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This is our on the road map...
Day 46 Tuesday, 28 August 2012
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Shared a photo: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=346786035407951&set=a.331102053643016.80811.330079223745299&type=1&relevant_count=1 ... Read more ... |
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Day 44 Sunday, 26 August 2012
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 at 18:12 on The Odd Way Round said
26th Aug 1:00pm.
7,365 miles completed (+248).
The Mongol Rally race is run, and against the odds and the sceptics we made it to Ulan Bator a mere 43 days and 7,365 miles after leaving the UK.
It's been an amazing journey traversing mountains, deserts and rivers, we've met an incredibly diverse cross section of people and hopefully will have helped to improve the lives of some children here in Mongolia who haven't been as fortunate as all of us.
On that note, this was for charity so thank you so much to those who have made donations and we'd really appreciate the support of those who haven't yet. You can contribute via our team page or just drop one of us a note for details.
#mr #mongolrally |
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| at 04:59 on The Odd Way Round said
26th Aug 8:30am.
7,117 miles completed (+150).
Slight change of plans last night. The tarmac road was in much worse condition than we expected so we were averaging less than 25mph so we decided to make camp by the roadside - good call, we all had a solid night's sleep.
We were up by 7:30am and started giving away all of the food and equipment we no longer needed to the people living in the gers we'd camped next to.
We discovered how Mongolian hospitality works and were invited into the family ger for Aaruul (hard dried milk curds), Bortzig (fried unleavened bread) and dried cheese - delicious.
We drank whiskey with the head of the family and sniffed snuff contained in an 80 year old family heirloom.
As we left a sheep was being slaughtered in the traditional manner by placing the hand inside a small incision and doing something to end it's life, not sure what though.
All in all a great start to the day!
#mr #mongolrallly@ |
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| at 04:58 on The Odd Way Round said
26th Aug 8:30am.
7,117 miles completed (+150).
The tarmac road was much worse than expected and were averaging < 25mph so we made camp by the roadside - good call, we all had a solid night's sleep.
We were up by 7:30am and started giving away all of the food and equipment we no longer needed to the people living in the gers we'd camped next to.
This was reciprocated by being invited into the family ger for Aaruul (hard dried milk curds), Bortzig (fried unleavened bread) and dried cheese - delicious, not!
We then drank whiskey with the head of the family and sniffed snuff contained in an 80 year old family heirloom.
As we left a sheep was being slaughtered in the traditional manner by placing the hand inside a small incision and doing something to end it's life, not sure what though!
All in all a great start to the day.
#mr #mongolrally |
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Day 43 Saturday, 25 August 2012
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| at 12:37 on The Odd Way Round said
25th Aug 8:30pm.
6,723 miles completed (+150).
This is (probably) the penultimate update blog of our Mongol Rally.
We're at the last 'city' before Ulan Bator.
Only 420km of pothole ridden Tarmac separate us from the finishing line.
The car held up to the last sections of unpaved roads and 2 river crossings and the roof topbox is still hanging on.
We're still in convoy with the 2 Ozzie vehicles and have stopped at a Korean restaurant for dinner.
ETA into UB is currently about 1am, fingers crossed nothing else happens to hinder our progress.
#mr #mongolrally@ |
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Day 42 Friday, 24 August 2012
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| at 03:24 on The Odd Way Round said
23rd Aug 9:15am.
6,573 miles completed (+300).
Still sunny days, cold nights, every day.
Updates a bit out of sync due to tech issues but this one's live.
Several cars in our convoy needed attention yesterday so we had a late start but last night we decided not to camp and instead drive through the night to try to reach Altai and make up some time.
The roads were horrendous with the last 200 miles driving over what looked like waves on a lake flash frozen, a real bone shaker.
Even with one of our party leaking oil for the whole journey all 4 vehicles have made it to Atlai and two are at the garage being patched up.
Having driven for 19 hours straight we are shattered, having lamb and dumplings for breakfast then as soon as the cars get out of hospital we'll be back on the road.
#mr #mongolrally |
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| at 03:13 on The Odd Way Round said
21st Aug 11:45pm.
6,116 miles completed (+60).
Still sunny days, cold nights, but noticing how dry the air is up here.
We made it over the border, but only just.
