This is our on the road map...

Day 32 Tuesday, 14 August 2012

at 00:30 on Corsa we can do it! said At Chinggis Khaan International Airport just about to depart for Moscow - been treated to the VIP lounge (thanks Rich) been an awesome month but am now looking forward to getting home for some much needed home comforts! Going to miss the convoy though - reunion soon, then on to organising Mongol Rally 2022....!@

Day 31 Monday, 13 August 2012

at 12:14 on Corsa we can do it! said Total miles 8270 - cars now been signed over, keys dropped off, certificate received - flying home tomorrow. Mongol Rally 2012 - DONE!@

at 11:43 on Corsa we can do it! said Still waiting for the police to sort it out - apparently the chief of police is not happy with us.... 2 hours of waiting in the ** some text is missing **

at 11:43 on Corsa we can do it! said Still waiting for the police to sort it out - apparently the chief of police is not happy with us.... 2 hours of waiting in the rain is not cool - its raining all over our parade!!

at 11:42 on Corsa we can do it! said We made it!!

at 11:42 on Corsa we can do it! said 3km from the finish line and we all get pulled over by the police - less than ideal!!

Day 30 Sunday, 12 August 2012

at 20:44 on Corsa we can do it! said Made it to Ulaanbaatar, everyone's cars all ok! Set up camp for the night then up tomorrow to all cross the finish line and then more importantly off for pizza!!

at 19:28 on Corsa we can do it! said On the home straight - 50km to Ulaanbaatar! The Nissan is on the back of a truck, The Saxo is running like a dream and the Corsa is pushing on without a clutch or an exhaust! Come on, we are so close to the finish line now!!

Day 29 Saturday, 11 August 2012

at 12:16 on Corsa we can do it! said We all set off on our way - was making great pace until we came across a flash flood and couldn't make it across the road, it was crazy the speed and strength of the water running off of the mountains - we waited for a bit then the locals started to cross so we followed suit, corsa in lead position. We get half way and we get stuck in the huge blocks of ice which have cascaded down the mountains - we all begin to panic as it begins to rain again and we are in prime position to be swept away when the flood water comes - luckily for us though just as we decided to try and cross 3 orange lorries did too and towed us all across to safety - as we reached the other side and looked back across we could see the road was completely washed out and impassable! We set out again, all is going well, making good time to make it to UB tomorrow when I hear an almighty noise - we get out to investigate and can see a huge black puddle emerging from under the car - we've cracked our oil tank big time!! We are now being towed by the Nissan (and it's very dodgy wheel bearing repair job) to he next town - hopefully they can weld it for us, if not we will be pushing it the final 400km to Ulaanbaatar!!

at 07:20 on Corsa we can do it! said Set up camp outside the garage waiting for the Nissan to be fixed - having the most amazing brunch - scrambled eggs, soft cheese and cherry tomatoes on fresh bread, sausage and bacon!! 134k, Inglorious Drivers and Corsa We Can Do It roll across Mongolia in style!!

Day 28 Friday, 10 August 2012

at 16:00 on Corsa we can do it! said What a day - spent all morning trying to get our car fixed, unfortunately though the mechanics here are useless - no car jack, no tools, no clue - anyway we decided to push on using just 1st and 2nd gear and then when we are on better roads using 3rd & 4th with the other teams pushing us in their cars to bump start us. So 2pm comes and we set out on our way - we mix up pilots and co-pilots and I end up riding shotgun in the Nissan with Stu - we get 50km out of the city when the right rear wheel bearing goes - not ideal. We then spend the next 5 hours trying to get the car back to town and back to the useless mechanics - the journey back was quite something, hard to explain how we did it but at one point we we driving in reverse back down the road, bonnet open, with only 3 wheels with an old broken alloy wheel under the axel scrapping along the floor - anyway we made it back to town, grabbed some dinner and checked into 'the best hotel' which is actually a joke!! Oh and also, someone should tell the London 2012 Olympic committee that Bayankhongor is ripping off the official Olympics - they are hosting their own games which launched tonight (we saw the opening ceremony) and using all the logos - its shocking!! We were actually turned away from hotels as they are all full as people have travelled to watch the Olympics - 'Oh I'm sorry, didn't realise I was in London!!' Anyway, can't get back to the Nissan until after 11 so we are all having a lay in - 1st in 4 weeks, can't wait!!@

Day 27 Thursday, 9 August 2012

at 18:42 on Corsa we can do it! said Had an interesting day today - had to cross a river which when we approached looked like a pretty impossible task - very deep, very wide and the current was very strong - luckily there was a tractor there which agreed to tow us for 3000 togrog each (about $2) so we blocked up our air intakes and set off - its fair to say I panicked half way across as our car started filling with water and we started drifting down the river, was ready with my window smasher/seatbelt cutter (thanks Rich & Stu - team 134K) to bail out but Ben promised me it would be ok - 20 minutes later we were across at which point we were greeted by a drunk police man asking for our passports and the tractor driver demanding 30000 togrog per car - we argued this heavily but with our friends Olivier and Jean from team Inglorious Drivers and Harry still stranded on the other side of the river we managed to come to some sort of deal and paid 30000 for both cars already crossed! Once the cars had all dried out (the corsa being the least wet - the Micra (134k) had ankle deep water and the Saxso (Inglorious Drivers) had waist deep water) we stated our engines and headed to Bayankhongor - on route mine and Ben's car unfortunately decided to die - the clutch has gone, thankfully Jean and Stu towed us the next 50km into town, unfortunately though the garage was closed for the night so we are now in the most disgusting hotel in existence waiting for the garage to open tomorrow - depending on what the mechanic says this very well may be the end of mine and Ben's journey - though Jean has offered to tow us the remaining 400 miles to UB (we're a convoy you see - and we never leave a team behind!!) - we've got this far, let's keep our fingers crossed both myself and Ben and the corsa make it to the next stop!!

