The end of the road

So, the final (maybe) post from me..  I hope Adam picks up the mantle on behalf of the team.

 I found a minibus going to Ulan Baatar and paid my $50 dollars for a seat.  Unbeknown to me, the bus would be filled by mongolians.  Not one per seat as you would think normal but 14 for a bus that seated 8 with yours truly squished in the corner.  Now mongolians dont do personal space so i ended up with a ten year old drooling on my shoulder and a really big fat mongolian using my knees as a personal foot rest for most of the trip.  The bus journey was a mere 48 hours..  we went 1000 miles with the main driver doing about 40 of that with no sleep!  To say I am a broken man is an understatement..  I managed to get my life story out through the medium of hand gestures during the long, long hours driving.  I should add this to my CV i think..  its way more complex than you might think!

While I didnt drive with Adam and the Daihatsu, I can confidently say I travelled every mile of the route to UB.  Some of the off-road driving we did in the dark I wish never to reapeat mind you.  My flight home is at 7.30am tomorrow.  I feel really sad about leaving but time is up.  I have figured out many things from the trip.. some unrepeatable but here's a selected highlight:

1)  Underwear can be worn WAY longer than you think it can before changing.

2)  The maximum time between showers before you smell yourself as you walk in somewhere is 4 days

3)  Yak is nice but after 5 days of just that, you start dreaming of lettuce and salad

4)  The Mongolians are incredibly friendly people.  My night in a yurt I am unlikely to forget.

5)  The daihatsu hijet could have been marketed as a true off-road vehicle..  the places it went and got us out of are limitless and i doubt many of the chelsea tractors going round town could manage what it did.

6)  Yaks milk cures constipation with a vengance.

7)  Ukraine had the nicest looking women..  closely followed by Russia.

8)  While the news is full of all the bad stuff happening in the world, it isn't any worse than Lothian Road on a Friday night.

9)  Kazakhstan was mostly flat and full of wheat fields.  Mongolia mountains and endless plains.  

10) 9 out of ten toilets I found, I did not use.  The forest/field was a much more hygenic experience.

 

As I said, I have many more insights but they are for another time.  I wish everyone could so something like this - only the once mind you, twice is being somewhat sadistic.  However, for my next holiday I am warming to the idea of the maldives, cocktails and time reading my book on a beach..  Dont count on that happening though!

Khovd, Mongolia

Seems like 6 of us are ending our journey here.. I'm going to miss the daihatsu terribly!

Khovd, Mongolia

So the journey kind of ends here... I made it to Khovd in Mongolia but vacation time has officially run out. Tomorrow I will try to get to Ulaanbaatar by jeep and then figure out flight home. Mongolia is such an amazing country.. the scenery is spellbinding. It's easier to see when you are driving 20km per hour!

Bayan Olgii, Mongolia

Almost at the first main town in Mongolia and a certain realisation has occurred. I can no longer make it to Ulaanbaatar. The roads here require us to stick to 20mph max. We would need 6 full days and I have 4 left. We have done 7700 miles to date and probably have another 1200 to go. My journey will likely end in Khovd which is 2 days drive away and then I will try to get internal flight to Ulaanbaatar. Adam will soldier on if we find another team he can convoy with in Khovd. While I'm ready to come home, I'm gutted to not be able to finish..

Altai Republic, Russia

Yesterday we spent all day at the border after arriving too late the night before. We were second in the queue at the border come 9am but never left till 5pm. Got 1km down the road to find the American team broken down with broken wheel bearings. Much faffing about later with 20 Mongolians trying to help, we made it a further ten miles before their van broke for good. Luckily, we had broken down next to a nomadic tribe who offered all of us a place to stay and food. So 4 hours after entering Mongolia, we were eating yak, eating weird cheeses and drinking goats milk in a yurt (think small marquee) with about 12 Mongolians! The world is a weird but wonderful place sometimes. Oh did I mention we are in Mongolia!!

Biysk, Russia

Drove well yesterday and managed a little over 600km. We have 500 to the border which is a tall ask before border shuts at 6pm. A carton of Orange juice and 2 oranges have not managed to unblock my own internal workings.. 6 days and counting!

Barnaul, Russia

We have long day ahead as trying to make up lost time. At this rate, we will have 7 days to cross Mongolia. The best its been done is 5.. we have a broken van so we had planned/expected 9 days. Positives for the day - we have fuel and van is running good. Opportunities - fuel gauge quit again and every little bump is like driving over bricks in the road.@

Akmola, Kazakhstan

Found two other mongol ralliers at border so the party has swelled to 6. Another night camping.. man do we smell rotten. I dream of a nice hot shower and clean fingernails.@

Ridder, Kazakhstan

We got to within 23 km of the border and the road is closed!! Disaster.... Means a 500km wasted trip and a day lost. Off to different Russian border. I don't think I can make it to Ulaanbaatar by the 23rd.

Akmola, Kazakhstan

Found a border that's open.. only issue is that we have waited 3 hours so far to get over. It's nearly midnight and we have been driving since 8am this morning. Rubbish end to the weekend!