It was looking like we were going to have to spend another night at the Mongolian detention centre with no running water and indescribable sanitation but one hour before it closed and they all went home we decided to take action.
Several calls to The Adventurists organisers ensured our vehicle import fees were paid then a lot of buttering up of the officials to convince them to work late for us and we were finally released onto the Mongolian plateau, and it was instantly breathtaking.
The roads were challenging as promised but the sump guard did its job and we only had to go up one section in reverse as our 65hp Polo just couldn't make it in 1st, especially at 2500m.
We made it to Olgii!
#mr #mongolrally |
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Day 40 Wednesday, 22 August 2012
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| at 17:20 on The Odd Way Round said 22nd August, 20:00, 6,260 miles completed.
Warm and very sunny.
We spent today in a convoy of four cars, everybody had a least a puncture today and at most a brief moment upside down (yes upside down) we felt lucky until our german engine started making noises that sound pretty terminal and rendered us so weak that we could not easily ford the rivers or overtake the mobile ger in front of us on the road, I mean the track, I mean the rubble and sand. Tomorrow we will mainly be in a garage hoping to fix the car.
#mr #mongolrally #mr. |
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Day 39 Tuesday, 21 August 2012
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| at 17:56 on The Odd Way Round said
21st Aug 11:45pm.
6,116 miles completed (+60).
Still sunny days, cold nights, but noticing how dry the air is up here.
We made it over the border, but only just.
It was looking like we were going to have to spend another night at the Mongolian detention centre with no running water and indescribable sanitation but one hour before it closed and they all went home we decided to take action.
Several calls to The Adventurists organisers ensured our vehicle import fees were paid then a lot of buttering up of the officials to convince them to work late for us and we were finally released onto the Mongolian plateau, and it was instantly breathtaking.
The roads were challenging as promised but the sump guard did its job and we only had to go up one section in reverse as our 65hp Polo just couldn't make it in 1st, especially at 2500m.
We made it to Olgii and enjoyed our first real meal and shower in 3 days.
Tomorrow the rally starts proper.
#mr #mongolrally #mr. |
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| at 11:34 on The Odd Way Round said 21st August, 17:30, 6,056 miles completed.
Hot and sunny at night,
starry and freezing at night.
This border crossing has taken 32 and a half hours so far and might take at least another 16 hours if a payment does not get made shortly. The Mongol Rally team warned us that it might take a long time but they didn't mention that their non payment of money could make them jointly responsible and cause a huge delay.
#mr #mongolrally |
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Day 38 Monday, 20 August 2012
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| at 09:53 on The Odd Way Round said
20th Aug 3:45pm.
6,056 miles completed (+16).
Well it took about 3 hours to clear the Russian side of the border then we drive the 15 miles through no mans land to the Mongolian side of the crossing.
We jump through the usual seemingly pointless hoops, this time including paying a guy a US Dollar to spray the underside of our car, probably with tap water.
We've been processed and along with about another dozen Mongol Rally cars are being held in what can only be described as a detention centre, although to be fair as our cars are being donated to charity here we are importing them so documents need to be checked.
Apparently the post closes at 6pm so I hope we're not facing a night in this compound!
#mr #mongolrally #mr.@ |
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| at 03:46 on The Odd Way Round said 45am.
6,040 miles completed (+0).
If it was cold in the evening, it was freezing at night (literally -1 or -2 degrees C). It turns out this border crossing is at 2100m, who knew!
Martin retired to his tent at 10:30 and slept pretty well through to about 6:30am. He either has polar bear genes or anti-freeze in his blood.
Colin climbed into his summer sleeping bag at 11:30pm and after 2 cold and uncomfortable hours sought shelter in the car and it's heater. Eventually 2-3 hours of sleep occurred.
We're waiting to be processed on the Russian side of the border and then the fun starts, if we get released into Mongolia before the end of the day we'll be happy, by the afternoon ecstatic.
#mr #mongolrally #mr. |
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Day 37 Sunday, 19 August 2012
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| at 16:40 on The Odd Way Round said 30pm.
6,040 miles completed (+293).
We left Gorno-Atlaisk at a fairly leisurely 10am and set off on what was promised to be the most scenic leg of our trip.
The Atlai mountains didn't disappoint, lush alpine forests and meadows with rivers meandering through the valleys. As we wind between the snow-capped peaks it feels quite reminiscent of the Alps.
