Waking up in an oilfield in Kazakhstan we were ready to go to head into Turkmenistan. The border was 150 km away and our "guide" had told us it was very important to be there at 10 am since we had a long drive on the other side of the border as well. Google maps stated it would take three hours, which we thought was very conservative, but we set off early in the morning to be on time. As we drove the road gradually got worse and worse and our average speed went from 80 km/h to 40 to 20.
Suddenly the three hours seemed very ambitious. After a quick stop to air down the tyres, we saw most other drivers were not using the road at all but used the many paths next to the road. We then got our speed up a bit again and reached the border only one hour late.
At the border we were greeted by the Italian team The Islanders and an hour later the Australian team Happy Hour Discovery Coalition. It was nice to have company for what would turn out to be a rather long process.
The first problem was that we had not booked a guide but a driver which was an entirely different thing. Our driver did not have the certificate to enter the border station and we would not be allowed into the country without the company of a guide. Fortunately with some help from the two other guides present and some friendly border officers, our driver was allowed in to meet us and the bureaucracy could continue. Five and a half hours later all three teams were admitted into Turkmenistan to much celebration.
We set off in a convoy with two guide cars and three rally cars towards Turkmenbasy. The rounds were much better than on the kazakh side, but it was an ongoing road construction project and we had to drive in between the steam rollers and dozers.
At Turkmenbasy we said auf wiedersehen to the Italians and Australias as we had to continue another few hours to our hotel in Balkanabat. At midnight two exhausted tourists and an exhausted turkmen driver could finally roll into bed.
The next day we only had a four hour drive to Ashkhabad and the roads were good quality. On the way we stopped to clean off the huge amounts of dust we had accumulated. Only white, silver and gold cars are allowed in Ashkhabad, so we parked outside of town and rode with our driver in to the city and to check in at the Grand Turkmen Hotel.
The next morning Benedikte had arrived directly from 5 °C on Svalbard to the 40 °C++ in Turkmenistan. We got chauffeured around town and got to see all the important monument. They were all very large and grand but we were the only people there. We also rode in an air conditioned ferris wheel.
For dinner we went to the most luxurious hotel in Ashkhabad and had great views of the city for sunset.
After a day of rest we started north towards Uzbekistan and the Gate of Hell. The roads in the remote parts of Turkmenistan were incredibly rough and the weather was hot, but after a long day of driving we made it to the gate.
The final day in Turkmenistan we started driving at 6 on the horrible roads from Derweze to the Uzbekistan border. Eight hours later we made it and could continue the adventure into our 15th country.
Kazakhstan’s road infrastructure was (mostly) a very pleasant surprise, some may even say it was “very nice”! Another fun thing was all the truck stops along the highway with inspection ramps who gave us the chance to inspect our homemade skid plate for dents and wear.
We also figured out that it was time to change the shock and spring on the rear left as well, as the parts had been in the boot since Gdansk. So with that in mind, we took aim for the local auto-market and workshop area.
After getting there and walking around the parking lot a few times trying to figure out which workshop did what and if they were available, a local here approached us and asked if we needed som assistance. After wrongly thinking we were after a chassis inspection, we managed to find a mechanic who could swap the parts.
After spending over an hour of his time translating for us, we asked if he wanted something in return. We agreed that one of the bottles of Georgian wine was a nice thank you gift before we got back on the road.
As evening approached after many hours of driving, we decided that camping would be perfect. The weather was pleasant with a cool(ish) breeze to keep the bugs away.
A nice thing about the flat and seemingly endless landscape in Kazakhstan is that you can practically just drive anywhere you want as long as you have enough ground clearance. As ground clearance is not our strongest feature, we went for an old dual track leading to nothing. And it turned out nothing was the perfect place to pitch the tents and enjoy the sunset.
After just a few short hours of sleep, we got hit by some surprisingly strong winds and a short burst of heavy rain. As i was getting out to throw some stuff in the car, i got the best view so far on the trip.
After sorting everything out we got back to sleep hoping for some long hours of rest. We must have jinxed it, as just about an hour later a local shepherd in a Lada Niva arrived with his 600 goats. We got up and tried to make him a cup of coffee. We dont know if it was the way we looked of the way we smelled, but he was very quick to head off.
Not to insulted we packed up at got back on the road with the goal of the city Aktau. On the way there we took a detour to some stunning canyon terrain with some beautiful rock formations.