Day 25 Tuesday, 7 August 2012

at 18:13 on Corsa we can do it! said Had a good day today, made it to stop 3 out of 6, only 1000km to go now..... Got some pretty good videos of our drive today, even one of us pushing a Nissan Micra up a hill - our car couldn't manage to pull it, but pushing it was no problem! Since loosing our exhaust it sounds like we've put a v12 super car engine in our little corsa - all adds to the affect though, our car now sounds proper meaty! Checked into 'the best hotel' Altai could offer us - £6.20 each, it's pretty minging though and there are live electric cables in the shower with you - but hey, at least we are all clean! Went to the local restaurant and managed to get the owner in trouble with the police as she stayed open late and served us beer - which is apparently not allowed on Tuesday..!? Random! The food was surprisingly nice though and we are all now feeling rather full! The Nissan is being fixed tonight so we are all setting off again tomorrow - 400km to the next stop!

Day 24 Monday, 6 August 2012

at 17:42 on Corsa we can do it! said Just been woken up by the strongest winds ever - tent collapsing in on it self, felt like I was in the wizard of oz, was desperately trying to hold the tent down as truly believed it was going to fly away with us in it - everyone awake now trying to either secure their tents or put them down - myself and Ben, now safely in our car! Crazy stuff, does Mongolia have a hurricane season?

at 14:48 on Corsa we can do it! said Again not really sure where we are, all I know is that we are able 200km away from Khovd. Today has been a tough one on both the cars and us, the road (used in a very loose sense) has turned to just sand, can't see anything or breath at all, especially as our back window is out! Just set up camp and are enjoying being able to breath properly, everyone has eaten and we are now sat by a open fire enjoying the view!

Day 23 Sunday, 5 August 2012

at 13:50 on Corsa we can do it! said Made it to Khovd in one piece, the car is doing fine! Just stopped off at a Mogol Rally camp site - got a tent to sleep in, a toilet and the most amazing food - best since England! Sun is out, a few teams are here enjoying the rays and beers! Good night in Mongolia :)@

at 04:36 on Corsa we can do it! said Cont. everyone was waiting with baited breath (myself convinced it was never going to start) he tried it again, Ben gave it some gas and unbelievably it started!!! Everyone cheered, I was jumping around - never have I ever felt so elated about a car starting! The sun is up, it is warm(ish), our car has started - today is going to be a good day!!

at 04:35 on Corsa we can do it! said Cont. without him we would have been well and truly stuck. The sun went down and the car still wouldn't start, everyone ploughed on though coming up with different ideas - one rather precarious one was setting fire to the petrol in the cylinders to try and burn the water off, was scary but quite a spectacular show, we tried a few more times and still nothing, I had given up hope and even shed a tear believing our journey had come to an end without making it to Ulaanbaatar - with nothing else we could do, we all went off to sleep, myself and Ben wondering how we were going to be able to get Kevin towed to the nearest town which was over 100 miles away (neither teams cars would have been able to make it with us on tow) Anyway the sun came up bring clear sky's and for the first time since we arrived in Mongolia no rain - it was 6.30am though so we were unable to try the car to see if it had dried out enough and if all our tinkering from last night had worked - we waited hours. Slowly other teams members joined us all waiting with suspense until it was late enough to turn it over - finally everyone was awake, this was it, the moment of truth. Ben tried and nothing@

at 04:34 on Corsa we can do it! said Not really sure where we are to be honest, made it past Olgii in good time, the roads are non existent and it had been raining heavily all night and morning - we all got stuck a few times and and one point we had 1 person pushing, 1 person driving and 7 people pulling a car - got it out in the end though! Driving turned quite scary as we were just sliding down mud tracks in the pouring rain, everyone and everyone's cars made it thankfully. We set off from Olgii and we came across a river we had to cross - this is where mine and Ben's journey looked to have come to an end..... All cars passed the river (got some pretty amazing photos and videos) we all stopped to celebrate out successful river crossing but when Ben and I returned to our car it would not start, the engine looked like it had flooded. We tried to take the spark plugs out and dry them all and dry the cylinders but it just wouldn't start. We decided to set up camp here and our friends from theteam Inglorious Drivers towed us to camp. Everyone stayed up late working on the car, so thank you to Oliver and John from Inglorious Drivers, Harry, Dan and especially Johnny from the Northern Monkey -@

