and myself before I was ready to scream. At this time I could not believe Tyler or someone hadn’t vomited as the road and swerving at high speed was brutal. Our driver was the lead man and certainly was a good driver, we crossed a couple more river tributaries but had to turn back as main section was to deep and fast, a van behind us got stuck so that took half an hour or so to get out then into town to pay the toll and cross the bridge. The stretch after the bridge was brutal, old river channels, large pitrun, soft sand, now the puking started. Three of the young women after varying time lapses went to the sliding windows for relief (no stopping, puke as we go). Again Tyler seemed fine, I was 30 seconds from my head out the window when I saw a stalled vehicle on the road, and we stopped for 45 seconds for the drivers to talk. That was enough time for me to get a grip and let the full body sweat dry (damn close). Another leak break in some roadside truck stop. August 14th still in the van, we pull over at the 3 AM diner, again no money but Tyler has a stash of two mars bars from the Mongolian border that we eat. I should mention that Mongolian people are very comfortable with physical contact with strangers; as well it appears they can sleep on a rake, the bouncing is wild and violent yet they sleep like babies. It takes a bit getting used to as here it does not happen but in Mongolia people will just lay on you in any fashion and not think another thing about it. They are also tougher than hell, in 24 hours a two year old boy in the van cried about 3 minutes (try and see that anywhere else in North America). We made the final run to Ulaanbaatar and arrived at 10am, 24 hours since we first got into the van. We find a cab and get let off by the Mongol Rally finish line, register, order food and a beer. Two Brits give us a tip on a local hotel, nice one, degenerated into no hot water, no room cleaning for 4 days. Met up with the young Norwegian team who took the van from Hovd for beers and some van stories. August 15th toured around Ulaanbaatar and did some shopping at the State Department Store. (Sure are a lot of tourists in Ulaanbaatar, and a lot of people trying to make living off of them). We also stopped by an area information center where we booked for the next day a visit to a local monastery. Again stopped down at the State Department store again where I bought a local version of a jelly roll, as we walked back a teenage pick pocket pair had a go at my wallet and cash. The front man made a half hearted grab for my jelly roll in order for me to save it he was trying to get me to hold it with both hands, I was a foot taller so I just raised it up above his reach and kept walking, he was stuck and had to move out of my way, as he did this I turned to clear him and saw his partner just about into my pocket. I slapped my hand over the pocket and kept going; they carried on for the next mark. I was very lucky. We had a warm shower in the room yesterday but were unsuccessful in finding better accommodations so returned to find that the hotel no longer had warm or hot water. Vile night as I have acquired a very ignorant cold. August 16th over to the information center at 8:45 am for our tour, out of town past the airport to a monastery about 45 km’s away. It was first occupied in 1733 but was destroyed in 1932 with some rebuilding since. Although no monks any more, at full strength there had been approximately 300 monks using the place. Was great to hike up to the main building and the carvings etc. back into a small town for local food and then to a local nomadic family operation for a fermented mare’s milk and a horse ride/led (it is the shits to be sniffling and blowing your nose nonstop while riding). The nomadic life is a darn difficult one by all appearances, everyone working hard with the animals and in the winter daily average temperature is minus 26 degrees C. Back into town by about 4pm and to the Mongol finish line, the ambulance crew shows up. Off we go for beers and a meal, any meeting with those teams means alcohol. Tyler comes in at about 4am; I left early as I was trying not to die from my cold. August 17th we were not getting any solutions from our Canadian travel agent on flight changes to leave earlier with the wish being Aug 18th, so off we go to Korean Air which was my carrier, they could not help as they needed permission from our agent in Toronto and of course a 14 hour time difference. Not to be deterred we went directly to Trans Air who were very happy to comply with booking new return flights, for a tidy sum (no hot water was taking a toll). The ambulance team was out on other plans so Tyler and I went to visit the Christine Noble Children’s foundation with Chris and Lisa and a few others. This foundation is the basis for the rally where all donations end up. It was very eye opening; we drove about an hour in traffic to the GER district of Ulaanbaatar, where GER’s are present everywhere interspersed with houses. After driving through some clearly underprivileged areas we came to the Blue Sky GER village, it is an island surrounded by walls that encompasses a village for kids. The kids are either orphans or semi-orphans; the village itself is hard to believe in that area. It is laid out with sidewalks, accommodations, schools, gardens, kitchens, green houses for winter growing, sports courts. At any rate the kids are clean, healthy and full of get up and go, and getting educations, aged 5 years to 17 years old. Very impressive.Back to the hotel for some final shopping, Tyler and I met up with the other two teams for beers, a meal and goodbyes. I left at 8:00pm for the cab to the airport and home. Tyler was staying the night then off to his flight morning of the 18th. Tyler and I were gone about 32 days, it was quite a trip and we saw parts of the world that we would never see otherwise, especially at my vintage. §Staying in non-registering Russian hotels§Seeing amazing scenery particularly in southern Siberia and Mongolia§Met and traveled with some excellent people§Spending the trip with Tyler§Driving in Moscow§Red Square§Warsaw, great sights§Czech Republic§Leaded fuel exhaust/pollution is pretty potent stuff§The unstinting help from the Real Wakalinka’s to anyone who needed it§The physical toll of the nomadic lifestyle§How line ups in Russia really mean just push your way in§How friendly Mongolians are and how any issue usually draws a crowd §Great food§In rural Russia almost every male is an expert mechanic, those Lada’s are down on every corner§Not trying the fermented mare’s milk again §The value and help the Christine Noble foundation is bringing to the region§Dealing with obstacles on the way§Seeing places I would like to go spend further time in such as the UK§Driving a right side drive vehicle in a left drive world is damn hazardous§Cheap vodka is nice, once in a while Note: We would also very much like to thank everyone who provided donations which were part of the qualifying requirements. 1140 pounds in total was donated, be assured as you see above it went to an excellent and ongoing cause at the Christine Noble Foundation and we appreciate your help and support. Best regards, Tyler and Gordon Jeffery   