We reach the Russian/Mongolia border at 7pm and eventually we are united with half a dozen fellow rally teams.
Disaster, it appears that we didn't pack our cooking stove - we're OK for tonight as we use other people's stoves but it will present a challenge over the coming week as we'll be truly alone in Mongolia.
It's a problem for tomorrow, not today.
We share stories with the other guys and there's some quality banter, we finally meet the team that we helped get stopped by the police in Czech, it cost them £30 but all's forgiven.
It's cold, really cold, not sure if the tent's going to cut it tonight, we may have to seek refuge in a car with the engine running.
#mr #mongolrally #mr. |
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| at 02:44 on The Odd Way Round said 8th Aug 11am.
4,535 miles completed (+0).
So the guy who told me that he could sort my visa out in Los Angeles turned out to be a FR, massive fail.
Plan B: I have a man in the UK who says he can get it turned around in 2 days.
#mr #mongolrally #mr. |
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| at 02:33 on The Odd Way Round said 5th Aug 4pm.
4,535 miles completed (+0).
Congratulations to Andrew & Christina, fabulous wedding yesterday here in Napa.
Off to Los Angeles now and have 3 days to get new Russian visas organised, otherwise Martin might be finishing this rally on his own!
#mr. #mongolrally |
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Day 36 Saturday, 18 August 2012
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| at 15:14 on The Odd Way Round said Sat 18th Aug, 9:00pm.
5,713 miles completed (+178).
Warm days and cold nights.
After getting to bed so late we were only awoken by the cleaning lady at 10:10am hammering on our door to let us know that we'd left our key in it - we genuinely thought there was a fire!
So we missed the hotel breakfast, although I doubt we missed much, so moved straight to lunch. An interesting affair - the restaurant was a mock dungeon, at least we thought it was mock, who knows. Good food for a jail anyway.
Things have changed, the scenery is more interesting, there are clearly mountains in the distance and the police aren't pulling us over even when we are blatantly speeding!
Tomorrow we assault the Mongolian border, but we're probably only joining a queue until it opens on Monday morning.
#mr #mongolrally@ |
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Day 35 Friday, 17 August 2012
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| at 20:01 on The Odd Way Round said Sat 18th Aug, 2:00am.
5,535 miles completed (+480).
It's a nippy night.
Well we started the day by forgetting to pay for our hotel and having to go back to Semey.
We then had a very easy border crossing from Kazakhstan to Russia and all was going well until we literally ran out of road on our 'short cut', so 169 miles and 5 hours later we were back on track!
It's 2am and we're finally in a hotel in Barnaul, Russia.
13+ hours to do <500 miles, do the maths.
#mr #mongolrally |
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| at 14:53 on The Odd Way Round said 17th August, 16:00, 5,160 miles completed.
Warm and sunny.
Fastest boarder crossing so far at 30 minutes. Starlings swarm overhead.
We see our first fellow Mongol Rallyists in over two weeks.
#mr #mongolrally |
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| at 07:46 on The Odd Way Round said 17th August, 12:00, 5,080 miles completed.
Warm and overcast.
If we didn't cover ourselves in glory getting into Kazakhstan then we've done just as badly getting out of Semey. Ten miles out of town on our way to the Russian boarder and we realise we hadn't paid for the hotel. We almost make it the whole way back into town before a kindly motorist alerted us that our top box was wide open.
#mr #mongolrally@ |
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| at 04:45 on The Odd Way Round said 18th Aug 9:30am.
5,050 miles completed (+220).
Warm and sunny (as usual).
Kazakhstan has been almost disappointingly developed, the people warm and friendly, and certainly more eager to engage us than their Russian counterparts.
This morning we head north back into Russia then SW through the Atlai mountains in the direction of Mongolia.
#mr #mongolrally |
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Day 34 Thursday, 16 August 2012
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| at 12:50 on The Odd Way Round said 16th August, 17:00, 5,040 miles completed.
Warm and sunny.
There is only one road to choose from when driving from one major town (Pavlodar) to another (Semey) in this part of the world, in between lie huge fields, waste land, some lakes and forests.
The police succeed in pulling us over but fail miserably to extract some cash from us for not having our lights turned on.