at 04:33 on Corsa we can do it! said Not really sure where we are to be honest, made it past Olgii in good time, the roads are non existent and it had been raining heavily all night and morning - we all got stuck a few times and and one point we had 1 person pushing, 1 person driving and 7 people pulling a car - got it out in the end though! Driving turned quite scary as we were just sliding down mud tracks in the pouring rain, everyone and everyone's cars made it thankfully. We set off from Olgii and we came across a river we had to cross - this is where mine and Ben's journey looked to have come to an end..... All cars passed the river (got some pretty amazing photos and videos) we all stopped to celebrate out successful river crossing but when Ben and I returned to our car it would not start, the engine looked like it had flooded. We tried to take the spark plugs out and dry them all and dry the cylinders but it just wouldn't start. We decided to set up camp here and our friends from theteam Inglorious Drivers towed us to camp. Everyone stayed up late working on the car, so thank you to Oliver and John from Inglorious Drivers, Harry, Dan and especially Johnny from the Northern Monkey - without him we would have been well and truly stuck. The sun went down and the car still wouldn't start, everyone ploughed on though coming up with different ideas - one rather precarious one was setting fire to the petrol in the cylinders to try and burn the water off, was scary but quite a spectacular show, we tried a few more times and still nothing, I had given up hope and even shed a tear believing our journey had come to an end without making it to Ulaanbaatar - with nothing else we could do, we all went off to sleep, myself and Ben wondering how we were going to be able to get Kevin towed to the nearest town which was over 100 miles away (neither teams cars would have been able to make it with us on tow) Anyway the sun came up bring clear sky's and for the first time since we arrived in Mongolia no rain - it was 6.30am though so we were unable to try the car to see if it had dried out enough and if all our tinkering from last night had worked - ** some text is missing **

at 04:32 on Corsa we can do it! said Not really sure where we are to be honest, made it past Olgii in good time, the roads are non existent and it had been raining heavily all night and morning - we all got stuck a few times and and one point we had 1 person pushing, 1 person driving and 7 people pulling a car - got it out in the end though! Driving turned quite scary as we were just sliding down mud tracks in the pouring rain, everyone and everyone's cars made it thankfully. We set off from Olgii and we came across a river we had to cross - this is where mine and Ben's journey looked to have come to an end..... All cars passed the river (got some pretty amazing photos and videos) we all stopped to celebrate out successful river crossing but when Ben and I returned to our car it would not start, the engine looked like it had flooded. We tried to take the spark plugs out and dry them all and dry the cylinders but it just wouldn't start. We decided to set up camp here and our friends from theteam Inglorious Drivers towed us to camp. Everyone stayed up late working on the car, so thank you to Oliver and John from Inglorious Drivers, Harry, Dan and especially Johnny from the Northern Monkey - without him we would have been well and truly stuck. The sun went down and the car still wouldn't start, everyone ploughed on though coming up with different ideas - one rather precarious one was setting fire to the petrol in the cylinders to try and burn the water off, was scary but quite a spectacular show, we tried a few more times and still nothing ** some text is missing **

at 04:28 on Corsa we can do it! said Not really sure where we are to be honest, made it past Olgii in good time, the roads are non existent and it had been raining heavily all night and morning - we all got stuck a few times and and one point we had 1 person pushing, 1 person driving and 7 people pulling a car - got it out in the end though! Driving turned quite scary as we were just sliding down mud tracks in the pouring rain, everyone and everyone's cars made it thankfully. We set off from Olgii and we came across a river we had to cross - this is where mine and Ben's journey looked to have come to an end..... All cars passed the river (got some pretty amazing photos and videos) we all stopped to celebrate out successful river crossing but when Ben and I returned to our car it would not start, the engine looked like it had flooded. We tried to take the spark plugs out and dry them all and dry the cylinders but it just wouldn't start. ** some text is missing **

at 04:26 on Corsa we can do it! said Not really sure where we are to be honest, made it past Olgii in good time, the roads are non existent and it had been raining heavily all night and morning - we all got stuck a few times and and one point we had 1 person pushing, 1 person driving and 7 people pulling a car - got it out in the end though! Driving turned quite scary as we were just sliding down mud tracks in the pouring rain, everyone and everyone's cars made it thankfully. We set off from Olgii and we came across a river we had to cross - this is where mine and Ben's journey looked to have come to an end..... All cars passed the river (got some pretty amazing photos and videos) we all stopped to celebrate out successful river crossing but when Ben and I returned to our car it would not start, the engine looked like it had flooded. We tried to take the spark plugs out and dry them all and dry the cylinders but it just wouldn't start. We decided to set up camp here and our friends from theteam Inglorious Drivers towed us to camp. Everyone stayed up late working on the car, so thank you to Oliver and John from Inglorious Drivers, Harry, Dan and especially Johnny from the Northern Monkey - without him we would have been well and truly stuck. The sun went down and the car still wouldn't start, everyone ploughed on though coming up with different ideas - one rather precarious one was setting fire to the petrol in the cylinders to try and burn the water off, was scary but quite a spectacular show, we tried a few more times and still nothing ** some text is missing **