Ulaanbaatar

We meant to leave Khovd at 5 am...... But we actually left at 8:30. Apparently some of us were hung-over. We probably should have made more of an effort as the Slowrider was only able to drive 30 mph max speed the entire way to Altai. At the last town before Altai, Darvi; which is about 200 km from Altai, our clutch / transmission began to fail. We kept driving, though without 3rd, 4th or 6th gear. It was even slower going than before but we made it a solid 85 km before the clutch and transmission started to get real bad, as if it wasn’t bad enough already! We were worried that the clutch / transmission were going for good as we began to lose 1st and 2nd gear. We pushed on anyway and were able to drive until midnight before we had to pull over for some sleep. We set up the tent, ate a quick meal of instant noodles and hit the hay.

The best part of this entire day was that the other teams we were traveling with, who blasted ahead of us after we left Khovd at 60 mph, ended up getting lost and actually arrived to the same spot we chose to camp at about an hour after we did. This was real lucky as in the morning the Slowrider only made it 15 meters before dying completely. The Barna-Kahn Ambulance (I believe that they are calling themselves “The Real Kalinkas†now, after growing their ranks by 4 team members) was able to tow us into Altai, a mere 3.5 km from our camping spot.

In Altai we found the Mongol Rally drop off point and a mechanic. The mechanic told us it would be 5 hours before he would even know if he could fix it, in addition to this it is a FIAT, which means spare parts are non-existent. We figured we knew the answer to the question of whether he could fix it or not already and decided to retire the car in Altai. This turned out to be a huge mistake as we ended up taking a “bus†from Altai to Ulaanbaatar. The “bus†was in fact an 11 passenger van, which, unknown to the van manufacturer I’m sure, actually fits 18 passengers plus children and babies. It didn’t help that we didn’t speak any Mongolian and the old Mongolian ladies, and the young Mongolian ladies kept telling us to move over; no one was doing any moving, over or otherwise. To sum up, it was a 24 hour car-ride from hell. Though I hear it could be worse, the River Express, who we had been traveling with from the border, had a 40 hour bus ride from Khovd with 22 people on the van and an extremely drunk 67 year old Mongolian that hit them every time they fell asleep.

A little bit disappointing when we reached Ulaanbaatar less one FIAT. Never the less, the Adventurists crew is extremely accommodating, they have set up at a restaurant / bar with wireless internet, American / English style food menus and beer.

We have to thank the Barna-Khan team; they haven’t made it to UB yet. Since we five teams, The River Express, The Arctic Express, Mulholland Drive, Barna-Khan, and ourselves; left the Mongolian / Russian border the Barna-Khan Ambulance has had to rescue every single one of us at some point or another. Sometimes more than once..... Not to mention any names.......