English is much more widely spoken here than in the Russia we have just left and the locals are way more inquisitive and eager to go out of their way to help us.
#mr #mongolrally |
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Day 33 Wednesday, 15 August 2012
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| at 15:28 on The Odd Way Round said 15th August, 20:00, 4,834 miles completed.
Warm and sunny.
279 miles separates Omsk (Russia) from Pavlodar (Kazakhstan). The border crossing took less than an hour. A record. The land is becoming more arid and the skins of the people darker. We don't have a lonely planet or a map but the helpfulness of the locals means we are getting by easily. Colin wins a buffoon award from the 8 people he mobilised to help him recover the bank card that was in his pocket all along.
So far it's a pretty civilised place, no sign of Borat-like behaviour, but there's still time!
Stop press, the karaoke singer in this restaurant could be auditioning for a part in Mr Baron-Cohen's next film.
#mr #mongolrally |
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| at 04:22 on The Odd Way Round said 15th August, 08:00, 4,538 miles completed.
Warm and sunny.
It's been two weeks since we last updated everyone.
In that time the car has done zero miles whilst Colin has flown 18,000 miles and Martin 6,000 miles.
Today we are taking the familiar road from Omsk in Russia to the Kazakhstan boarder (where we were denied entry last time)
At the moment we don't know where we will exit Kazakhstan - somewhere down near the Kazakh Russia Mongolia boarder we hope!
#mr #mongolrally |
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Day 31 Monday, 13 August 2012
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| at 21:26 on The Odd Way Round said 138th Aug 9:30pm.
4,535 miles completed (+0).
Fresh Russian visas in hand (literally received my passport at the airport before my flight).
On my way to Moscow, a miserable 6 hour layover then on to Omsk to be reunited with Martin.
Game back on, soon anyway.
#mr #mongolrally |
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Day 27 Thursday, 9 August 2012
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| at 18:34 on The Odd Way Round said 8th Aug 11am.
4,535 miles completed (+0).
So the guy who told me that he could sort my visa out in Los Angeles turned out to be a FR, massive fail.
Plan B: I have a man in the UK who says he can get it turned around in 2 days.
#mr #mongolrally@ |
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Day 21 Friday, 3 August 2012
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| at 10:47 on The Odd Way Round said 3rd Aug 10:45am.
4,535 miles completed (+0).
Warm and dry.
Back in London for our hiatus and a bit of Olympics action.
Aiming to be back in Omsk, Western Siberia on Aug 13th to rejoin the rally.
#mr #mongolrally |
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Day 20 Thursday, 2 August 2012
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| at 11:27 on The Odd Way Round said 31 July, 19:00, 4,536 miles completed. Sunny and hot.
Today we drove 1 mile to leave the Polo in a secure car park.
We are taking a two week break from the adventure .
Colin to attend a wedding in San Francisco, see friends in LA then spend a few days in London.
Martin to go to the Olympics in London.
#mr #mongolrally |
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Day 17 Monday, 30 July 2012
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| at 16:26 on The Odd Way Round said 30 July 10pm.
4,535 miles completed (+0).
Warm and dry.
We've booked our flights to Moscow for tomorrow. We'll spend a couple of days sightseeing then fly back to London for a 10 day hiatus (Martin for the Olympics, Colin on to the US for a wedding). We'll return to Omsk pick the car up on the 13th then continue the 'rally'.
There's not much going on in Omsk, 1.5m people, not clear what they do for fun.
#mr #mongolrally |
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| at 16:19 on The Odd Way Round said 29 July, 24:00.
4,535 miles completed. Sunny with cloudy intervals, mainly dry.
Yesterday Martin drove 292 miles and we ended up back where we started, in Chelyabinsk, today Colin drove 584 miles and we travel through one time zone and navigate 2.4% of Earths circumference to arrive in Omsk. Somehow we have managed to miss the Urals.
Day off tomorrow to get a sump guard fitted to the Polo.
Today we participated in a very long traffic jam and carried out our first roadside repair.
#mr #mongolrally@ |
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Day 16 Sunday, 29 July 2012
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| at 18:13 on The Odd Way Round said 29 July, 24:00, 4,535 miles completed. Sunny with cloudy intervals, mainly dry.