How we got there you can see in this timelapse:
The last few hours to Aktau were long, and we ended up eating some dinner and going early to bed. The next day the plan was to get as close to the Turkmenistan border as possible and to explore the nature in Mangystau a bit closer.
And what nature it turned out to be!
After taking in the breathtaking scenery we headed south for one last night in Kazakhstan, before the next days crossing south into Turkmenistan.
It was finally time for the diplomatic crux of our journey, the two day transit through Russia. We teamed up with the Flat Tyre Expedition Team from Italy and made our way trough the spectacular Caucasus Mountains to the Georgian checkpoint around 9:00. The process of getting in went rather smoothly and took us about 4.5 hours end to end. We then started on the 9 hour drive to Astrakhan where we would spend the night.
Soon enough the dot on our Google maps navigation was jumping around all over the place. It turns out the GPS signals are jammed in towns close to the border. After an hour manual navigation with cyrillic interpretation and guesswork, we mede it through Vladikavlaz and we're headed in the right direction.
The next unexpected situation arose when we stopped for fuel in Dagestan. The young boys at the service station were super happy to meet us, but some older men in traditional Muslim attire were quite angry with us because we wore shorts with exposed knees. When we saw that one had a pistol in his pocket we decided it was best to sit in the car and pay cash out the window. We drove a short while and stoppet by some bushes to change into more appropriate clothes.
An hour so so later down the road we met a military police checkpoint in a junction full of traffic where we were turning left. We tried to wiggle our way into the traffic but we're abruptly pointed out by an angry officer to stop at the side of the road. While one officer searched our belongings and laughed at all the strange equipment we had with us, the other informed Even through Chat GPT that he had lost his licence to drive the car. Luckily there was a fine to be paid on the spot to redeem the licence, and we were even asked to suggest the price of the fine.
We only got stoppet two more times on our way to Astrakhan and let us through after they looked at our passports. At 22:30 we finally arrived at the hotel after another challenging navigation session through the city. An hour later after we had showered and unpacked, our Italian friends arrived and we went out for some food at a Russian restaurant which reminded us very much of McDonald's.
The next morning we had another border crossing to deal with. We arrived there around noon and queued for a few hours. They checked us more thoroughly then when coming in to the country. The checked all the cameras and reviewed the footage on the drone. Finally we had to fill out a questionnaire about our position on Russia's conflicts, and some world leaders. We took a Swiss approach to diplomacy and soon enough we were on our merry way in to Kasakhstan. We took in at a hotel in Atyrau and celebrated the half way point of our journey (by distance) and meeting all our deadlines by going to a Ukrainian restaurant.
After a good nights sleep we started from the coastal town Batumi and set course for the Georgian capital city Tbilisi. The two alternatives were 5 hours on the motorway, or 7 hours of mountain driving. We chose the latter.
This ended up beeing the right decision. Except for some very heavy road maintenance, where we still cant fathom how they were able to drive normal cars on, as our lifted Corolla with «big» tires still bottomed out in some places.
About half way we stopped to enjoy a nice cup of Georgian coffee. Ordering turned out to be quite challenging, but after some pointing and some homemade Georgian/Russian/English/Norwegian grammar it all worked out.
After passing through some more mountain passes and a few ski resorts we were at the Hostel in Tbilisi.
The rest of the day was spent eating, drinking and exploring the nightlife with the team “Lost since London” and their friends.
The next morning we did some laundry and some sightseeing around town before we hit the road again. Now the goal was the Georgian border town named Stepantsminda deep in the Caucasus mountains.
About halfway through the drive we took a stop at a local Georgian winery for a short tour and wine tasting. Coincidentally there was a busload of Chinese tourists there and they were in reality fully booked. The potential disaster turned joy, as the winemakers solution was to give us the tasting in the wine cellar instead, and since the bottles were already opened for the other group, we got the tasting for free.
The guide could not see why we wanted a spit bucket, as it was «no problem driving after drinking wine». After spitting out some wery good wines, we ended up buying our favorite bottles to take away.
The rest of the drive was through some of the most spectacular mountains we have seen, driving at altitudes of 2400meters with peaks around us raging to hights of 5000 meters.
Arriving just before sunset we enjoyed a cold beer on the hotel balcony just soaking in the views, before we met up with the Italian team we met at the Georgian border.
Together we laid some plans for the next morning and the border crossing into Russia
Starting the second week of the rally we had another highlight planned for the day, the most dangerous road in Turkey. We met up with our British friends from No Half Sends in the morning and approached the mountains from the south.
