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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We woke up to another incredible breakfast at An Artisan’s Guesthouse and then squeezed in a yoga session before heading out of town. On our way to Karakol Coffee, we passed a parking lot full of Mongol Rally cars and invited the ones that were ready to go to join us. Our last stop at Karakol Coffee was just as perfect as the first—good times with good people. We are so thankful to Aikerim. She said that she didn’t do anything, but she really did everything to make our time in Karakol wonderful just by being there and being her (and in doing so attracting a great group of people). Team Turnagain headed out of Karakol in convoy with the Elephants and the Lumberyaks. Together, we passed some of the most beautiful landscape of our trip. Yes, some of that journey was the most technically demanding driving of the Rally—we took the Panda across a gravel mountain pass that was over 6,000 feet in elevation where cows, sheep, and goats roam about and are herded by the folks living in the surrounding yurts—but those few hours were unforgettable. From the pass, we re-joined the main road leading us to the eastern border crossing of Lake Issyk Kul. As far as border crossings go, it was a good one: all three teams made it across in a fairly timely order, the Kyrgyz guards called us “G-Unit” and “Pamela Anderson,” and the Kazakh guard went through Chase’s passport and pointed to the landscape photos to indicate whether or not Kazakhstan had the featured animal or type of monument. From the border, we traveled across more breathtaking mountains until the sun set. It was our first time driving west, and we were driving into the sunset (either we’re doing something very right or very wrong). Not long after sunset, the Elephants blew a tire, and we had a bit of roadside repair by flashlight to prepare for the last stretch into Almaty. As we entered the city, the Elephants, our lead car, separated from us and the Lumberyaks, leaving us a little lost. As luck would have it, the five star Rixos Hotel was nearby, and they allowed us to use their wifi and complimentary city maps to find our way to the Almaty Backpackers’ Hostel. Now, the décor of the hostel in no way compared to that of the Rixos, but the people there absolutely made our evening—other Mongol Ralliers! We grabbed supplies from a nearby shop and made dinner with the Lumberyaks, which led to a late-night session with the Rally crew. Starting Point: N42°29E78°22
Ending Point: N43°13E76°56 Distance Traveled: 248.9 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 not able to see much of the landscape as we drove southeast the night before and so we imagined hills or desert. When the sun came up, we found ourselves in the middle of open desert with camels surrounding our camp! It was quite early, but we said goodbye to the one member of From Denmark to Mongolia that was awake and left a note for the Thunderyaks, knowing that we would see them again sometime soon. We had hoped to make it to Aralsk the night before, but we weren’t disappointed when it only took an hour to reach there in the morning. We entered the town and passed under an archway with an anchor on it, hoping to see some remainder of the former port on the Aral Sea—a sea that has tragically receded from where it once bordered the town. Passing near the town square, we met a French backpacker traveling solo by train throughout the region, who helped us examine our options for seeing ships in the desert. From what he had found, a Jeep tour was the best idea but we didn’t have time to do a tour and still make our goal of Bishkek the next evening. So, we thanked our new friend and spent a little while wondering around town then continued southeast. About an hour outside Aralsk, we spotted a view tower that we could climb. From there, we could see a small body of water that used to be part of the massive sea. Leaving the view tower, we had nice roads, and then the roads started to be not-so-nice. After being pulled over yet again for a curiosity stop, we picked up a nail in our tire. Luckily, Chase is quite skilled when it comes to fixing flats, so we got the Panda back in shape and continued our journey. We had a few more miles of deceptively nice roads before the road monster roared its ugly head. Driving to Kyzylorda was hell. Sandstorms blew up as we bounced along the small roads that resembled Swiss cheese with so many potholes. Seemingly mocking our attempts were construction crews working on brand new roads a few meters away. We eventually got out of the area with minimal damage to the Panda and were happy to be pulled over by the police yet again as we entered Kyzylorda. All smiles with the flat tire, but by the end of the day, we were exhausted! Just outside the city, we realized we had again missed a time zone change as the sun set shockingly early according to our clocks. As the highway between Kyzylorda and Turkestan was filled with lane changes and animals on the road, we pulled off near Zhanakorgan to rest and recover from a long, crazy day of driving. Starting Point: N47°33 E61°30
