We made it to Ulaanbaatar!!!!
Together with Genghis Kart we pushed on through Mongolia. I can't express just how empty the country is, with rolling hills and grass, and the occasional yurt for good measure. We are becoming excellent campers, bathing in rivers and even starting camp fires, though we are all shocked at how cold it is here.
One of the most intriguing sights is seeing tour buses on the off road through the Gobi desert, terrain that our car really struggles on. I can't imagine it is much fun to be a passenger on those buses, though in fairness I have done the London to Newcastle Megabus and nothing can be worse than that.
Dom has discovered his inner dare devil, drifting on the off road. It is a lot of fun, though the car is taking a final pounding. Regretfully we lost a drag race to Genghis Kart, though Finlay and I blame that on Dom. It goes from desert, to rolling hills, to dirt track, to strange rock formations. We even got stuck in sand and had to be pushed. Drove past a smashed up Mongol Rally car on route to Ulaanbaatar which turned out to be our friends from Istanbul. Driving at night a horse has bolted onto the road, destroying the car. Thankfully our friends were OK, but a stark reminder of what can happen.
After 5 nights of camping we finally made it to Ulanbataar, a surreal experience after driving through baron landscapes. Naturally, the first thing we did is go to Burger King, and alleviate the misery of endless super noodles that had plagued our camping experience, along with strong freezing cold winds.
Ended up in a karaoke bar, singing blind drunk to What a Wonderful World. A touching song considering the 17 countries we have successfully navigated. The city itself isn't particularly great. The architecture is ragged and traffic unorganised, but we have decided it has character and potential. A second trip to Burger King confirmed that. I have learnt "your sheep are beautiful" in Mongolian, though bizarrely this line doesn't seem to land with the local girls, a fact I am baffled by.
The car is really on its last legs. The breaks are gone, the clutch is ruined, and all acceleration has died. But we have just one more days driving. Just one more border crossing, and one more petrol refuel. Molly will definitely make it.
On that note, if anyone fancies driving a decrepit Polo from Lithuania to London then it is all yours. Half the Gobi desert may line the dashboard, and you may smell the sweet scent of sweat, feet and broken crisps, but Molly is a real champ.
To the finish line tomorrow!!
WE MADE IT TO MONGOLIA!!
Minimal WiFi so apologies for the minimal posts.
Russian border was surprisingly easy, and in truth it was nice to blitz it through a more familiar looking country. Powered by the smooth tones of Kirsty Youngs voice with endless Desert Island Disc's we drove through the night getting to the border at 9am.
Amusingly, having successfully negotiated 9000 miles of treacherous roads and crazy drivers without a bump, within 1 hour of his first drive in our car Finlay managed to hit the back of a Russian.. Amazing what $20 can smooth over.
At the border there were 10 other teams, including some friendly faces from across the trip. So exciting getting into Mongolia, only tainted by an attempted road tax scam on the Mongolian side to extract more money from us. Off road driving was stunning in the COMPLETELY EMPTY landscape. Some top instagram potential.
Camped with two other teams in the wilderness, and felt the Mongolian cold. Having complained about hot sweaty drives, we couldnt wait to finally put on our warm wear. Convoyed with Team Gengis Kart the next day as we crashed through the off road, successfully smashing off our sump guard. Slow progress but Ulaanbaatar is in our sights. Amazing to see the yurts and horses everywhere, or complete emptiness.
Mechanics in the next town fixed us up, and we are determined to get molly to the finish line, though the breaks are definitely softening. Camped again and have slipped into a solid noodles routine!
Pushing on now. But have a look at a map to realise how far we have come, it is crazy.
Road to Russia.
Decided Almaty was perfectly charming but on we go again. The last two/ three days involved some very intense driving/ eating/ camping/ driving/ eating/ camping, in landscape that we are slightly dulled by, but we made it to the city of Semey 1150km from Almaty in good time.
The Kyrgyzstan and Kazakh police clearly have it in for Dom and I. We have been pulled over at least 7 times in the last few days, which always results in having to pay a tiny bribe and then move on. Whereas this process makes me grumpy, I am fortunate to have Dom the master negotiator, who manages to charm his way through to pay essentially nothing. I think he would be excellent at the Brexit negotiations.. David Davis watch out!
First night we accidentally camped near a military airfield. This meant we would be woken to the sound of thunderous jets overhead. Decided we would make two pretty useless spies.
Drive 700km the next day, on roads determined to kill our car, but Molly ploughs on. Our suspension has really softened, so becoming more of a rolacoaster over the lumps and bumps of Kazakhstan. Needless to say we are dreaming of Mongolia now!
Semey was nice enough. Had dinner with 4 other teams and went to what can loosely be described as a disco for oldies, so got our groove on!
Have picked up a 3rd member called Finny, who is our age from Notting Hill and without a team having been abandoned, so we are having a big declutter then fitting him in. I think we are super excited for his music playlist more than anything as we have more than exhausted our 80s classics list!
Really tough 2 day drive to the Mongolia border, but should be worth it. Off to Russia!!
