DO NOT USE NORTHERN BORDER YET We can walk into Mongolia, got the stamps but customs won't let cars in. Spanish teams left cars took taxis days ago
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At RusMong border, was supposed to open hour ago. Cold but fun night here. Queuing alien concept to anyone but Brits. Start clock. Flamingo Express here too
700Km from Irkutsk highway gives out to gravel track. Exhaust rattling again. Other car can't turn off as starter and fuel pump faulty. Raining.
We've made it Barnaul this evening, despite getting fairly well lost and nearly re-entering Kaz by mistake. Here now anywa, cars ok and all well, if tired and hungry. Trying to contact Dan but so far no luck, we need to leave tomorrow morning to make UBataar in time, so will check again first thing and head to the Western border anyway. Left SMS and messages at his office.
If I didn't already say, had a great night out in Astana, in Kaz's premier (possibly only) club, and sawwild camels on the road to Russia. Border yesterday took an age, we got the Westerner treatment we think, and stayed in a motel infested with beetles. Barnaul looks nice though, so should rest up well here and reassess things in the morning. Love to all, xx Slept just past Ufa last night and hit the road at half eight. Urals look like Alpine Austria. Petrol 40p a litre. Kaz tonight please
Left Volgograd yesterday heading to Troick entrance to Kaz. Need to do 400miles/day to make Mongol border. At Samara aiming border tonight. All ok
Drove with 'Khan we fix it' to Volgograd. Saw Mother Russia statue. Search for hotel. Apparently only one, run by the mob. Refused us rooms. We refused to leave. Politely threatened again, found hostel at 2am. Love Russia.
Hotel with 'Khan we fix it' (Laura Shott from Durham!). Locals went crazy over cars outside nightclub. Instant celebrities. Mafia arrive. Police disperse crowd. Escort to secure compound. Nightclub. Beer 60p/bottle. Jolly flirting. I love Russia. On way to Volgograd from Doneck.
I applied for double entry tourist visas for Russia today using a visa agency, www.scottsvisas.co.uk. I hope to have the passports back by the 18th of this month, in plenty of time for the Rally (4 weeks).
The (Russian) lady who helped me offered some advice - NEVER, and she emphasised this strongly, NEVER let the car out of your sight. If you leave it, everything in it will be stolen immediately. After that, they will still the car. And rob you. But, she added, if you can speak any Russian, they're very nice people... |
Mongol Rally BlogFive friends and I undertook the Mongol Rally in 2009 - a transcontinental drive some 9000 miles from London, UK, to Ulan Bataar, Mongolia. Here's the SMS update blog we kept en route. Categories
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