Bye bye temporarily to The Green Machine

That's the van away to the rail head to start it's journey by train to Estonia and boat to Harwich. Just heard that it sounds like folk will get in to Mongolia now - too late for us, but great for the folks still on the move. We have travelled 16,705 kms, or 10,380 miles since we left Goodwood plus the 1,384 kms or 860 miles for Kay to get from Oban to Skye to collect me before we travelled South - and we are still on speaking terms! Fly back to London tomorrow then up to Glasgow on Friday, then the rest by bus. Probably ready for our own beds - but what an experience altogether.  [gallery] Drag and drop images you wish to upload within these gallery tags. [/gallery][gallery] Drag and drop images you wish to upload within these gallery tags. [/gallery]  [gallery] Drag and drop images you wish to upload within these gallery tags. [/gallery][gallery] Drag and drop images you wish to upload within these gallery tags. [/gallery] [gallery] Drag and drop images you wish to upload within these gallery tags. [/gallery] [gallery] Drag and drop imag es you wish to upload within these gallery tags. [/gallery] [gallery] Drag and drop images you wish to upload within these gallery tags. [/gallery]![Uploading file...]()[gallery] Drag and drop images you wish to upload within these gallery tags. [/gallery]

The Finishing Line

We reached the finishing line at about 9am today! It is a pity we didn't get into Mongolia, but it has still been a great adventure.Kay has proved to herself that she is capable of doing anything she puts her mind to and I am very grateful to have been given the opportunity to make the trip with her. We have set the world to rights and at times would have sounded like the TV programme "Grumpy Old Women" though one of us was maybe a wee bittie more crabbit now and again! A very big thanks is due to John Donaldson, our mechanic, who put so much thought, effort and work into The Green Machine before we started on the Rally. [gallery] Drag and drop images you wish to upload within these gallery tags. [/gallery][gallery] Drag and drop images you wish to upload within these gallery tags. [/gallery] [gallery] Drag and drop images you wish to upload within these gallery tags. [/gallery]![Uploading file...]()

Russia Part 2

The countryside was beautiful - undulating and lots and lots of trees.We were about eaten alive by mosquitoes when we stopped in the evenings and decided that we would have to find hotels for the last few nights but we just never seemed to see them when we needed them. We parked up next to a factory on Sunday evening and managed to make a quick shift at about 5.30am just when the folk were heading in to work. we had a wee altercation with police who, after being annoyed because I had crossed the road when he waved me over, then told me I ought not to have gone over. They ended up taking his and his colleagues photos of themselves with our passports n front of the car!!We found a wonderful motel last night - thought we were being led down the garden path to a shed, but the folk were kindly and food was good and only had about 100kms to drive the next morning - made a change to doing 700 to 800! Finding our way through cities has not been our forte. We followed the sign posts to Irkusk in Kansk and ended up on the most awful road and heard later that you head through the town centre and it is the lorries who have to take the other road!  [gallery] Drag and drop images you wish to upload within these gallery tags. [/gallery][gallery] Drag and drop images you wish to upload within these gallery tags. [/gallery]  [gallery] Drag and drop images you wish to upload within these gallery tags. [/gallery]

Russia Part 1

We made it into Russia at our second attempt! Although we were a bit concerned because we had to get a temporary vehicle import document and nobody seemed to know anything about it. Drove up to Barnaul and instead of heading for Mongolia, because of the border issue, we are now heading on the trans Siberian Highway to go to Ulan Ude. Roads very good in parts and faiarly interesting countryside. The rain started coming down very heavily, so we drove into a filling station with a cafe which a man said was closed and pointed in the direction of a wee cafe across the road where we ate a delicious kebab cooked on his old, smokey stove outside, then parked up for the night behind the filling station. Felt a bit safer there than our last night in Kazakhstan where we were woken by 4 military types with guns - we refused to budge or get out of the van or open it and they eventually went off.  [gallery] Drag and drop images you wish to upload within these gallery tags. [/gallery][gallery] Drag and drop images you wish to upload within these gallery tags. [/gallery]   [gallery] Drag and drop images you wish to upload within these gallery tags. [/gallery]

A few photos

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Kay's report at long last.