Ulaanbaatar is a surprisingly modern city, with many tourists. I can’t say I was expecting that. Tomorrow we are taking a trip into the surrounding area to visit a monastery and do some horse riding.

The Mongolian Border

As it turns out Kazakhstan was a lot of the same for the whole route, hot and dry and flat, though quite obviously it appears to be a quite wealthy country when you look at the very nice 6 lane highway into Astana. Tyler and I stopped at a brand new hotel outside the city and met our first rally participants, three Spanish guys who were just leaving the hotel, they thought the room rate was 8500 Tenge per person and left for cheaper digs, Tyler went in and grabbed us a room for 6000 Tenge. It was actually 8500 Tenge for all three not each. So anyway we stayed at a brand new hotel complete with food and beer for about 25.00 USD.

Off to Semey, on the way we stopped at a roadside grill and as usual we were the only foreigners, and as usual we had whatever was on the grill, I think it was horse but was great along with tomatoes, cucumbers and onions and dill, on and into Semey where the room cost an arm and a leg and was marginal at best with one bed and one couch.  Up in the morning for an early start and made it to the next stop after an uneventful drive and picked the only hotel near the main drag, expensive and as it turned out a damn lazy innkeeper was in charge.

 Aug 8th in the morning we were up at 7:30 am to leave and the lazy dog had the only door out of the hotel locked and alarmed and our jerry cans in another lockup. We sat till almost 10:00 am waiting for him to show his face. Off we go after a stern gesturing to the innkeeper, we also found out that we had entered a Kelowna like region along a river and very slow going at 10:00 am with tourists moving about. Finally got through that and entered the Shire, just like in Lord of the Rings, bright green with trees and meadows and a very narrow valley. Small houses with little bridges crossing the stream out the back door, we made it through that and up a very long steep first gear climb out of the valley. We arrived at the Mongol border at 4:30 pm looking on getting through; unfortunately it was closed Sunday, so we set up camp. One problem was we had just spent all of our roubles on gas as we thought we would just head on through, this left us none for food; another hungry night. On Monday morning we were through the Russian border no problem, the Mongolian border on the other hand was a different storey. We pulled up to the Mongolian border at 11 o’clock, but didn’t make it through until the next day at noon.

Aug 9th the good news is we were sitting at the border with two teams from Norway, one from Spain/Germany and one from Scotland/Sweden (London), Tuesday afternoon while waiting in a cordoned off parking lot we had a beer between rain showers, pretty darn cold here when the sun is not out and windy which is almost always. Tyler and I had only eaten a meal the afternoon of the 7th and supper the night of the 8th, we were looking pretty lean and hoping for a change in fortune at the border. That night we were directed to set up camp outside on the pasture while our vehicles stayed inside, a howling wind and about 5 degrees C and on a rocky slope which also included a significant covering of vodka bottle glass. Not to be deterred we put in an order for vodka and food with the border captain (despite the delay he was very helpful and thoughtful), it was too damn cold to stand around waiting on the hillside in the wind and rain so into the village we go and find a market place, no lights but warm. We load up the vodka and walk to the local restaurant (again no lights but warm) and pit in there. In two hours 9 or 10 bottles of vodka, 60 dumplings with hot sauce (I spilled some on my clothes). A bit of a barn burner that one, at least until the owner showed us the door. I think the Spanish drinking songs and/or the arm wrestling may have pushed them over the edge.  One of the guys from Norway, Knut beside me was in need of immediate medical attention by then. One Mongol at the table with us mentioned that Mongols drink a bit but not much compared to the Russians (difficult to confirm or prove from just one meeting on that)