The drive to Lake Issykul was a lot of fun. Having invested in a sump guard it certainly got its worth as we crashed and slammed through some incredible landscape. It even got very cold, which was much appreciated by us.
Beautiful scenes of remote farmers in there yurts with horses, to the background of souring mountains and glaciers.
Quote of the day from Dom: "I have never seen wild glaciers before".. Apparently they don't count if they are in a ski resort!
Check out my Instagram henry_hill_ for further picks.
Arrived at Lake Issykul to see people on a beach! Must be the highest beach ever, but a beach nonetheless. Seeing a beach mountains and snow in one scene is a bizarre visual experience.
Had dinner in what Dom calls the Kyrgyzstani burger van, which is a caravan to cook in and a yurt to eat in. Must admit I am getting a little tired of the menu here, which is exactly the same as Uzbekistan, and I would put money on it being the same in Tajikistan too.. Too many noodles and dumplings
Camped alone on the beach, before heading to Kazakhstan. Stopped off in the Kyrgyzstan capital, Bishkek, which is a less than flattering city, though perhaps we didn't spend enough time there. Grass could use a trim. Interesting to see all the large ex soviet statues everywhere.
Made it to Almaty, Kazakhstan, which TripAdvisor claims to have a "hedonistic lifestyle", so let's see what they mean. Also dont all hate us but we tried horse and it was lovely..!
Uzbekistan Part 3
The drive through the mountains to Andijan took way longer than expected. Despite managing to find our black market petrol it was so slow progress. So much so it was 10pm before we knew it.
Decided to try camp in a village 20km before the city to save money. After checking in we drove but it was pitch black, so I eventually asked someone if we could camp in their garden. What then happened was a saga which involved what seemed like the entire village. Initial hostility turned to interest as everyone tried to find a solution for us. The mini market owner then allowed us to sleep next to his shop. He even opened it as 11.30pm and gave us free food, while our translator Zohid stayed throughout. About 25 people appeared for photos, we were given a tour of village and even the local drunk came to day hello. Finally the policeman gave us our blessing and all was fine. We were even invited to one of the boys circumcision the next day! Talk about a party.
We woke 6am, to find they had all returned with food and family, for further food. After 3 hours sleep I was less than amused though Dom smiled on. Began to think we would never be allowed to leave! Uzbekistan is a funny place, with their funny rock solid bread and refusal to drive nothing but Chevrolets and Daewoos, but the people are great.
Got lost finding the border crossing. But made it onto the Pamir Highway despite a lunch in which we thought we had accidentally eaten Dog.. The waitress assured us it was beef!
Relaxing in a Kyrgyzstan home stay now before a long day of beautiful driving through this famous mountain pass. It turns out the national sport here is essentially Polo with a dead Wolf as the ball.. Who knew! The border guard seemed surprised we don't play too, though we told his tennis was enough for us.
Uzbekistan Part 2
Leaving Khiva we cruised to Bukhara, one of the ancient cities of Uzbekistan. The countryside is very beautiful and all the houses seem nice. Had dinner with 3 Czech lads before exploring the city, which has some wicked temple's and sites. I can feel Dom growing into his new culture vulture personality.
Next day we drove to Samarkand, which has the biggest and best Temple of the all.. Though we reckon the architects were Italian as all the towers and Mosques are slightly wonky. The colours and art on the mosques are incredible.
Surprising number of military check points on the drive.. Dom reckons Surrey should employ them to keep the ruffians of Sussex out.
For anyone wondering about Uzbek cuisine, it essentially consists of dumplings, watermelon, bits of lamb and noodle soups and broths. Not much diversity on the menu.
Also, our biggest qualm with Uzbekistan is their bread, which is consistently rock solid. I am beginning to realise why the Great Uzbekistan Bake Off has struggled to gain traction with the international TV community.
Had a sump guard fitted under our car, as off the drive the last section on the Parmir Highway in Kyrgyzstan! Should be eventful. Needless to say we are buzzing to get out of the heat. Uzbekistan has been amazing and would thoroughly recommend.
Uzbekistan Part 1
Leaving are road side campsite in Kazakhstan, we showered in a local motel and headed to the border of Uzbekistan. This would mark the most extreme rally day so far.
As predicted, the road to the border was horrendous, worse than expected. Worthy of a Thorpe Park ride we bounced and skidded around for 3 hours on the dusty trail, accompanied by 2 other teams from the US also going that way. This was in ridiculous heat with no air con.
At the border we found a 3 day car queue, and men attempting to sell their place for hundreds of dollars. Word got round 3 English teams were in the queue, and suddenly guards ushered us right to the front. This was great except for the mini riot that almost kicked off from the truckers. The process took hours, but the guards were super friendly and just wanted to discuss everything football and British. Apparently I look like Connor MacGregor with my ginger beard, which is the greatest compliment my flimsy stick of a body will ever receive..
We finally made it through, where the road was even worse. Also, Uzbekistan was incredibly flat, even more so than Kazakhstan. Pulling up to a checkpoint at 10pm, disaster. Our darling Molly wouldn't start! We eventually jump started her, praying for nothing bad. Though one hour later, us and the team infront both hit the same massive pothole, bursting a car. Queue an enmasse tire change. At 1am we arrived at our hotel, who had saved us beer and food and a comfy bed.