Ending Point: N43°56 E67°14 Distance Traveled: 477.5 miles The sunrise woke us up, so we got an early start to the day. Since there are frequent ramps to drive up and check under the car all along the highway, we made use of one and checked out the undersides of the Panda and the Thunderyaks’ Kangoo. After what we had driven through, they were pretty dirty but otherwise intact, so we continued down the road. To no surprise, as we rolled into Actobe, the police pulled us over again, this time slightly more interested in seeing some paperwork but not so interested as to push us for it. We left the roadside police to go to the police station to find out how and where to register our visas. They directed us to the immigration department, which was closed for lunch. Since the officials were taking a lunch break, we thought it was time for one as well. After asking around, we got directions from a nice man named Aslan to a restaurant in the basement of a hotel called Sultan. There, we spoke on the phone with someone who spoke a little English; by the end of the conversation, we still weren’t sure what we were ordering, but went for it anyways. Half an hour later, a feast arrived with chicken, potatoes, rice, salad, and a piece of salmon. Far more in need of a food-coma nap than accomplishing tasks, we went to the immigration department where we waited in line for nearly an hour until a woman opened the covered glass window and took our passports. In the meantime, the Cads and Bounders arrived, and the teams had plenty of time to catch up. Much later than we had planned, we left Actobe heading southeast while the Cads stayed in town to get their car issues sorted. Not far outside the city, we were thrilled to see a gathering of Rally cars at a roadside pull off (complete with one of the aforementioned ramps!)! As they were finishing their dinner, we shared road stories with Don Tiki, the Yard Monkeys, and From Denmark to Mongolia. The last team had been on their own for the entire Rally after having car problems in Berlin, and they had been quite isolated as they took the crazy road that we turned away from in Makat, which took them three full days to travel. So, we added them to our convoy and set off for Aralsk. After a market stop, we drove into the night until finding a camping spot about an hour north of our target city. There, we got to know the new guys as we checked out the stars. Starting Point: N50°53 E51°46
Ending Point: N47°33 E61°30 Distance Traveled: 614.5 miles After a rough start in the Ukraine, we were starting to really enjoy the country—well, we were starting to love Bila Tservka. We felt like new people after rest and showers, and the day only got better when we returned to the restaurant across the street, which called itself “Veranda” in English. Lunch was just as good as dinner the night before, and we certainly enjoyed the price of things there, as we again ordered three entrees between the two of us. Lunch there seemed an appropriate way to end our short time in Bila Tservka, so we set off towards the Russian border. Not long after getting back on the road, we spotted a big American school bus! It could only be the Rally vehicle belonging to the Dixie Chickens, who are driving around the world and including the Mongol Rally as one step of that journey. We pulled over for a quick chat while they moved their gear inside in preparation for the oncoming rain. We had different routes planned and set off towards Kiev. On a rainy night in the Ukraine, Panda is the only color. Kiev was a shockingly nice city to drive through. The highways didn’t go right through the middle of town, and best of all, there were street signs pointing us where we needed to go! From Kiev, the driving towards the border was fairly easy, despite the rain. Actually, the rain very much added to the atmosphere of post-Soviet northern Ukraine, where everything was grey, green, or beige. We took a detour through the town of Konotop, a town that we rather doubted that evening. As we kept going though, we discovered streetcars, shops, and restaurants. Rather than camp in the rain, we found a room there for the night. Starting Point: N49°47 E30°06
Ending Point: N51°16 E33°22 Distance Traveled: 238.7 miles We had been thinking about this day for months, maybe even years: the start of the Mongol Rally! It was really happening! The morning was a blur of packing up, stickering, networking, and eating breakfast sandwiches. Then, everyone came together for a series of announcements and an awards ceremony. There were the expected awards like for best-outfitted car and most money raised for charity. The most memorable award was for the over-prepared car; the prize was a large golden TV to take with them on their roof rack. Following the ceremony, there was the traditional joust in front of the castle with two men on horseback and then a less traditional joust with one man on horseback and one on top of a car. The knight on horseback won… Perhaps an omen for the Rally? We hope not. After the ceremony and much anticipation, we finally rolled up the starting platform. No one could forget our start. We were the only team to stall three times getting up the ramp! We lived up to British stereotypes of Americans in that moment, but at least we were memorable, though perhaps less so than the team that had a mother get on the microphone to say goodbye. Leaving Bodiam, we followed Scarlett and Tom to Dover—a short hour-long drive full of Rally cars. At the ferry terminal, we accidentally separated from our navigators as we tried to pick up our tickets at the wrong building. The day changed from there, as we couldn’t possibly meet up with them in Frankfurt, Germany, at a pub whose name we didn’t know. We were lucky, however, to get on an earlier ferry to Calais with lots of other Ralliers. In the waiting lanes for the boat, we met Duncan and Jared from New Zealand and decided to aim for Luxembourg for the night. On board, we solidified our plans as we watched the white cliffs of Dover disappear into the distance. Just before leaving the ferry, we met Dick (we individually commented on his nice car) and he gave us better direction for the afternoon. We landed in France and met the Kiwis at the Calais Wine Superstore just outside the dock. The drive through France was beautiful and easy, until we were stopped in traffic for an hour, and then the drive through Belgium was almost as nice despite the change in road surface quality. Our delay in traffic put us behind in our plan for Luxembourg, so we found a camping spot in Belgium for the night and made some dinner while enjoying Belgian beers. Starting Point: N50°49 W00°18
Ending Point: N50°10 E05°22 Distance Traveled: 254.1 miles |
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