Yesterday Martin drove 292 miles and we ended up back where we started, in Chelyabinsk, today Colin drove 584 miles and we travel through one time zone and navigate 2.4% of Earths circumference to arrive in Omsk. Somehow we have managed to miss the Urals.
Day off tomorrow to get a sump guard fitted to the Polo.
Today we participated in a very long traffic jam and carried out our first roadside repair.
#mr #mongolrally@ |
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| at 05:33 on The Odd Way Round said 29 July, 10:30, 4,000 miles completed. Overcast with spitting rain.
Our second attempt at leaving Chelyabisk looks to be more successful than the first, we are heading to Omsk via Kurgan, Makushino and Ishim. Still no signs of the Ural mountains.
The road seems to be getting less well traveled and the towns smaller and further apart, camping tonight?
#mr #mongolrally@ |
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Day 15 Saturday, 28 July 2012
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| at 15:03 on The Odd Way Round said
28 July, 7pm
3950 miles completed.
Overcast but warm.
We're back at the Holiday Inn Chelyabinsk!
Our failed attempt on the Kazakh border earned us a buffoon sticker each but we weren't done yet. We were most of the way back to Chelyabinsk when we realised that we'd confused the Russian border guards so much on our way back in that they'd completely forgotten to stamp our entry cards meaning that neither they nor us had any record of us entering the country. After some deliberation we decided that it could be a big problem when we try to leave Russia so turn around and go back to the border crossing!
The customs officer looked quite relieved that we'd returned to correct his mistake as that might well have cost him a posting in Siberia, but hang on, he is in Siberia already, a gulag then. We all have a good laugh about it, although this has cost us a whole day, and possibly means we don't get to Kazakhstan at all but we'll decide on that later.
#mr #mongolrally |
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| at 10:49 on The Odd Way Round said
28 July, 3:30pm
3818 miles completed.
Overcast but warm.
We awoke with a plan - to head south from Chelyabinsk in Russia and cross into Kazakhstan.
The drive was pretty smooth, Russian passport control was surprisingly quick and painless and we cross over into no man's land The queue of a dozen or so cars in front of us moves quickly enough.
Then we hit a snag, our entry visa into Kazakhstan does start until 15th Aug.
They make some efforts to allow us in but to no avail.
We do a u-turn and head back to the Russian border and are forced to use our second (and last) re-entry permit into Russia.
Kazakhstan will have to wait until after our Aug 2-12 hiatus.
#mr #mongolrally |
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Day 14 Friday, 27 July 2012
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| at 16:47 on The Odd Way Round said
27 July 6:30pm.
3660 miles completed (+265)
We only have 265 miles to cover today so leave Ufa at 10am and head towards the Ural mountains where 'Europe' officially meets Asia. The drive is incident free as we've worked out that contrary to urban legend the Russian police are stopping people who overtake in dangerous places as opposed to the Ukrainian police who set speed traps merely to pick up some pocket money. The scenery changes a little with less sunflower fields and more forests. We take a detour through a small village to see how the locals eek out a subsistence living growing vegetables in the yards outside their wooden homes that have an idyllic charm to look at but life must be hard in the winter.
We arrive at Chelyabinsk at a comfortable 6:30pm giving us time to enjoy the walking street which has a more international feel and a lively buzz.
The decision has been made, we head to Kazakhstan tomorrow, will aim to spend 4 days there before driving to Omsk in Russia then flying back to London (and Colin possibly on to the US) for 10 days and will have to worry about Russian re-entry visa issues while we're there.
#mr #mongolrally@ |
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| at 09:07 on The Odd Way Round said
27 July, 10:00am
3395 miles completed.
Perfect warm sunny day again. Highlight of yesterday's drive from Samara to Ufa was the bonding with the Russian police that started with a supposed illegal overtaking manoeuver and ended with a prolonged photo shoot and us parting with a jar of Marmite, meeting the helpful Igor who provided a 100 mile escort into town and missing a two hour time zone change. Today we will see the Urals for the first time. We have added a new accessory to the roof of Polo a Crocomander!
