We knew this day would come, and we dreaded from the moment we picked up our little blue Panda in Grays. We had to hand the Panda over to the Adventurists to be auctioned for charity. We had grown attached to the car while it was ours since it was not only our means of transportation but also our home, our sofa, our trusty vessel, our storage facility, and our friend. The Panda dealt with a lot on the drive from England to Mongolia—half a dozen flat tires, a ripped-off exhaust, blinky lights on the dash that shouldn’t have been blinky, and parts flying off—but she handled it with finesse. So, for this day, we think photos say more than our words can. We’ll miss Panda, but even more, we’ll miss the friends we made with her and the adventures that we all shared. And, don't forget, we're still fundraising for our charities Cool Earth and the Lotus Children's Centre. To get involved with Cool Earth, click here: http://www.justgiving.com/TeamTurnagain !
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Panda found herself a good spot.
We crossed the finish line the evening before one day earlier than our original target (well, more like a few hours before our target), so we had a day to relax, catch up with our friends there especially our many convoy-mates, and eat a lot. The feasting started with a big breakfast at the Flower Hotel, which was hosting lots of Ralliers and had some wonderful Korean baths that we enjoyed the night before. From the Flower, we moved to the Chinggis Khan Hotel and started the slow unpacking and sorting of the Panda, including moving all of our wet and smelly camping gear past a couple nice wedding parties (apparently the Chinggis is the place to get married in U.B.). It was our day to celebrate, so we didn’t spend very long working on Panda matters but instead went out with our friends to Joe’s Burger. Chase had been talking about having a burger since some time in Russia after his cheeseburger in Volgograd. The picture of his first bite pretty much says it all. After burgers and walking around town, we spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out of the entryway of the hotel, welcoming Ralliers to the finish line and swapping stories from the road. We also finally found an occasion to get out the two bottles of Jacob’s Creek from the Calais Wine Superstore that had been rolling around in the back of the Panda for six weeks. So much celebrating put us in the mood for dinner, and we went to the nearby Hazara’s Restaurant for a northern Indian feast. Several other Ralliers had the same idea, so we went together from Hazara’s to Hennessy X.O. for the official finish line party. Fittingly, we were dressed as pirates. Viva Mongol Rally!
We were extremely careful not to declare anything “our last ____,” but now that it’s happened we actually can. After a late night of hanging out in the desert with our kish lak, our convoy group, we slept in and had our last standard breakfast of oatmeal and coffee then packed up camp. We were just under 200 miles from the city when we began, and we had heard that the roads would be pretty good until the finish line. So, we started out thinking it would be an easy day—a nice cruise into the city. Of course, we were wrong. We drove along “good” roads for a while and got comfortable with our pace. Then, BOOM! BOOM! We hit a couple potholes and blew out two tires. The Skoda was following close behind us and swerved quickly, making it out unscathed and ready to help us out. A few moments later, while we were checking out the car, we heard it again, BOOM! BOOM! A Mongolia family hit the same potholes and blew out two tires and sent a metal ring flying into Fabian. Luckily, Fabian sustained no injuries. We had some problems, though. We had two completely flat tires and one spare. We put the spare on one punctured tire and then went through our options. We had a good tire on a bad rim, a bad tire on a good rim, and a can of fix-a-flat. The best option was for Fabian and Oskar to go into town to have the good parts put together while we waited on the side of the road, so the rescue Skoda went to work. A few moments later, Daniel and Markus returned after hanging out with a bunch of Rally teams a few miles up the road. If only we could have been with them! There was a Panda! Instead, we got out the fix-a-flat just for ha-ha’s. Naturally, when the tire comes off the rim, it doesn’t work and the tire comes completely off. We packed the destroyed tire away and got out the soccer ball, Frisbee, and camp chairs. The Mongolian family came over, and we started a play party on the side of the road. A few hours later, Fabian and Oskar returned, and within minutes, we were back on the road! The rest of the drive was beautiful, and the Panda held up. As we came into town, the Panda did start making a few funny noises (and according to Daniel, we lost a part that hit his car?), but we turned up the music, made it through insane U.B. traffic, and crossed the finish line with our convoy!!!! Time to celebrate! Today’s lesson: If it seems easy at the start, it’s not. Also, WE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOORAY!!!! Starting Point: N46°52 E103°25