Aug 10th, up we get to wait for the go signal, the border patrol shows up around 9:00 am none the worse for wear, as we were the first to arrive at the Mongol border we got the go ahead first as well, off we go to the gate and sure enough we need to stop once more for a final fee adjustment, 32,000 local currency of which part was a road tax (hopefully it finds its way their). Finding your way in Mongolia is not an easy task as anyone that needs to go somewhere makes a new track, roads and trails everywhere (the first village we come to has at least 20 tracks in and to individual houses or shops or Ger’s. The first section is a bit tricky to find your way but we luck out and pick the right track the first time although on the climb to the first peak is in first gear and on the floor to make it (we find out that one of the Norway teams tied a tow rope through the front windows and around the windshield to make it up). We stop to top up gas and get food supplies and then off to Khovd 230km’s away. The road is a bit difficult to start out with but we find our way through the zigs and zags and large obstacles, the landscape is strewn with angular rocks of all sizes. The road is deceptive; you will be threading your way through misc. rocks when you spot an enticing line only to find out that it actually holds any number of Titanic sinking rocks. You hook one with the undercarriage which then pulls it up to hit directly on the motor, transmission, exhaust or to tumble along the entire bottom of the car. The Fiat hooks anything higher than a gopher turd so we encounter a lot of crashes and bangs. We made it about 85km’s before we blew one of our brand new tires, (our only spare is now on and heavily used) we babied the car through the next 95km’s which included fording streams and good sized creeks, one was a three foot sloped drop into under power to get through (turns out we picked the right route through as a team in front of us with more clearance took another track through and waited for a passing tow while the car filled with water) ,  we pulled over for a vehicle assessment. One blown tire, two skid plates gone and on the roof rack, exhaust leaking hard and the air filter completely broken loose and now ty-rapped down. We made it a bit farther before pulling over for the night, again strong wind and swarms of mosquitoes.

Aug 11th, up at 7:30 am packed and on the road for the final 50km push to Khovd, we arrive. 230 km’s took 8 ½ hours driving time. Into town for car repairs and hopefully tire repairs, good luck on the car but no luck on tires. The car was running on 3 cylinders, needed an exhaust pipe repair, drive belt was almost off and missing parts almost everywhere. Repair bill 30.00 USD, perfect, now if only he could fix the car clearance issue.  Once the car is repaired we head back to the Ger to get a bed and wait for the other 4 teams (we also stopped by a local event featuring Mongol wrestling, a lot of ceremony involved and some good matches) they arrive about 4:00 pm but the English team had to abandon their Fiat about 10 km’s out after incurring three flats. A couple of teams went off to the mechanic for repairs while we sat down to beers and traditional Mongolian food. I retired early bit Tyler let his hair down a bit with the other teams.

Like new car!