at 04:24 on Corsa we can do it! said Not really sure where we are to be honest, made it past Olgii in good time, the roads are non existent and it had been raining heavily all night and morning - we all got stuck a few times and and one point we had 1 person pushing, 1 person driving and 7 people pulling a car - got it out in the end though! Driving turned quite scary as we were just sliding down mud tracks in the pouring rain, everyone and everyone's cars made it thankfully. We set off from Olgii and we came across a river we had to cross - this is where mine and Ben's journey looked to have come to an end..... All cars passed the river (got some pretty amazing photos and videos) we all stopped to celebrate out successful river crossing but when Ben and I returned to our car it would not start, the engine looked like it had flooded. We tried to take the spark plugs out and dry them all and dry the cylinders but it just wouldn't start. We decided to set up camp here and our friends from theteam Inglorious Drivers towed us to camp. Everyone stayed up late working on the car, so thank you to Oliver and John from Inglorious Drivers, Harry and Dan, Jimmy, Gemma and especially Johnny from the@

at 04:23 on Corsa we can do it! said Not really sure where we are to be honest, made it past Olgii in good time, the roads are non existent and it had been raining heavily all night and morning - we all got stuck a few times and and one point we had 1 person pushing, 1 person driving and 7 people pulling a car - got it out in the end though! Driving turned quite scary as we were just sliding down mud tracks in the pouring rain, everyone and everyone's cars made it thankfully. We set off from Olgii and we came across a river we had to cross - this is where mine and Ben's journey looked to have come to an end..... All cars passed the river (got some pretty amazing photos and videos) we all stopped to celebrate out successful river crossing but when Ben and I returned to our car it would not start, the engine looked like it had flooded. We tried to take the spark plugs out and dry them all and dry the cylinders but it just wouldn't start. We decided to set up camp here and our friends from theteam Inglorious Drivers towed us to camp. Everyone stayed up late working on the car, so thank you to Oliver and John from Inglorious Drivers, Harry and Dan, Jimmy, Gemma and especially Johnny from the Northern Monkey - without him we would have been well and truly stuck. The sun went down and the car still wouldn't start, everyone ploughed on though coming up with different ideas - one rather precari ** some text is missing **

Day 21 Friday, 3 August 2012

at 13:15 on Corsa we can do it! said We made it - we are in Mongolia!! Only 9 1/2 hours at the boarder.....! What a nightmare, but we are through now and on route to Olgii! It's freezing here, last night was 6 degrees and it hasn't risen above 10 all day! Met some more ralliers at the boarder so are just going to drive until sunset and then set up camp for the night! Kevin is feeling a bit worse for wear - the boot now doesn't shut so it's being held down by bungee ropes (luckily our window smashed, so we can hook them on the frame - silver lining and all!!)

Day 20 Thursday, 2 August 2012

at 15:22 on Corsa we can do it! said Got some words of wisdom for you all.... 1, never accept a bet when you don't understand the currency and exchange rate and 2, don't try and drive your 1.2, 2 wheel drive Vauxhall Agilla up a near vertical hill....! Listen on kids, the advice will soon make sense......... Such a funny day, it all started so well, up early and off on our way to the Mongolian boarder, stopped off for a quick swim in a Russian lake - was freezing but very enjoyable - wherever we are right now (somewhere south of Russian near Mongolia) its amazing - apparently its better than the alps, this has to be the best road to drive on in the world, never mind Transfagarasan highway! So anyway we then stopped off a bit later as some of us needed a loo break, as the toilet break was happening Dan decided to bet Johnny 10 rubbles (about £1.90) that he couldn't drive their car up the very steep hill, Johnny accepted such a bet, and set off up the hill whilst myself, Ben and Dan watched from the bottom (camera in hand) anyway after a few failed attempts he then very nearly makes it to the very top - this is where it all went wrong.......... The car started rolling backwards down the hill and a back tyre hit one on the ruts in the road, span it so it was facing us and then rolled onto its roof eventually ending up on its side........ So we all ran up the hill to see if johnny was ok - he was thankfully just laughing a lot, the car looked ruined, but we flipped it back over, tidied the mess up and set off again on our way! It was very funny and can't wait to see the video! We've now said our (very emotional) goodbyes to our friends in the team Northern Monkeys as we are pushing on the boarder - Mongolia here we come!!@

Day 19 Wednesday, 1 August 2012

at 15:30 on Corsa we can do it! said Just set up camp for the night - everyone is feeling the effect of too many insect bites - honestly I have like a bizzillion million bites and can't move without irritating them all, it's pretty horrendous, now locked in the safety of my tent trying to protect the few areas un-nibbled!! Had a bit of a car issue today, the drive belt melted away, we were well and truly stuck until johnny (our mate from the team Northern Monkeys) came along and fixed it for us!! So now we have, no back window, flat rear drivers side tyre, missing wheel arch, missing bumper guard, oil leak, petrol leak (only when tank is really full though) over heating engine, clogged radiator and fan, no front head light and a dodgy driver belt.... The list could go on - Ulaanbaatar is looking like a distant dream at this stage - though Ben still remains positive we shall make it! Plan to hit the Mongolian boarder tomorrow - lets see how long we end up waiting there (longest wait on record is 5 days...!) I'm off now to rub ointment into my bite wounds...