Next stop Chelyabinsk
#mr #mongolrally@ |
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Day 13 Thursday, 26 July 2012
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| at 07:49 on The Odd Way Round said 26 July, 10:00, 3,093 miles completed. Sunny, partly cloudy. Samara is on the mighty Volga, its like the seaside with its banks of sandy beaches lined with bars and restaurants. Lots of wooden houses. Russia men wear t-shirts shorts and flip flops ( t-shirts optional) women are dressed to indelibly impress. On our way to Ufa about 460kms away.
#mr #mongolrally |
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Day 11 Tuesday, 24 July 2012
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| at 20:34 on The Odd Way Round said 24 July, 22:00, 2,820 miles completed. 500 miles today, 11 hours driving. Sunshine all the way.
A long cross country drive earning our car it's grande tourismo badge. It also got a taste of the Russian roads to come with potholes and roadworks combining to make us bottom out a few times.
We can confirm the Volga is a large river. Currently sitting in a very strange courtyard combining a bar a restaurant a windmill and a girl singing euro trash on a stage
#mr #mongolrally |
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| at 07:31 on The Odd Way Round said
24 July, 10:00am
2315 miles completed.
Perfect warm sunny day again.
We are fed, watered and rested, and the very friendly hotelier has released us despite her clearly wanting to possess Martin for her own.
Kursk was the scene of the biggest tank battle of WWII so hopefully there will be some relics along the way to amuse us.
We're going for an ambitious 700km dash east to Saratov today, if we get there it will be the longest leg so far.
Ukraine and Russia are into growing sunflowers big time. Today's trivia question: how many sunflower seeds can you harvest from a 1km square field? We're working on our answer now.
Peace out.
#mr #mongolrally |
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Day 10 Monday, 23 July 2012
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| at 17:27 on The Odd Way Round said 23 July, 19:05, 2,250 miles completed. Sunshine.
After a couple of wrong turns (taken whilst trying to comply with police radar limits) we eventually enter Russia. The boarder crossing took us about two hours with time taken up with checking and double checking our documents.. Then checking them again just to make sure. Our offers of twiglets seem to grease the wheels of the Sovet machine enough even to make the once stern customs lady smile and even fill in our forms for us to sign. The roads on the 'other side' are decent enough to allow speeds of 80kmh but the geese strew across the road might have other ideas.
Aiming for Kursk tonight, the lonely planet says we should not bother but it's getting late and Colin has driven all day. |
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| at 09:50 on The Odd Way Round said
23 July, 11:00.
1973 miles completed.
Our first taste of grandiose Soviet architecture replete with statues of Lenin. We visit a market and the plentiful caviar saleswomen pounce on us, it looks cheap, too cheap perhaps, but it tasted good. We like this place so we give ourselves and our car (Steed) a day off before throwing ourselves at the mercy of the Russian roads. As luck would have it Sunday hosted the local football derby, two time uefa cup winners Dynamo Kiev vrs Arsenal Kiev. It's raining hard and the stadium has no covered seating. The pitch is in excellent nick and we have excellent near pitch side seats for less than USD 5 each. One nil to dynamo.
#mr #mongolrally |
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Day 8 Saturday, 21 July 2012
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| at 12:10 on The Odd Way Round said
21 July, 13:00.
1700 miles completed.
Raining, again.
We awoke to rain so abandoned our plan to have a rest day in L'viv, instead opting for a 550km drive to Kiev.
The town would not release us but after driving past the same supermarket 4 times we were freed.
70 miles down the road we failed to notice our first speed trap, the policeman noticed us though. 86kph in a 50kph section of road.
15 minutes later, and with €40 of "money bye-bye" paid we were on our way once more.
As we opted for the premium €40 service the policeman informed us that there was another speed trap 35km down the road: a buy one, get one free deal.
#mr #mongolrally |
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Day 7 Friday, 20 July 2012
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| at 19:10 on The Odd Way Round said
20 July, 21:00,
1630miles completed. Sunny and warm 25 degrees C.
There is an immediate tangible difference on the other side of the boarder. We see a horse drawn cart within minutes, there are less signs of luxury and the cars are much older. Less of the land seems put to use. We read horror stories about expensive ugly hotels but find the faded opulence of the grand Hotel George charming and good value at EUR 40 each. The doorman offers to keep an eye on our Polo (Steed) overnight for EUR 5.
L'viv old town is charming with cobbled streets that are kind on the eye but very much less so on the suspension (we bottom out for the first time)
Colin's quest for gypsy tears may soon be at an end!