We have not been in a position to get any information out lately as it has been very busy; however, here is the latest.From Warszawa we made our way north towards Latvia. Very uneventful, and we didn’t have any issues crossing the Russian border. However, we did stay in what looked like an old communist hotel in Rezekne, Latvia. They didn’t have power to some of the areas of the hotel, the flooring was falling apart and the rooms were atrociously heated; also, the pillows felt as if they had a half life of 40 years.We hit Moscow just as night was starting to descend; Bad idea. We got very lost and had to ask for directions several times. When we finally found a hotel they didn’t have any rooms available. We drove to find another, but just got lost again. Finally we stumbled upon one, they had availability but also cost 10000 rubles a night. They told me that if we were looking for a cheaper establishment we could try across the street. We did, and had some luck as they had some availability and they price per night was half of what it was at their neighbors. Unfortunately the room was stifling hot; the temperature was 44 degrees that day. Moscow was interesting, although it seemed really unfriendly and very very hot, 44 degrees again. The air conditioning in the car barely worked in these temperatures. We did some sight seeing, Kremlin, red square and then hit the road again.That evening we were pulled over for speeding and had to pay a 500 ruble “fineâ€. Also, this was the first night we spent in the car. Gordon isn’t itching for it again, but I didn’t think it was too bad. Nothing’s better than free!Arrived in Samara August 1st afternoon, as we were making our way around and out of the city the slowrider went down for the count. Tyler and I came to our best conclusion on the fault and spent about two hours tracing down the cause and confirmation that it was a fuel pump/filter issue, which is a nasty job on the side of the road in 42 degree heat, after two hours we were filthy from head to toe, we had to jack up the Fiat just to crawl under it and get access to the gas tank and lines. Along came a resourceful guy in a taxi, after talking and gesturing for an hour or so we tied up the Fiat to his partner's (partner in crime it came to be) small car where he towed us about 30km to a garage which was about 10pm (4500 rubles for that tow job, 150USD. It is hard to argue about price or direction when you are tied to a tow rope), we grabbed a room parked the Fiat in the caged lockup and hit the sack. (They strongly recommended that you lock the door)August 2nd up in the morning and to the garage (Tyler and I pushed the Fiat from the lock up to the front of the truck center) when it then became apparent that it was a big truck part center, doing a great business but clearly nothing to do with cars or foreigners. Just when we were grasping for plan F another business opened its doors, in we went where we found they do not fix cars, however the businessman took us in hand and made calls for 45 minutes and making notes in Tyler's handbook. Then appeared to grab a random young guy in the parking lot and negotiated a tow fee to a Fiat dealer in Samara, this was not completely clear at the time (although a big thank you to the gentleman at SolaxAuto for that help). The young guy backed up with his Lada, of course we did not have a tow strap and the truck center wanted 270 rubles for one and we only had 130. They did not accept USD or credit cards, shit, so we resorted to using our light tie down straps, tied on the blue one with about one Lada space between and off we went. The first step was a U turn on the main highway with trucks most of which would be disbarred from operating on the home farm let alone on the highway. As it turned out we were able to retrace tracks to where we broke down. First though off we went up and down hills and then into a paving/construction zone where the tow rope broke right beside the paving crew, out we get and quickly decide to retie the blue strap and add another one for extra strength, of course the additional orange one is shorter than the blue even after breaking once, so we shorten it up again which leaves the Fiat conveniently about 3/4 of a Lada length back. Off we go again retracing the same path we were towed from the night before plus into Samara (1.7m people) in rush hour traffic, this should be left to professionals as the battery went dead in the Fiat so we are cruising through Samara where there is broken down vehicles everywhere, stops and starts every few feet and of course traffic circles. We are half way through our last traffic circle when the tie breaks again, gets wrapped under the wheel of the slowrider with a big orange freight truck coming, we kind of roll/skid to the curb. Hop out where our tow driver says don't worry we are close (in Russian), push the Fiat back to free the tow strap and off we go into a residential /business area and drive right past the Fiat dealer. Just as a note driving in Samara is great compared to Moscow where it is a combination of Speedracer and Nascar.... only with less rules. Once our man realizes we have missed it the new plan is to do a towing U turn in the space you need to turn a quad in, off we go and back to the dealer. Pay the young man (what an excellent towing job he did, and for holding up his hand to begin with not even knowing if we could pay) then in to talk to the dealership. We had been very fortunate to date but then our luck got crazy good, we met Alexander who directed us to bring the Fiat to the back shop, by the way Alexander spoke very good English which was a lifesaver. As we hopped out he said they were way to busy and by the way did not deal with Fiat Stilo models as they were older and not in use locally. But Alex thought they might get it in today for a look, into the showroom we go which was bright and well furnished, and air conditioned. It was hot as hell again so Tyler and I just pitted in on the very nice couch and watched Scooby Doo (in Russian). Out I go for a book and the Fiat is in the shop; the issue was poor fuel in some Russian gas stations. It smoked the fuel pump. However, the dealership did not have a replacement, as the Fiat Stilo was not in use in Russia. Again, Alex and the guys in the shop stepped up and were able to find a suitable alternative. In fact, the new pump will handle all grades of fuel (even terrible Russian / Kazakh / Mongolian gasoline), Lucky for us. We were done and out of there by 5pm with the Fiat purring like a kitten. Tyler and I thanked the whole dealership team profusely for above and beyond the call of duty, in getting the car in to begin with and then repairing it in such short order for a very reasonable price. In the back shop we took pictures of some of the team which included them saying don't eat the heat stroked watermelon we had left on the back seat (what an awful smell). As well we put one of their stickers on the slowrider and a few more pictures then off we went for the run to the Kazakhstan border. All in all the Russian people were excellent to deal with and once one decides to help or get involved even the casual bystander will start helping as well.That night we stayed in a cheap motel (600 rub) by the side of the highway. The rooms were a little over-heater and the bathroom a little over-used, but it suited our purposes none the less. We set out early the next morning towards Chelyabinsk, a city of around a million people. It was about 700 kilometers from our previous night’s location, but took around 14 hours of driving. Not to mention a two hour time change. When we rolled into Troitsk, a smaller town near the border we both thought we were arriving around 6 or 7 o’clock. On the contrary, we were actually arriving around 8 or 9 o’clock. It took around a half hour to find a suitable hotel (or any hotel!); thanks to some help from the local police! They were the first cops we saw who actually seemed helpful, and didn’t, and weren’t looking for handouts...... Also, they sped away in a hurry after donning their bullet proof vests.Once at the hotel we ran into a spot of trouble, it seems we had forgotten to register our visas once in Russia. The lady operating the hotel was a tough customer. Perhaps she still believed in the strength of the Soviet people and Mother Russia, at some point she maybe even worked in / ran a gulag. Eventually after much badgering she caved giving us a room for the night and registered our visas for us.The Russian border control station at the Kazakhstan crossing was relatively painless, and only took about an hour or so. The Kazakhstan border control station took a little longer. Also, one of the border control guards took our entry slip and gesticulated that if we did not pay him and his buddy 20 Euros we would not be getting it back. Although I feigned ignorance at the onset, I eventually paid him what I could. I didn’t have 20 Euros, so I gave him 10 Euros and 10 USD, he seemed to accept this, and then rushed us through the control station. I’m not sure whether this helped or not. I think it may have made things quicker but it is tough to tell.Not even ten minutes after we entered the country we were pulled over by the police. Where, yet again we had to pay a bribe, this time 6000 Tenge. This time, the “bribe†was for not having our headlights on, and for not possessing proper Kazakh vehicle insurance; which can be purchased in the next town by the way. At the next town, we tried asking for insurance at a number of buildings until I found a lady in a stationary store who spoke English. She was able to direct me to the bank down the street, where I was able to “speak†with someone about insurance. Actually I didn’t speak with anyone, a woman, along with two other younger girls lead me outside and down the street to an insurance companies building. From there we all shouted in our own respective languages until we were finally able to figure out, through the use of my Russian language book and wild hand gestures, what I was after. About 2 hours 3500 Tenge later we were back on the road again. Only when we left we had 2 and half extra bodies on board; the slowrider was riding mighty low. It seems we were heading the same direction as the two younger girls that helped me out. How nice that we could give them a ride. They were also able to direct us to a decent hotel (it actually has internet!).Until next time.