Day 17 Monday, 30 July 2012

at 17:12 on Corsa we can do it! said Had quite an experience today - explored the city in the morning then set out on our way to Russia - on route I began to feel a little sick (either Big Mama had poisoned me or the holes in the road and the diving around them had jigged my tummy around to much) Ben had to make an emergency stop so I could dash out the back - as (sorry for the graphics) I knelt over to be sick a stone smashed into the back window of the car right where my head had been seconds earlier and smashed the whole window... Standing there shocked (and thankful for my life) the guys stopped and Ben came out to see what had happened - Kevin was quickly repaired, we now have a duck tape rear window! Just set up camp for the night - getting up earlier and hopefully make it trough the Russian boarder by nightfall tomorrow!@

at 10:53 on Corsa we can do it! said Spent the morning just chilling out and fixing our cars - we've now lost a wheel arch, front bumper guard, headlight out, flat back tyre, blocked radiator, over heating engine, oil leak..... I think that's all..! Haha, will we make it much further - the million pound question I guess! About the set off in the direction of Russia, let's hope there are some more lake sized puddles to drive through!!

Day 16 Sunday, 29 July 2012

at 13:09 on Corsa we can do it! said We made it!! Good drive today, got to drive trough massive lake sized puddles. Just checked into a hotel, gunna chill out for a bit, get a much needed shower and then head out and explore the city! Tomorrow we shall be going to the worlds largest tent, and everyone is still holding out hope that it contains a McDonalds - I'm not holding my breath though. Reached the 6,000 miles mark today - crazy stuff!

Day 15 Saturday, 28 July 2012

at 08:54 on Corsa we can do it! said Just stopped off at a Kazakhstanian super market - fair to say it was a bit of a culture shock - a shopping trolley full of sausages and ribs just left out whilst a shop lady unravels the sausages into the display... A giant fish shoved into a freezer unwrapped... Cardboard box full of random bits of seafood (and not the nice stuff) left open for you to take your handful.... All whilst the shop is infested with flies! Ben did however manage to find some local Kazakhstan stuffed pasta (we think) that he is just cooking up now. We've also just crossed into the second time zone change of Kaz, so we are now 5 hours ahead!

at 08:53 on Corsa we can do it! said Just stopped off at a Kazakhstanian super market - fair to say it was a bit of a culture shock - a shopping trolley full of sausa ** some text is missing **

at 08:51 on Corsa we can do it! said Just stopped off at a Kazakhstanian super market - fair to say it was a bit of a culture shock - a shopping trolley full of sausages and ribs just left out whilst a shop lady unravels the sausages into the display... A giant fish shoved into a freezer unwrapped... Cardboard box full of random bits of seafood (and not the nice stuff) left open for you to take your handful.... All whilst the shop is infested with flies! Ben did however manage to find some local Kazakhstan stuffed pasta (we think) that he is just cooking up now. We've also just crossed into the second time zone change ** some text is missing **

at 05:14 on Corsa we can do it! said Waved fair well to team Mr Ongol (ambo guys) as they headed south trough Kaz to Turkmenistan - the rest of us continued in an North Easterly direction, we took the road that pretty much acts as the boarder between Kazakhstan and Russia - was quite odd being able to stand in Kazakhstan and Russia all at the same time! 3 1/2 days into Kaz now and thinking we may be here for about the same again... Planning on taking a few hours off once we get to Astana so we can appreciate what Kazakhstan has to offer - apparently they are famous for having the world largest tent which doubles up as a shopping centre - the other team are hoping is holds a McDonalds as they are trying to get one in every country they go through..! Kevin is still pushing on, no real issues yet - thankfully we had a sump fitted otherwise our engine and gearbox would be on the floor by now, the roads here really are deadly for the cars that are on them! Brushed my hair for the first time today since Slovakia - was not a good time, and something that I don't think Ben wishes to ever witness again... Having said that I'm now rocking a Pat Butcher type look...! Hmmm... Hoping to make it as far as Astana today (very wishful thinking) but we must maintain our position near the front of the pack!@

Day 14 Friday, 27 July 2012

at 05:43 on Corsa we can do it! said Roads seemed to have improved today - its actually paved and pot holes are limited! Managed to cover quite a fair distance yesterday afternoon - the morning was difficult, no road and just sand tracks full of holes! Still been travelling with the guys from Holland in the ambulance and a fellow English team - there vauxhall has been less reliable than ours but they are still pushing on! Stopped off at a local corner shop last night to get a few beers and food supplies and it was like we were minor celebs - everyone here is so friendly and welcoming - they wanted pictures of all of us with our cars and the shop lady even gave me a special bar of Kazakhstan chocolate - haven't tried it yet, but I'm hoping for a cadburys type flavour....! (might be dreaming there...!) Heading North through Kaz now as the roads closer to Russia seem to be better, probably be here another 2 days - Kaz is big!!

Day 12 Wednesday, 25 July 2012

at 17:29 on Corsa we can do it! said Just set up camp for the night - came across another team so been in convoy most of the day trying to navigate across the pretty tricky terrain of Kazakhstan - been off roading as the actual roads here are non existent and full of car sized pot holes - not managed more than 30mph! Not been as hot today which is a relief - only been about 30 degrees! Managed to bury the car in quick sand today - luckily for us a local Kazakhstanian rocked up within seconds and towed us out!!

