Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

I've made it! And this time it is an I as Jay is rolling in a little later as we decided he might as well make the most of his time rather than be tied by my schedule. It's been an eventful few days: things stolen from the roofracks in Altai, punctures galore, holes in the Swift's and the Terios' fuel tanks and today on my own in the desert in middle of nowhere I ripped a fuel line of the Swift whilst going over a jump. All sorted though, or bodged some may say. Back to reality now though, this trip has truly been spectacular.

Altay, China

Todays driving has basically been one big gravel rally stage. It was meant to be Jay's turn to drive but I couldn't pass up the chanc ** some text is missing ** feature in any Premier Inn I've been to. Judging by some of the sexual health posters peeling off the wall in the bathroom I suspect this might not be a ** some text is missing **

Khovd, Mongolia

I've seen yaks, held a golden eagle after seeing many flying wild, driven through rivers that tasked the local's 4x4s, and now I'm spending the night in a gerr. This is what I had in mind!@

Bayan Olgii, Mongolia

After 2 days being held in a compound in the mountains in snowy conditions by Mongolian customs due to a problem with our import tax we're finally in Mongolia! We'd have been there even longer had we not paid border control to work 2 hours overtime for us last night to push things thro ** some text is missing **

Bayan Olgii, Mongolia

After 2 days being held in a compound in the mountains in snowy conditions by Mongolian customs due to a problem with our import tax we're finally in Mongolia! We'd have been there even longer had we not paid border control to work 2 hours overtime for us last night to push things through faster. The route has changed now so we're heading South through the Gobi Desert as North is impassable due to high flood water. Fingers crossed!

Barnaul, Russian Federation

Back into Russia last night after a night in Semey last night and there's now a convoy of 9 of us heading up into the Altay Mountains to camp tonight and hoping to get to the Mongolian border tomorrow evening for a Monday morning crossing. It's nice to be back in Russia for now although I was bribed by a policeman yesterday. He claimed I was speeding which unusually I wasn't but insisted on a 'present'. I gave him a pound coin with the 3 lions on the rear telling him it was a very valuable coin commemorating the England football team. He swallowed it hook line and sinker and even have me 10 rubles in return!@

Astana, Kazakhstan

I'm sitting in an internet cafe in Kazakhstan's new capital, Astana, and can't belive what a modern, afluent, and vibrant place this is. Everything imported is expensive and in a city like this that means most things. I think it's been built from virtually nothing over the last 10 years so the architecture is all modren but many of the cities municipal buildings seem to have been built in a deliberately imposing style to echo a gothic style of the past. I guess the place that springs to mind is Gotham City from Batman.

 We're leaving here tomorrow after a rest day and clubbing Kazak style last night when we were treated like celebrities. We got free entry into the clubs and all the locals just danced around us copying what we did, English people here still seem to be something of a tourist attraction. Those of you that know my spectacular dancing abilities will also realise that if any of the poor locals from last night visit England and bust out a few of my moves they might be in for a nasty surprise!

Fingers crossed we'll make it to Semey tomorrow but it's a very long way so it'll be an early start. I'm at the stage now where my phone reception is getting patchier so I might not be able to text in to the blog as frequently as I have been but I'll update it when I can.

Matt.

 

Aktobe, Kazakhstan

Finally found some roads today but its taken 2 hours to find a hotel tonight which has tried my patience with this town. Possible route change tomorrow to avoid the terrible roads so we might be heading back into Russia sooner than we expected.

Atyrau, Kazakhstan

Camels in the desert and mud huts were todays surprises. Actually, the wealth and price of hotel rooms in Atyrau have opened my eyes too. The people now look Asian and the food has shifted too. Borat has got a lot to answer for when it comes to people's misconceptions of Kazakhstan!

Astrakhan, Russian Federation

Travelled across scenery in Russia today that looked almost like the Australian outback after a fantastic night in Volgograd last night. This country really is somewhere I'd like to explore more in the future, it's truly beguiling. Now arrived in Astrakhan and tonight we're staying in the 5 star 'Grand Hotel', a monogrammed bath robe has my name on it!