#mr #mongolrally |
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| at 17:06 on The Odd Way Round said
20 July, 16:00,
1580miles completed. Sunny and warm 25 degrees C.
Just cleared Polish Ukraine boarder. Took two hours and one false liberation. Disorganised chaos to put it kindly. Cyrillic signs and no GPS might make progress more challenging.
Next stop L'viv for the night.
#mr #mongolrally |
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| at 14:53 on The Odd Way Round said
20 July, 16:00,
1580miles completed. Sunny and warm 25 degrees C.
We approach the Polish boarder with Ukraine, our tank full of petrol our stomachs full of great polish food ( and Jaffa cakes!) The countryside changing from fields full of wheat to forests. We hear cigarette smuggling is rife so we have stocked up on a few packets of Marlboro red's just in case. At the last petrol station we were offered mobile phones. I'm sure we will find out why soon. We emailed ahead to book our Chernobyl visit only to be told 11 days notice is required. Oh well. Perhaps Colin can drive a tank instead. |
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| at 10:03 on The Odd Way Round said
20 July, 11:00,
1450miles completed. Sunny and warm 25 degrees C.
We have just hit some slow moving traffic for the first time the road is full or lorries ( that's trucks to the American audience). There's a McDonalds to the right of us and a CB Radio shop in front ( when was the last time you heard a CB Radio being mentioned?) |
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| at 09:11 on The Odd Way Round said
20 July, 10:00,
1415 miles completed. Sunny and warm 24 degrees C.
We are sad to leave beautiful Krakow behind us, we head east (of course) and have stuck a sun visor to the top of the windscreen as we anticipate many hot sunny days in our future.
Next stop L'viv in Ukraine.
Our forecasts for negotiating safe passage across the boarder, Colin 60 minutes, Martin 20 minutes. Our mission to make a Ukranian boarder guard smile. Updates to follow in an hour or two or four!! |
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Day 6 Thursday, 19 July 2012
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| at 17:53 on The Odd Way Round said
19July 12:30
1392 miles completed. Sunny and warm.
Wow this place is beautiful. We look round the impressive Castle then find a BnB for the night as we decide not to head for the Ukraine tonight opting to visit the nearby famous Wieliczka Salt Mines. We are hampered however by a wheel clamp. Luckily the clamper was still nearby and he called his friend to declamp the clampees. Possibly the prettiest polish police person soon appeared to liberate the p@ |
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Day 5 Wednesday, 18 July 2012
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| at 22:41 on The Odd Way Round said
18 July 19:30
1340 miles completed.
We enter Poland from the South through wooded countryside. Our destination a town that the world knows by a different name than the one on the signposts, Auschwitz. We are struck by how complete the camps are, a tangible vivid memorial to remind the world never to forget. Later tonight we turn on the TV to news that fighting against Adsad has reached the capital Damascus (much like it did in Tripoli near Ghadaffi's end) whilst Russia vetoes action, Putin visited Auschwitz, did he forget? Or is he one of them?
Tomorrow another camp visit and then Ukraine .. Will the roads continue to be this good? |
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| at 22:22 on The Odd Way Round said
18 July 13:15
1290 miles completed. Sunshine at last.
Beautiful rolling densely wooded countryside and great roads leading us through a succession of pretty rural villages This castle was featured in the 1920s film Nosferatu. Lovingly restored we were surprised at how much we enjoyed the one and a half hour tour. Next stop Poland |
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Day 4 Tuesday, 17 July 2012
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| at 19:19 on The Odd Way Round said
17 July 19:30.
1197miles completed.
Changeable weather, sunny, cloudy with intermittent cloud bursts. Decided not to stop at a town called Martin, opting to head a tad closer to the Polish boarder and the Nosferatu castle.
Staying at our first Motel tonight, €34 a night with a surprisingly decent restaurant.
Auschwitz tomorrow.@ |
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| at 14:49 on The Odd Way Round said
17 July 15:45.
1000 miles complete.
Cloudy but rain has temporarily abated.
Apologies to the team with a bathtub on their roof as we may have inadvertently had a hand in the police pulling you over a few miles back - we hope it wasn't too costly.