Day 11 Tuesday, 24 July 2012

at 13:49 on Corsa we can do it! said On route to Arutau now - this country is long and hot!!

at 13:41 on Corsa we can do it! said Just arrived in Kazakhstan - crossing was fine, didn't have to wait at all. Ben's just been pulled over by the police though as we went through a stop sign...! Whoops! Second time today we've been stopped today and let off! It's so hot here, just hit 42 degrees, we're both slowly melting!!

Day 10 Monday, 23 July 2012

at 20:37 on Corsa we can do it! said Just driving out of Volgograd now (with the help of 2 very nice petrol station ladies who just kept saying 'breena breena breena' which we believe means 'straight straight straight' this is the only Russian word I've picked up as many people say it to us when we ask for directions - turns out if you always just head straight, you end up where you wanted) Stopped off at the huge Mother Russia statue in Volgograd and finally saw some other ralliers, it really was something else - was very impressive, watched the guards change and listened to some dramatic world war 2 Russian war music, they appear to be a very proud nation - to top it off a very nice nation too, we had no money with us but the guy in the shop gave me a bottle of water anyway (think he could see I was slowly dying for the heat - 39 degrees today) and did some crazy fist in the air sort of salute at me! Loving Russia - best county so far I'd say! Heard some bad news yesterday that a fellow corsa on the rally has blown up and died :( RIP my little corsa brother - luckily for us Chris and the guys at Motivations Projects Ltd have done us proud and so far (gunna shoot myself in the foot now) Kevin is going very strong - no issues to mention at all, we are taking good care of him and trying to ease the affect the roads are having on him - honestly the roads here are shocking, pot holes the size of kitchen sinks and dodgy repair jobs - we think they just tarmac over dead cars, animals and people - definite patch work quilt affect going on! Anyway, on route to Astrakhan now won't make it tonight as its over 200 miles away so will be setting up camp soon!

Day 9 Sunday, 22 July 2012

at 21:47 on Corsa we can do it! said It's true what they say about first impressions being the only impression your remember - Moldova, man shouts at me for not understanding him = bad impression - shall not return! Ukraine, scary, angry, rude boarder staff, massive guns and beasty guard dogs = evn worse impression - will definitely not return! Russia (the place I feared most) Boarder staff - polite, kind, smiling - wishing us well on our trip = amazing impression, Russia you are top right now :) Just managed to (accidentally) book ourselves into one of the nicest hotels in Russia... Whoops - should see the shower though, it's got 7 heads and a portable one, and a dim light, and radio, and its a sauna, and a seat (which is handy as I'm currently suffering from a serve case of elephantitis - my foot and ankle are huge, been bitten by a crazy Ukrainian beast and now it's eating away at my leg so can't stand up) AMAZING!!@

at 15:22 on Corsa we can do it! said What a joke - when the lights go red, where do you stop people.....? That's right at the line! Oh no wait, apparently not - that's a turning line and you stop 50 meters behind that! Oh yes officer - here's $100! Rest of police officers stand round laughing - hmmmm, think someone's taking the piss a little!

Day 8 Saturday, 21 July 2012

at 07:07 on Corsa we can do it! said Just woken up to another glorious day, 24 already at half 8! So left Romania yesterday (silly boarder man shouted at me because I didn't understand Romania...!) Queued to get into Moldova - had no idea what was going on at all - luckily a random man saved the day and explained to us what we had to do (you have to pay to get into their precious country) Got into Moldova only to discover its the worse country in the world ever!! They have absolutely no signs at all - ended up driving round the centre for 3 hours! The only saving grace for Moldova was the man in the garage that tried to squeeze out every last English word he knew to help us - finally we headed out of the centre (in the wrong direction, but hey, at least we were out) started heading to Ukraine and then all of a sudden we were at what looked like some sort of military base.... We weren't though, we were at the boarder - something wasn't right here, we were still in Moldova..! Anyway, we paid our way through that boarder and the guy kept saying we had 10 hours to get across Ukraine....... Ummm, Ukraine's huge dude, that's never going to happen! So we drove off into this fake Ukraine in the dark with no clue where we were, no map, and just 10 hours to get into Russia! We had no idea what to do, but then I though - ill ring the embassy and ask them to explain this whole 10 hour business - what a joke, the people that are supposed to be here to help you out of these situations only work 9-5 Monday to Friday - good one...! So we then decided to drive back to the board and check out what was going on - some badly translated words later we realised we didn't have 10 hours to get across Ukraine, we had 10 hours to get across to the real boarder (still have no idea why they have this sneaky boarder in the middle of Moldova). So we headed to the boarder, still having no idea where we were (hence the £20 3G charges for google maps) finally got to the real boarder where we were greeted with man with massive machine guns, went through the first check, then the second, finally trough the third check and we were across!!!!! Brought our car insurance from some dodgy Ukrainian (whilst being eaten alive by insects) and then headed on our way! It's fair to say I have nothing positive to say about Moldova and the jury's still out on the Ukraine! Anyway, it's a new day so up north we go to Kiev!!@

at 01:03 on Corsa we can do it! said Just crossing into the Ukraine now - what an absolute nightmare it's been since we left Romania! We are both ok, just very sleepy - tis now 3am and just looking for somewhere to sleep! I'll fill you all in on the nightmare tomorrow - think, no map, no road signs, one way roads, angry boarder staff, £20 3G charges, no phase books...... Luckily for me Ben stays calm under stress :)