The next morning we fixed our car. Dom noticed the connection to the battery had worsened from the bouncing around so we tightened that, and had our wheels all serviced for a crippling $3.. Good as new!
The drive to Khiva was equally challenging, with endless dodgy roads. Uzbekistan is a really beautiful country, and everyone was super friendly. One of our American friends is black, and at every stop we made the locals would queue for photos, which was bizarre. In Uzbekistan you can only get petrol on the black market, as they all drive propane, so having to be careful.
We arrived at the UNESCO world heritage city Khiva, which is STUNNING. The walled city and temples are beautiful, and great to explore at night. I really encourage everyone to holiday in Uzbekistan, they is so much cool stuff to see.
Quick shout out to Lada cars.. Top Gear may have said they are crap but we think they are the coolest thing we have seen. The original and the 4x4.. We shall be importing. Also Dom reckons every Uzbek child is given a Chevrolet at birth.. Who knew they would be so popular here.
Really beginning to dawn on us how far our car has come.
We made it to Kazakhstan which means we are half way there!
We had a three day holiday in Baku do to ferry times, which was much appreciated. Baku is an incredible and impressive city, though this feeling is ruined only by the fact the rest of Azerbaijan has clearly not received similar investment. Whereas you can buy all the luxuries you want in Baku, the same cannot be said for the rest.
That said we enjoyed our time there, relaxing and taking in Baku by night. The LED building light shows were awesome.
I accidentally had an Azeri massage, which involved being slapped senseless by a large hairy man with bushes and branches, all the while screaming "super Henry super Henry" and various football team names at me. Dom almost had a run in with a Russian gangster on a night out.
Eventually made it onto the ferry with 10 other teams who were all great. Real International crowd.. Contrary to the horror stories we heard the ferry was completely fine, and was quite lovely drinking late into the night on top deck as we cruised over the Caspian Sea. Think it was healthy we had other company to talk to!
After a mammoth effort getting through customs we camped on the road side in the Kazakh desert with two other teams. The land is ridiculously flat here and we can't believe we have a. Got this far. B. Seeing camels on the regular!
On the way to the Uzbekistan border which we are super excited for x
Georgia
Georgia is the land of endless hammock and hanging chair shops, pot holes, and abnormally tall men. And endless Ducks and Cows happily commuting on the road. It's quite bizarre going from the hot and arid Turkey, into the green and lush hills on Georgia. The closest thing to Surrey we have seen yet we have decided..
Tbilisi is without doubt the biggest surprise so far. It is an amazing city with lovely people, and actually quite good food!
After a night in the wine bars of Tbilisi - they claim to of invented the stuff- we wondered home through the lovely city, where Dom stopped to try buy water. What ensued was a lock in with the owner and his 3 mates, who loaded us up with 'cha cha' which is Georgian vodka, and goats cheese. They even produced marajuana milk. Dom abstained, and regrettably I tried what is the most disgusting thing I have ever tasted (don't worry mum). They spoke of misconceptions of Georgians, and how they were always welcoming to nice people and friends, which was cool. We drank to freedom, the queen and girls, what a sentiment! All in broken English.
With poorly heads we set off to Baku, Azerbaijan, which finally is a real step into the unknown..
Turkey Part 1 - Stranger Things
After sleeping in the car in lay by just North of Ankara, we headed down to Goreme in Cappadocia. This cave town was incredible, a place where people hollowed out spiralling caves to make their own. Google it. My archaeological degree was in full geek mode.
Instead of camping their we tried pushing on a couple hours, where we found a lovely looking lake to wild camp. Or so we thought.. As night dawned things got strange, and as we munched our half cooked pot noodle we could here the sound of military chanting in the woods near by. Then, at around 11pm a wolf started pulling at our outer tent, much to our horror. Eventually emerging we saw the wolf and a group of 20 men approaching our tent. We promptly locked ourselves in the car, sat in our boxers with a rape alarm and penknife.. A tragic site. The men went into the woods, only to reappear half an hour later dragging one man on the floor. This was all too much and we eventually escaped to a lay by for a second night in the car. A strange day.
Turkey Part 2
Pushed on early to a cold springs in Sivas, where we had an authentic dip with some Turkish lads. Their swimming skills, and the brown colour of the water was questionable though amusing.
Driving along we smashed a bump in the road which made our car sound like a boy racer.. Think serious exhaust noises. A trip to the mechanics confirmed this. An hour later, and for the price of a few cigarettes and £30 and we had a brand new exhaust. Molly has never sounded better.
Ended up camping on a remote island on a lake, where they claimed we were the first foreigners in two years. Was truly beautiful. What's more, we joined 3 Turkish families around a campfire for drink and songs. Much to their dismay our knowledge of Turkish pop culture was limited, though they loved our rendition of Jerusalem.. I think.
Writing this from Tbilisi, Georgia, after a great Turkish adventure.
