Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
The car is now gone! We went for a finish line photo yesterday to find the car had disappeared, perhaps sold (for scrap metal). Besides such a tragedy, a good few days in U.B. has been rather enjoyable. We are eating like kings, sort of, considering what our diet has been on the road. Our stomachs have expanded enough now to eat more than one meal a day. We have also gone so far as to indulge in a little bit of Mongolian culture...by this we have settled into one of the many internet computer game cafes that appear to be so popular among the young Ulaan Bataar-ites. This may seem rather tame, but we were plunged into the deep end of the culture pool whilst travelling in the countryside when we were confronted with many pints of fermented horse/camel milk, mounds of dried curds and sweaty goat meat (we think) left to mature in a sack. @
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
What can we say? Somehow, we have got the car to Ulaan Bataar, although it is rather Bataar'd and bruised. In fact, the word 'car' is a bit of an over-statement, or in our eyes an understatement. To the untrained eye, first appearances portray a melee of bent metal and broken glass, caked in layers of mud, dust and dead insects. It is in fact a piece of engineering brilliance that carried us 10000 miles across 12 countries and over the worst roads and worst excuses for a road imaginable. The car itself has in fact become rather iconic among the other ralliers and everyone seems to know of our mishaps- cheers erupted at the finish line as our car cruised over . As a team, we seem to have coined a reputation as the 'Crazy English Kids'. Thinking about it though, you have to be a little bit crazy to want to drive to Mongolia, don't you?
Övörkhangai, Mongolia
13 miles in and we have a puncture, darn. Time to go back to town and grab another tyre. Let's go for take 2.
Khovd, Mongolia
We have reached tarmac, a treat from the gods! But not without difficulty as we have suffered yet another puncture. Luckily some locals helped us fix it and we are some 400km away from U.B. (Hopefully) It's about time too as the cars, and us, are rather battered. Dust from the desert is everywhere, clean clothes are non existent, our daily food intake accounts for one meal (if that) and sweets and Mongolia has probably run out of spare tyres. One more day of driving and we could be home and dry. Ladies and Gentlemen, expect the unexpected.
Bayanhongor, Mongolia
2/3 of our way through Mongolia and we a daring to dream of our successful arrival in U.B. Although it would be an under-statement to say we have had our fair share of problems, not including phone signal, which accounts for lack of blogs. So far, for both cars, we have lost 5 tyres, 2 rear sump guards, one of which severed the fuel filter when it came off. 2 more tyres have slow punctures which subsequently caused us to drain the battery fixing and pumping up the tyres, after which we burnt out the 80A starter motor fuse trying to jump start the car. We also managed to cross part of the gobi desert (an unexpected 200km detour) with a cracked and leaking petrol tank. All is fixed though, with the help of a Mongolian truck driver, some Columbians and an Australian. Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke!
Bayan Olgii, Mongolia
Our first night in Mongolia was cold. Apart from the impressive scenery, Mongolia seems to be just cold, wind and rocks. Lot's and lot's of rocks. They are everywhere. Big ones, small ones, sharp ones. Each one trying to home in to your tyres. Some successfully so. We have lost one tyre but PB Car of Kings has lost 3, including our spare. With 6 good tyres between 2 cars, the plan is to give one car all good tyres and for Sam and Hugo to plough on to Khovd to find more, leaving the other car to be guarded by Sam and Toby. Fingers crossed.@
, Mongolia
After about 44 hours at the border, hugo has sweet talked (or more likely bullied) the officials to let us through the border to Mongolia. A couple miles in and the roads are unlike anything we have seen before. No wonder most cars fail in Mongolia. The plan is to make it to Olgii and resupply. Ulaan Bator her we come!
Bayan Olgii, Mongolia
Our first night in Mongolia was cold. Apart from the impressive scenery, Mongolia seems to be just cold, wind and rocks. Lot's and lot's of rocks. They are everywhere. Big ones, small ones, sharp ones. Each one trying to home in to your tyres. Some successfully so. We have lost one tyre but PB Car of Kings has lost 3, including our spare. With 6 good tyres between 2 cars, the plan is to give one car all good tyres and for Sam and Hugo to plough on to Khovd to find more, leaving the other car to be guarded by Sam and Toby. Fingers crossed.@
, Altai Mountains
Deep in the mountains and this place is rather magical. The villages here are very backward, wooden huts are the norm and everyone seems to live off the land and livestock. Herds of cows, sheep, goats, horses and even geese have blocked our path. Cars are relatively rare, so are petrol stations, and a lot of the people use their horses instead of farm machinery. The locals, always looking bewildered by our battered convoy, are always very friendly. The landscape is unbelievable, each valley we drive through is better than the last. Our admiration for Russia and the Ruskies has increased dramatically since Sochi. It could be that there's a difference between Asian russians and European ones? Besides, we're in luck, we have spotted a petrol station and an ATM, another rarity out here.@
Bayan Olgii, Mongolia
Our first night in Mongolia was cold. Apart from the impressive scenery, Mongolia seems to be just cold, wind and rocks. Lot's and lot's of rocks. They are everywhere. Big ones, small ones, sharp ones. Each one trying to home in to your tyres. Some successfully so. We have lost one tyre but PB Car of Kings has lost 3, including our spare. With 6 good tyres between 2 cars, the plan is to give one car all good tyres and for Sam and Hugo to plough on to Khovd to find more, leaving the other car to be guarded by Sam and Toby. Fingers crossed.@