Day 7 Friday, 20 July 2012

at 15:39 on Corsa we can do it! said Leaving Romania now - what a nice man he was working on the boarder....! A sign of what's to come I've no doubt - the further east we go, the meaner and angry board patrol get!

at 12:45 on Corsa we can do it! said 38 degrees and climbing.... So hot!

at 11:59 on Corsa we can do it! said Its so hot!!! Just reached 35 degrees, so we've pulled over into the shade to cook up lunch! So many wild dogs here - without touching them we are trying to be as nice to each one we find - just given a rutty little one some water! Romania - what an interesting country... The people here drive like maniacs (think that's why there is a million grave yards by the side of the road...!) everyone tries to force raspberries upon you and sometimes even children...! Very different to the rest of the countries we've seen so far!!@

Day 6 Thursday, 19 July 2012

at 22:28 on Corsa we can do it! said Don't really know where we are exactly, but the good news is we are spending the night in a motel - and what a bargain it was, about £16 for both of us with breakfast! So happy to have a bed for the evening!! Ben's been asleep for a while now and think its time i joined him in the land of nod! Tomorrow - Destination: Kiev!

at 16:50 on Corsa we can do it! said This place is literally incredible - the most spectacular views we've ever seen, just wait till you see the photos! Can't even begin ** some text is missing ** to our little camp stove!!

at 16:50 on Corsa we can do it! said Just reached the bottom (which is technical

at 16:47 on Corsa we can do it! said Just reached the bottom (which is technical

at 09:37 on Corsa we can do it! said Transfagarasan Highway is AMAZING!! Has to be the nicest road I've ever been on - that's a good thing as we're now in 'a simple Romania blockage' being harassed by locals to buy raspberries...! Could think of worse places to be tuck in traffic, we even have company in the form of a fellow English/Holland rally team!@

at 07:22 on Corsa we can do it! said Camped the night with a fellow rally team - what a mission finding somewhere suitable to stay: getting chased down by an angry Romanian man was not ideal at 1 in the morning! Woke up this morning to another glorious day and have just experienced our first offer of assistance - Ben was checking the oil and two Romanias came over to see if we needed any help with our car - pleasantly surprised! Heading to Transfagarasan Highway now to experience driving on what is now known as being one of the best roads in the world!

Day 5 Wednesday, 18 July 2012

at 21:58 on Corsa we can do it! said Anyone know the calculation to convert km into miles..? Would be most useful if someone could txt me it :) thanks

at 18:14 on Corsa we can do it! said Crossed the boarder into Romania - first passpo

at 15:14 on Corsa we can do it! said Tip for you all, never ever ever under any circumstances take your car to Budapest....!

at 12:12 on Corsa we can do it! said Just got to Budapest, going to explore the city for a bit now, grab some food, take a million more photos (5 days in and I'm averaging 100 a day...!) Having an amazing time so far, we are already planning our next adventure..!

at 10:34 on Corsa we can do it! said Sun is shining, it's so hot! On route to Budapest for lunch then down to the Transfagarasan (TopGear fans should know what this is, If not google it!) to Bucuresti

at 07:17 on Corsa we can do it! said Woken up and it's...... Baking Hot!! Woo, finally! 5 days in and we are both about to have our first shower - thank god for that!

Day 4 Tuesday, 17 July 2012

at 21:08 on Corsa we can do it! said Stopped off for the night at a services on the outskirts of Bratislava. Just met up with the boys from Team Wispa, camp all set up (feels a bit odd pitching a tent in a petrol station) beer is so cheap here 79c for a pint of 10%!!

at 19:26 on Corsa we can do it! said Just got back to the car to find it chained up to the wall in the multi-storey..... Fear not though, It was just the lads from 'Beer View Mirror' (aka, team Wispa) they left us a lovely little poem with their number too! Just heading out of Vienna now and on track to make it to Bratislava before night fall! Must be said, German (Austrian) efficiency is second to none!

at 18:27 on Corsa we can do it! said Stopped off to explore the city, so nice here even the multi-storey car parks are amazing!! Grabbing a quick Starbucks then we shall mooch around before we find somewhere to eat! Come across a few other ralliers here too, looks like its the place to be!!

at 16:57 on Corsa we can do it! said Nearly across the boarder into Austria - suns been out all afternoon, windows down, shades on - this is more like it!

at 13:04 on Corsa we can do it! said McDonalds in CZ is so much nicer and cleaner than any UK Donald's - I'll have a McFrappe please!!

at 12:44 on Corsa we can do it! said Not the greatest roads for our little corsa, struggled with the cobbles and hill starts! Very nice city though, shame the parking was dodgy and it was raining a lot :( Leaving Praha now, ok route to Austria.@

at 12:42 on Corsa we can do it! said Day 4 and starvation begins to kick in, the further east we go the more difficult it becomes to be a vegetarian... Ben's just tucking into a toasted ham & cheese sandwich whilst I'm chewing on some old dry biscuits... Worlds most expensive diet me thinks! Heading to Praha (Prague) today and the south to Austria to stop off in Wien (Vienna). No shower stops yet (minging I know) been baby wipes all the way, 4 days in 1 pack down!@