Next stop Slovakia, that is if we're not forced to stop first! |
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| at 07:30 on The Odd Way Round said 16 July, 17:30, 832 miles. Arrive at the Czech out party grounds safe and sound despite a slight driving on the wrong side of the road incident. Tents are easy to erect, air beds not as easy to inflate as expected. Night night.@ |
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| at 07:29 on The Odd Way Round said 16 July, 17:30, 832 miles. Arrive at the Czech out party grounds safe and sound despite a slight driving on the wrong side of the road incident. Tents are easy to erect, air beds not as easy to inflate as expected. Night night.@ |
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| at 07:29 on The Odd Way Round said 17 July, 08:00, 832 miles. Camping overnight not as great a success as we hoped. Compressor failed to inflate the air bed. Need to buy a foot pump. Tents easy to erect not as easy to put away. Left the cigarette lighter charger on overnight but not enough to drain the battery. Discussed taking south route through Turkey last night but I think we are still heading for Poland and Ukraine today |
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Day 3 Monday, 16 July 2012
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| at 13:28 on The Odd Way Round said 16 July, 14:15, 694 miles.
Just visited the site of some of the Hitler rallies at the Zepplin Fields and went to a museum that documents the rise of the Nazi party and their demise at the Nuremberg
Trials. Colin has eaten all the biscuits. Martin almost got run over. Buffoon score Martin two Colin nil.
Next stop the castle of Klenova in the Czech republic. Colin thinks we have covered 9.5% of our total distance Martin 8.0%@ |
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| at 08:36 on The Odd Way Round said 16 July, 09:30, 620 miles.
Just leaving this lovely little town after the normal breakfast of cold cuts and cheeses. Off to Bamberg ( the most beautiful town in Germany supposedly) this morning then Nuremberg then Czech.@ |
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Day 2 Sunday, 15 July 2012
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| at 20:46 on The Odd Way Round said 15 July, 21:30, 620 miles completed. Stumbled upon this beautiful town on our way to Bamberg and decided to call it a night. Eating beautiful food. Colin's not on a diet not am I. Saw a car in flames on the motorway. Colin is adamant that he did not drive on the wrong side of the road Martin on the other hand has video evidence! |
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| at 20:42 on The Odd Way Round said 15 July, 19:55, 567 miles completed. Beautiful sunshine and blue skies at last. Followed by rain and we concur the brightest rainbow we have ever seen. Running out of fuel but Esso saves us Destination Bamberg for the night. |
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| at 12:48 on The Odd Way Round said
15 July 13:15
340 miles completed.
Just crossed from Belgium into Germany so it's schnitzel time. |
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| at 12:22 on The Odd Way Round said 15
340 miles completed.
Just crossed from Belgium into Germany so it's schnitzel time. |
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| at 08:51 on The Odd Way Round said 15 July 09:50 / 196 miles completed.
Raining, still. Heading to Nurburgring ring to set the lap record for a heavily laden 1.2L Polo. |
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Day 1 Saturday, 14 July 2012
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| at 23:00 on The Odd Way Round said 14 July 23:59 / 156 miles completed. Entered Belgium, still raining, Martin has summoned the courage to go over 45mph |
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| at 22:19 on The Odd Way Round said 14 July 23:16 / 129 miles. Finally taking the beaches of Dunkirk and heading to Brugge (Belgium) shortly in search of lodging. |
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| at 18:56 on The Odd Way Round said missed the 4pm & 6pm ferries but we're front and Center for the 8pm one.
I hope this isn't a taste of things to come! |
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| at 18:52 on The Odd Way Round said Missed two ferries, we are already 50% slower than first anticipated. No punctures yet. Mileage 129m |
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| at 14:35 on The Odd Way Round said first stop after 4.6 miles ( including the starting lap) in Curry's looking for a GPS |
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1 day before launch Friday, 13 July 2012
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| at 07:19 on The Odd Way Round said We leave tomorrow for Mongolia but we still don't have any maps or a GPS! |
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2 days before launch Thursday, 12 July 2012
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| at 07:22 on The Odd Way Round said I haven't even seen the car yet! Off to buy camping equipment today, oh and I suppose some maps! |
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7 days before launch Saturday, 7 July 2012
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| at 04:45 on The Odd Way Round said Colin left for London today it's all suddenly become very real no longer abstract |
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