Ending Point: N47°55 E106°56 Distance Traveled: 220.1 miles We had not been having the greatest luck with the Panda since crossing the Mongolian border, but our Panda is a trooper. She can do anything, and we had seen her fix herself a couple times already. So, when she wouldn’t start in the morning, we didn’t panic but instead reached into the backseat for the trusty Haynes manual, which suggested that we check and clean our air filter (something we had known we needed to do for about…um…two weeks at this point?). Markus even helped us out with a little compressed air—much better than just banging it on a rock—and soon we were on the road again. After a slow start, the rest of the day went swimmingly; ironically, it was the only day in Mongolia we didn’t have some sort of water crossing. The water crossing, however, was replaced with a mud crossing, which caught both Daniel and the Skoda in its grips. A little pushing and a lot of improved route-finding got us through the tricky area and to a beautiful camping spot for the night. We stopped early, as it could be our last night camping in Mongolia, and we explored the beautiful landscape around us, which made for some great photo opportunities. Stopping early also gave us time for an epic game of catch and some sunset/moonrise beers. Truly, it was convoy magic. Starting Point: N46°01 E100°25
Ending Point: N46°52 E103°25 Distance Traveled: 216.9 miles At sunrise we were on the road again and heading into the Altai Mountains. The road we were driving was a stunning road that clung to the side of mountains as roaring rivers flowed beneath us in deep valleys. In the brief interludes when the pouring rain stopped, the low-hanging clouds enshrined everything in mist and gave an eerie quality to the beauty we were witnessing. We discovered later this afternoon that the road we had driven was supposed to be the nicest drive in Siberia according to Lonely Planet, and I believe it! By early afternoon we had reached the border to exit Russia, and we were all ecstatic. For weeks Mongolia had been a theoretical concept; sure, it was always our goal, but it was also so far away. All of a sudden we were knocking on Mongolia’s door, and the years of dreaming and months of planning had actually paid off! Now we just had to get let in. While we were waiting in line in Russia we met Team Detour, a Swedish team in a snazzy new Škoda, and they decided they’d stick with us through the border crossing as well. It only took us two hours to get out of Russia, and with no idea what to expect we pulled out of Customs Control. As we were pulling out Charla asked Chase at what point he thought the paved road would end; before he could even answer, we realized that the pavement literally stopped at Russia’s legal edge. Welcome to Mongolia! After we spent many hours waiting for Mongolia to process our paperwork, all four teams legally entered the country at around 8PM. We had no intention of driving in the dark, so we drove about five kilometers away from the border and set up a massive camp on the side of the road. That night we cooked a giant camp stove feast and passed around a few bottles to celebrate that we had made it! Although we definitely knew that the hardest part of the trip was yet to come… Starting Point: N51°40 E85°46
Ending Point: N49°29 E89°43 Distance Traveled: 328.4 miles Today marked exactly two weeks from our target finish line party! Let’s hope we make it! Our morning by the lakeside started with a bit of shopping in the local market for supplies for a delicious breakfast in the apartment kitchen. As we were finishing our meal, the woman who helped us with renting the apartment made the first of her appearances for the day, which was a bit odd considering it was 9AM and we were checking out at 3PM. We made it clear that we did not want to reserve another night and for her sake agreed to check out an hour earlier. Thinking things were clear, we went down to the beach on the lake nearby for a bit of swimming and to take photos. The lake looked much better in the sunlight than it had the night before under grey skies. Charla even found a nice captain’s hat to go with our pirate-maritime theme on the trip (yes, we know we’re not on the sea)! Back at the apartment, the renting assistant lady made a second appearance, this time a much less pleasant one, as she barged in while we were trying to get dressed, packed, and have lunch before leaving in a couple hours. After all of her fuss, we tossed our bags outside and ate lunch from our camping plates on the street. Needless to say, we were not impressed. Hoping for a better atmosphere, we headed to Sambuca Café in nearby Cholpon-Ata (the main beach town on the north side of the lake) for some afternoon refreshments, Internet, and planning for the day. As we left the busy beach town overrun with folks from the capitol on holiday, the day dramatically improved. Traffic thinned down and the road narrowed. The scenery, however, remained just as beautiful, as we could see snow-capped mountains across the lake on one side and the rugged mountains closer by on our side of the lake. Soon, we found ourselves in Karakol. We came to this small town because a couple weeks ago in Volgograd, Russia, we met Daniel at the Local Hostel, who had opened a coffee shop called Karakol Coffee. He gave us his business card, so we looked around town for a logo that matched. Before arriving at the coffee shop, we met two Israeli tourists here for trekking and looking for a place to stay; we were excited to meet other backpackers, as we knew there had to be good stuff in this town! A few blocks after meeting them, we were at Karakol Coffee for a chat with Aikerim. Then, we were on our way to An Artisan’s Guesthouse with Katie, who is from Washington and studying the traditional Kyrgyz lute here. Once settled in, we returned to Karakol Coffee to hang out for the evening—the first time we have really relaxed in ages.