Day 3 Monday, 16 July 2012

at 19:51 on Corsa we can do it! said laying on the roof of our trusty car taking in the rain free sunset! Spent the day exploring the mountain terrain of CZ and then watched some traditional Mongolian singing, dancing, juggling and wrestling - all whilst laughing at Buddy (the guy in the white suit from the launch and DVD) and his awards given to a number of teams, an interesting one being the team who where deemed to be the biggest wimps (they are doing the rally in a 4x4 and are very over prepared with spares for every car and occasion!) Camping over night in the grounds of a 16th century castle, the sun has been out this afternoon and rain has not surfaced since this morning so please everyone carry on doing the sun dance to the gods for us!@

at 16:48 on Corsa we can do it! said sat in a disused cold war bunker having a beer and admiring the view - doesn't get much better than this!!

at 14:32 on Corsa we can do it! said the suns finally out, the festival has begun! Here's to an evening of giggles, food, beer and dancing in a wall less room with an amazing view!!

at 07:52 on Corsa we can do it! said Woke up - still raining - Perfect!

at 00:43 on Corsa we can do it! said 1100 miles in and still no passport checks, it's like being back at UK customs - anyone can come and stay! Made it safely into CZ (in record time, having caught up from our 5 hour detour round Belgium... long story!!) only to be ambushed by the worst directions ever to Klatovy Castle (destination - Czech out Party) like so many signs we've come across on the trip the place name had simply been crossed out with what seemed to be red tape and giving no sign of any diversion - leaving us completely lost (think Blair witch project style woods) on our final attempt of the evening to find the castle, a car raced over to us, I panicked thinking it was the police and started to wish I had prepared more for my bribery speech - fear not though, in fact it turned out to be another rally team also struggling with the directions, further inventions ensued and it turned out the one road leading to Klatovy was blocked off, we decided after a few more failed diversions to simply ignore the flashing signs and 10ft high pile of concert and simple plough our way through the blockade.. After a few tentative moments (diving and missing a number of concert shaped obstacles) both teams emerged - celebrations all round you'd think, but no, we were only over one of the many obstacles we would face during this journey....! Another hour of searching (and following what looked like Sauamans lost all seeing eye of mordor aka a massive torch pointing into space searching for lost ralliers) and we found our camp sight, we were greeted by weed smoking Czechs who really had no idea what was going on - anyway, tent set up, shewee used for the first time, two beers downed and we're off to bed!!

Day 2 Sunday, 15 July 2012

at 20:10 on Corsa we can do it! said just hit the first 1000 mile mark!! Woohoo!! Pushing through to Klatovy in Czech Republic to camp the night before the big Cezch out party tomorrow. Still now costumes though....@

at 18:01 on Corsa we can do it! said Please can someone google and then txt me the translation of the German word AUSFAHRT - we see it everywhere and everyone seems to be going there apart from us!! Also the sun is finally out :)

at 13:12 on Corsa we can do it! said finally made it out of Belgium! Straight through to Germany, yah!! Still raining!! The whole of Europe is broken apparently, it's not just England that isn't getting a Summer...@

at 09:20 on Corsa we can do it! said Utterly utterly lost - round Brussels ring road twice already, unable to get off it!!! Arghhh!!

at 08:09 on Corsa we can do it! said took a wrong turning, ended up in a place called Asse... Interesting! On route back towards Brussels now, quick stop there then South to Luxembourg - we've added a country to the journey just for shits and giggles!! Then into Germany for brutwerst (or however that's spelt!!)

Day 1 Saturday, 14 July 2012

at 20:57 on Corsa we can do it! said Quickest boarder crossing ever into Belgium - on route to Brugge (we mixed up the route, just because we could...!)

at 20:11 on Corsa we can do it! said Touch down in France - Straight on the A16 (E40) through to Lille, then across the boarder into Belgium to follow the A8 to Brussels where beer and hopefully less rain awaits us!

at 18:35 on Corsa we can do it! said very choppy on the ferry.... Seasick coming on already!!

at 18:26 on Corsa we can do it! said On the ferry to Calais

at 17:09 on Corsa we can do it! said Thanks everyone for venturing out in the rain to wave us off! Last toilet stop in the uk just completed - have a feeling the standard will now begin to drop.... 20 minutes to Dover :)@

at 14:44 on Corsa we can do it! said and we're off.....!!!! Woo

at 09:48 on Corsa we can do it! said Day 1 - at Goodwood, waiting to depart, it's cold, it's wet - but that won't dampen our spirits - Off to Mongolia we go......

2 days before launch Thursday, 12 July 2012

at 21:10 on Corsa we can do it! said Ooooooo, only 1 sleep to go until we set off! Car is all stickered up and full to the brim!! Bags packed (well, mine at least) last meal has been consumed...... Getting very excited now :)@

4 days before launch Tuesday, 10 July 2012

at 16:32 on Corsa we can do it! said Peterborough, uk only 3 days to go now.... Getting excited!!

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