slowrider

Here's the skinny. Gord and were re-united in Manchester, we stayed together in Manchester for a few days - in a really awful hotel - and then moved on to Kirkham this morning to pick up our new ride. After some messing about at the Preston DVLA office we were off and rolling. We headed southbound with only a few *"Minor"* delays and inconvienences; and reached Reading by 5 o'clock.

Tomorrow, we will chase up the registration again. The good news is that today we had the DVLA issue a temporary registration document so even if the permanent logbook gets lost again we have that as backup. We also have an appointment to get an oil change and rad flush tomorrow, as well, we will swap out a few of the tires. Then it's just a matter of fitting together all the pieces and making our way to Chichester on Friday.

On a side note, I would like to give a shout out to the lady working at the Copthorne Hotel in Manchester on Sunday night. My hips were killing me, and she was kind enough to give me some little white pills. I'm not to sure what they were called, but they knocked me out for 9 hours straight - best sleep i've had in months - and made my hips feel completely better. The only downside is that I woke up with a bit of a hangover.......

Also, we've started tracking our progress with SPOT. You should be able to see us on a map..... I haven't checked yet so I can't confirm it. Click to the left to see for yourself. 

The Split

After what could be considered the worst flight ever Gord and I have gone our separate ways.

He has gone to Reading to pick up our registration document.

And I tried to go to Manchester; with no avail.

Gord was supposed to buy a disposable and call / text to check in when he had a chance. Since he landed around 6 hours ago this clearly didn't happen. Maybe he couldn't figure out how to call?

My half hour flight from Heathrow to Manchester has now been delayed by 4 hours.

Not sure how or when we will be re-united, and my plane is boarding.

If anyone sees someone wandering about with a *very* large backpack, please tell him to find an internet cafe or a cell phone.

Later 

Russian visas

The Russian visas came last week. Looks like they will probably let us into the country after all. I thought it was going to be a massive ordeal, but it was very easy. I applied for the Kazakh visa on Friday, I am most worried about this one. I believe there is a correlation between the quantity of fields to be filled out on a visa application form and the difficulty of obtaining said visa. Anyway, please enjoy the below.  

Status - 05/01/10

Finally just bought a vehicle (see below, or vehicle page). And applied for Russian visa last week. Fingers crossed.