Starting Point: N42°39 E77°12 Ending Point: N42°29 E78°22 Distance Traveled: 97.3 miles We woke up very early with hopes to recover some of the delay we experienced the day before due to the horrendous road conditions, and we set off for Bishkek. Our first town on the day’s route was Turkestan, which we had heard great things about from our French backpacker friend in Aralsk. The city’s architecture was stunning and a glimpse into the Uzbek architecture we wouldn’t get to see on this journey (why didn’t we get Uzbek visas again?). We met a couple of wonderful people at the Gazprom station in town who shared a bit more about the city and region with us; the conversation started when one said in perfect English that he spoke Kazakh but not English. We were incredibly excited about this part of the country as we left. Then, driving through town, a dog doubled back on its trip across the street at the same time that we were crossing. We were horrified when we heard it, but then amazed when we stopped and found it still running and seemingly OK and on its way to care from a couple of locals, including a man we played charades with on the side of the road. After a bit of shock, things got better when we were pulled over yet again by the police for a curiosity stop. Just after we left the police, we passed another Rally team heading in the opposite direction and on the other side of a concrete barrier. We honked, and they honked; yet, we couldn’t seem to find a place to talk to each other and kept going. After an insane fifteen miles through Turkestan, the rest of the drive through the small part of southern Kazakhstan we crossed was uneventful. We were pulled over again, and we stopped to ask a couple policemen for directions in Shymkent. We grew to like the Kazakh police; they were by far the most friendly police on our journey and some of the most pleasant (and smiling!) people we talked to in all of Kazakhstan. In Shymkent, we also came very close to adopting a pet for our journey when we saw a small puppy outside of a shop; fortunately/unfortunately, he was well cared for by everyone working there. Leaving Kazakhstan through the border crossing after Merki, we had a surprisingly easy, dare we say enjoyable border experience. Leaving Kazakhstan was a breeze, and then entering Kyrgyzstan, we encountered border officials who were excited about our journey and the charities we were benefiting. (Did you forget about them? Check out Cool Earth and the Lotus Children’s Centre, and help us on our campaign!) One guard even rose to shake Chase’s hand twice and offer him a cigarette—a meaningful gesture even though he doesn’t smoke—while the guards laughed and passed around Charla’s thick passport. The drive between the border and Bishkek was a short one, and though unsure where we were in the city, the place we found for the evening was a good one. While looking for wifi in the area between the bazaar and a park-lined street, we chance upon the Koisha Hotel, where Rashid came to meet us. As we walked through the city center, he gave us a quick overview of the main sights, including the opera house, UN house, and Bishkek University. Our walk ended at a nice coffee shop that served quality drinks and café food where we were able to catch up with Rashid on his exciting career in international relations and his thoughts on Kyrgyzstan. Starting Point: N43°56 E67°14
Ending Point: N42°53 E74°36 Distance Traveled: 478.3 miles We were up and out of our perfect camping spot fairly early since we had a bit of back-tracking to do. On the positive side, the navigating was much easier the second time around. Once back in Atyrau, we needed the usual grocery, gas, and bank stops, which somehow took our teams over an hour. So, at noon, we were finally ready to leave the same spot we had left the day before at noon. The delay was a little disheartening since we were trying to make it to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, at a good pace in order to catch up with one of Chase’s friends before the friend traveled home to Uzbekistan. (Yes, we really should have looked at a map more carefully and arranged Uzbek visas…) As we headed due north out of Atyrau, the driving was as pleasant as the many people who stopped us en route to Makat had described. The scenery was fairly uniform, but the road conditions were good—something we needed considering the rain pouring down for the first couple hours. We made good time to Oralsk, a city not far from the Russian border that we would have passed through if we had taken a left turn in Russia near Tambov rather than traveling south to Volgograd and Astrakhan. In Oralsk, we attempted to register our visas at the police station and then at the immigration building with no success. We decided to settle the visa registration the next day in Actobe and drove around town until we found a good place for dinner. The small bar and café we found served delicious meat and vegetarian spaghetti-like lagman. The sun was setting as we left town and continued east. That night we experienced the first of what would be many police stops in Kazakhstan. Two officers pulled over the Panda with the blinky orange batons while the Kangoo waited ahead. They greeted us in a friendly manner then asked where we were from and where we were going. When Chase answered Alaska, they laughed that it was cold there and how hot he must be in Kazakhstan. In unison, they shouted “Good-bye!” and we were back on the road. Not long after, we pulled off and found another great camping spot where we were able to stargaze for hours. Today’s lesson: Skinny lines on maps of Kazakhstan do not indicate good roads. Starting Point: N47°33 E53°00
Ending Point: N50°53 E51°46 Distance Traveled: 429.5 miles
Our new friends approve of the Panda!