The way up from the south was a nice and paved mountain road. With a bit of off roading at the end we made it up to 2350 masl.
On the decent on the northern side into Trabzon the asphalt ended and the road got steeper and narrower. What a drive!
There were so many roads to explore up every mountain. We found a nice restaurant on one of the summits and had a beautiful view of the inside of a cloud.
Further down the mountain we made so Iraqi friends. They had ripped a large gash in their tyre. Unfortunately it was too big for our repair kit.
At the end of the D915 we said farewell to our friends from the NHS and turned right towards the Georgian border. At the border only the car owner could cross in the car, so Even got out and walked across while Erlend drove into the limbo.
The car was held for about three hours. Some teams had already been there nine hours and we did not know how long we had to wait. Luckily we met some other teams in the same situation to keep us company.
It was a huge relief when we were let in to Georgia, country no. 11. We stopped at the first hotel and crashed for the night.
Day five of the rally and day nine on our journey, we woke up in Istanbul in the tenth county we have visited. After a Turkish coffee we had to say farewell to our companion Harald, who had to go home for a fishing trip on northern Spistbergen.
We then set our heading towards Cappadocia with a stop in Ankara to attempt to get our GBAO permits at the Tajikistan embassy. The welcomed us in, but could not give us the permit and advice us to try in Dusjanbe or through a tour company.
A few hours later on one of the best motorway we have ever driven, we arrived in Göreme. We med up with three other teams who were also in town and had dinner and some beers together.
The next morning we got up at 04:30 to see the hot air balloons flying in the sunrise. It was a breathtaking view.
Taking advantage of our early start we set off towards the D915 mountain road. On the way we saw some salt flats we wanted to explore and soon enough we had initiated a three hour self rescue training session where we had to employ all our rescue gear incliding shovel, recovery tracks, our winch and airing down to minimum pressures. We also got a bit of pushing help from a Belarusian family passing by.
The day ended in a sparsely populated farm land at 1700 masl. The only visitors were some dogs wearing wolf protection spiked collars. Should we be worried?
In Bucharest we started the day with som quick sightseeing and then met up with a British team named "No Half Sends". After breakfast in front of the palace, we joined in a convoy and set course for the Bulgarian border.
After a few hours we took a small ferry across the river into Bulgaria. We met a lot of other shitty cars that were driving around the Balkans in the 2025 Pothole rally.
I Bulgaria we drive through endless sunflower fields and made our way to Burgas by the Black Sea.
The next we made our way to small border crossing post in the mountains between Bulgaria and Turkey. The process went quite smoothly and after an hour on the border we had acquired all the necessary stamps, insurance, vignette etc. and were allowed into Turkey.
We drove across the Bosporus Straight into Asia and spent the evening in tha Asian part of Istanbul trying out different foods and drinks.
The second day of the rally we woke up in a beautiful industrial site in Nowhere, Romania. After a bit of fishing, where Harald caught a nice bioluminescent trout, we started driving towards the first highlight of the rally; The Transfagarasan highway.
Along the way way we swung by a cozy town with one of the castles of Vlad The Impaler and ate lunch.
Gong up the mountain through dense forest on winding road, we saw several warnings about bears and not to feed them any pizza. The temperature also dropped to pleasant t-shirt temperatures.
The drive up the mountain:
Even with our overloaded and underpowered Corolla, we had great fun and drove up and down the road a few times. We also got some nice shots with the drone.
Next morning we got woken by a marching band crashing into Even’s tent. Relatively unscathed we got set up for the official start line of the rally.
Some pyro, and we were off!
For about 3 kilometers…
Some rubbing from the tire on the new shock. A few blows with the hammer and we were sorted. On the motorway we took it upon ourselves to give out as many cold beers as we could.
The next leg was out of Poland, a quick lunsj in Bratislava and then into Romania where we pitched our camp for the night.
Rain baby rain! The drive from Poznan to Prauge was a wet one.
Arriving at the start location we hurried to set ut some shelter and started to change the rear shock and spring, trying to get it done before the party started.
Attemting to swap a complete rear assembly in 30 minutes, on wet mud, was a bit ambitious. So we dropped everything and joined the party instead.
After a few beers we summoned our inner mechanic and completed the rest of the swap in about 5 beers time.
A member of the neighbour team claimed to be a hairdresser, so Erlend volunteered for a midnight haircut.
It later turned out he actually was a miner from New Zealand…
A late night at the local pub resulted in another adventure planned. This time not by snowmobile, but in a car!
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