Kay much prefers using pen and paper to the modern gadgets (she's an older lady but that is no excuse) and I have persuaded her to contribute something to the blog apart from some of the photos, which I have at long last managed now and then to get on. So this was written yesterday,9th August.

Kay says!

We are used to big Hondas, BMWs, Audis overtaking us but today Anne's pride was dented when an old, bashed-up Lada overtook us. This would never have happened years ago when Anne was in her 20's. She was (and is) a very good driver (thank you kindly!!!) but was very fast. We would probably have done the Rally in a week! The van has been going great. Two days ago we developed a vibration! I thought it might be track rods or track rod end. I phoned my brother and he said, "Have you hit any bumps?" I said,"Probably about 3,000!!!" I consulted my Haynes manual and didn't think I was capable of replacing a track rod end (mind you, she has already sorted an exhaust clamp and fitted a new fan belt) as it involved using a special tool". We went to a garage - and, as I had a spare, the mechanic replaced it using a tyre lever and a hammer and balanced the wheels and dropped the tyre pressure and charge $10. Unfortunately the Russian Embassy could not help us as new visas take 3 days, so we will just need to wait it out in Semey and go through first thing Friday morning.

Back in Semey after fruitless trip to Russian Embassy in Astana

![Uploading file...]()It is now Tuesday, 10th and we have had a remarkably unadventurous, lazy few days apart from the the 800km drive back to Semey. We stayed in a comfortable motel on the edge of Astana, where the staff were very pleasant and food was delicious, but a mechanic was to appear at 8 then 10am on Monday morning to look at a bit of a shudder we had in the van. No show, so we gave up and found a wee garage where a track rod end was changed and tyres balanced and on we went to the Russian Embassy. A charming official, with the first English we had heard for a few days, advised us that he could give us a visa for the 11th, but, as it would take the 3 days to get it, we wouldn't get back to Semey until after the 12th, so it would be a waste of our money. It has fairly taken the wind out of our sails as we had made it to the border in under 3 weeks, It also means that we may not even get into Mongolia as we have just heard that the Mongolian government has decided to charge the ralliers, who have not already got into Mongolia, about $4,000 to be paid in local currency, to get into Mongolia and we can not and will not pay that. Also if you were to be repaid when you leave the country, the Mongolian currency is of no use. i have a problem with a bad heel, and am not as heatproof as Kay, so I am taking advantage of staying in another nice hotel, not too expensive though a wee bit more than others we have been in, to catch up on the Olympics and Kay is away to see if she can find postcards or souvenirs to take back for me. We cannot travel over into Russia until Friday morning and will then probably have to stay there until we get to Ulan Ude.[gallery] Drag and drop images you wish to upload within these gallery tags. [/gallery]

Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan roads (in parts)

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testing testing trying to get photos on

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With our guide Pouriya's grandmother in Hashtroud, Iran.

Astana

So we headed down the 800 odd kms (or along?) to Astana to see if we can persuade the Russian Embassy to advance our visa - not optimistic though. Such a pity as we were doing so well. Some truly awful roads and some fantastic ones. Kay is great at finding camping spots, though we have had a digger digging a track not far from us late one night, then someone shining a light into the car. And she likes to tell me about the serial killers she is reading about and how they do away with their victims - just the thing for lonely spots!! However we were very pleased to be joined last night, when they noticed The Green Machine parked just off a very, very bumpy road, by team Where are we now (we were near Pavlidor) with their magnificent vehicle. So Kay and I are now in a motel in Astana hoping the embassy will be open on Monday. Read on a sign at about 4.30pm that it was 33C - it is very hot if you are outside, but the van stays amazingly cool, thankfully.