The sunflower field was a perfect place for the night judging by just how late we slept in the following morning. Once we got back on the road, it was a smooth drive until we hit the bumpy, pothole-dotted roads into Volgograd. Based on our arrival, Volgograd appeared the friendliest city to the Mongol Rally that we have passed so far. Driving along the main road into downtown, a man pulled up next to us honking and showing off a shirt that we couldn’t read. We’re assuming it was an old Rally shirt or one from a team because when he got close enough he gave us a thumbs-up and shouted “Mongol Rally!! Yeah!!” A few moments later, another car pulled up alongside and asked “Mongolia? We’re from Uzbekistan! Awesome!” Then, they threw us some beads with a spider carving for good luck on the journey. We knew we were in for a good time in Volgograd. Traffic wasn’t our friend at first though as we cruised around looking for a spot with Internet. Eventually, we made our way slightly out of town to juice bar in a mall. Once online, we saw that two other teams were still in Volgograd, so we turned around and headed towards the hostel where they were staying. Finding the hostel (through an archway, along a garden, ringing up from a steel door, taking the elevator to the fifth floor, and finding a door with an owl on it) was difficult but worth the effort once we met Lorenzo and Emanuele of Team Rougher Dan Khan and James from the Thunderyaks as well as Ting traveling from China. We went out to dinner nearby at a pub the first two found the day before. Though it took us a while to navigate the Russian-only menu, we did so to great success and enjoyed our first hot meal since leaving Moscow.While Lorenzo and Emmanuele worked through some of their issues with their car and its massive engine problems, James joined us out in the park for a beer. That night, however, was no ordinary night in the park. It was an evening of celebrating the Russian Navy! We had seen blue and white flags all over town as we were driving in, and suddenly it all made sense (we had wondered if the flags were for a football match, graduation, or if we’d accidentally found ourselves in Chechnya with an uprising starting). Soon, we were surrounded by a big group of friendly Russian soldiers who explained the holiday and really liked to shout “Russian tradition!!” Once we had all finished our beers, we went for a walk in the park to a café for another round. Conversation was all over the place in a mixture of languages, but the excitement and comradery was unforgettable. Starting Point: N51°47 E41°47
Ending Point: N48°42 E44°30 Distance Traveled: 294.8 miles After a late night on the beach with our friends from Pandaland and the other Rally teams that we had met on the Transfagarasan and those we has not seen since the Czech Out and Euro Launches, we decided we needed to take a day off and enjoy the beach (and to plan for the next phase of the Rally ahead). We started with a morning swim, where we found the Phileasfog Reformers still on the beach and not en route to Turkey. Joining up with Iona and Faye, we went to a local café for breakfast in Mamaia, the bigger town next to Oha Beach (somewhat reminiscent of Miami and Las Vegas). The usual hilarity of Pandaland ensued as we laughed about the night before, including noticing how many of us had been stamped (and still had stamps on our arms, legs, and even faces in some cases) by the Phileasfog teammates. Following breakfast, we said goodbye to Justin, Andrew, Simone, and Miriam as they set out for Bulgaria then Istanbul. We were sad to see Pandaland’s borders shrink, but we knew it would happen and enjoyed the rest of the day with Long Time No Sea and other Ralliers who lingered behind for another beach day. Starting Point: N44°16 E28°37
Ending Point: N44°16 E28°37 Distance Traveled: 17.2 miles |
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