In Ulaanbaatar after being towed for 500 km
Our crankshaft position sensor died again, 500 km from UB. Towed via rope by butcher truck and extreme focus on our driver side at 20-40 km/hour to get here. Mechanic time :)
Wild Mongolian Horses = Hospital
What a day - camped with a yurt family, ate goat cookies, goat milk and goat alcohol, and got to ride their horses. Falling off is no joke. Be careful.
bye bye Siberia, hello Mongolia
2.5 days driving nonstop, Google maps 350 km detour, two police checks, cheese & bread & roadside borsh and we are ready for the true wilderness
Almaty before the wilderness
The real deal is about to start. Last night out out :)
Middle of the Caspian
Hoping the Turkmen border process is <12 hours
Tbilisi! Impromptu Mongol Party Tonight??
The 3rd border crossing attempt at Batumi was a charm, drove overnight and made it to Tbilisi for sunrise :)
Try #2: Entry Into Georgia @ Batumi Crossing
message if you're waiting around! +16463226717
Denied Georgia Entry = Camping in Ayder
Between Trabzon and Georgia border? Let's meet up +16463226717
@Nomad, No Cry, lets grab a seaside beer/coffee?
Hey Nomad, No Cry, we see you are approaching us on Black Sea Coast (we are in Rize area). We're stuck in Turkey for a while (can't enter and would love to grab a beer as you drive by us :) Contact us via cell and whatsapp at +1 646 322 6717. Hope to share stories soon xx
Day 13: Denied Border Crossing into Georgia from Turkey (Batumi Crossing)
After a gorgeous drive along Turkey's Black Sea Coast and wonderful isolated camping, we approached the Georgian border crossing hoping to sleep and imbibe in Batumi's summer nightlife.
Notes to other teams or this crossing: - At ~7 pm there was a two hour wait in the car - Wait in car is followed by everyone but the driver going through Turkey Exit passport control for another 90 minutes. No lines. Bodies were smushed against each other with aggressive pushing and several potential fights. Don't let women go through alone here. - Georgia entry on other side is well organized and no issue.
Our car was denied entry due to not having a seal on our registration papers. We purchased the car three weeks ago and thus the official registration hadn't been received yet. No problems in the prior countries though! Let us know if you're around Black Sea Coast Turkey between Trabzon and border crossing :)
Otto
Lily
Jerome
Elina
Born in Bulgaria and having lived in Russia, Uruguay, Spain and Japan, travel has become a way of life for Elina. Having just graduated with her MBA at Columbia Business school with a focus on Technology and Marketing, Elina is a keen observer of the interplay among human behavior, technology and travel. She enjoys getting lost in unpredictable destinations, scoping out hidden paths, concocting delicious beverages, and living the past through Latin American fiction. The Mongol Rally is the epic, life-changing with a splash of danger, journey that Elina has yearned to embark upon for years - the perfect adventure before beginning her full time career at a travel tech firm in Melbourne, Australia.
John-even
Welcome to the interwebs repository of the Genghis Khan't Stop Us team. After spending two years together in the Columbia Business School MBA program, four comrades and a Swedish friend will set forth for the summer of 2015, abandoning the comforts of NYC, the fabulous cafes, the rooftop bars, and the weekend beach jaunts for a charity-focused road trip across Eastern Europe and Central Asia, with Mongolia as our final destination.