Ending Point: N46°52 E103°25
Distance Traveled: 216.9 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
0 Comments
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 Judging by the crowd, we began our day in Bishkek much like everyone else: with a trip to the main bazaar. We were happier with our room choice for the previous night when we just had to walk a couple blocks to reach the bazaar and passed a bakery on the way, where Charla found a slice of breakfast honey-chocolate cake. As we walked around, Chase found his breakfast in the bazaar itself—meat on a stick and a fresh meat and potato samosa. While the food was great, the beverage was not; sour coconut milk is not a good pairing with fresh, delicious food. The good far out-weighed the bad in the bazaar, especially once Charla found some stylish leggings that put together the Union Jack and the Icelandic flag. She’s ready for some cooler temperatures once we get to high altitude in Russia. After a good morning in the market, we left town for the famed Lake Issyk Kul. We took a route that mixed directions from our paper map and Google Maps, being sure that we didn’t accidentally re-enter Kazakhstan and use the last of our available entries, and the drive was gorgeous. We passed between Kazakh and Kyrgyz mountains, over some small rivers, and through a sunflower field before rejoining the main road that took us through the mountain pass and on to the lake. We thought the somewhat heavy traffic on the still-under-construction road was somewhat normal until we arrived in the town of Bosteri and started looking for a place to stay. We checked out a few places as we searched for the one Rashid recommended, and we soon found out it was a holiday weekend in a lake-beach town at full capacity. Luckily, we had been trying the find a place while following a man in a Toyota who seemed to know what was going on. When we got a chance to talk to Mairambek, who had spent a year living in the US, he told us about his search for a room and kindly helped us find an apartment near the town market before finding his own. We were thankful once we settled in and then went for a walk around the neighborhood and down to the beach. Our walk back took us through a small market (tiny compared with the one we had experienced in the morning) where Charla picked up some fresh vegetables to add to dinner. Today’s lesson: Fresh coconut, good. Sour coconut milk, not good. Starting Point: N42°53 E74°36
Ending Point: N42°39 E77°12 Distance Traveled: 182.6 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 After checking all our preparations for the Rally one or two more times, we decided a delicious lunch was in order. The owner of the campground had recommended Chipwick for the most award-winning fish & chips in Worthing, so we headed back to that little town. Yesterday we had thought our fish & chips were amazing, but today we realized why Chipwick was award-winning! Absolutely delicious! We knew we were leaving the English seaside after today, and this was definitely the best last meal for us to eat. We were moving camp closer to tomorrow’s Mongol Rally starting line, and we had found a campground not too far away. Well, maybe not a campground per sé, but a pub that allowed camping. What could go wrong? We were even in touch with Dillion and Lisa from Team Innocents Abroad, and we’d get to meet our first Rally team before we even got to the starting line! When we arrived in Boreham Street, we found out why the village got its name: the village literally consists of one street about one kilometer long. We parked and set ourselves up behind the Bull’s Head Pub, and before long Team Innocents Abroad also pulled in to set up camp. After exploring the little village, there was time for dinner and some local Harvey’s beer made right there in Sussex. The bartender tried to convince us to stay one more night because tomorrow was the Boreham Street & Wartling Annual Fair, but unfortunately we knew we had bigger plans for the next morning!
Still trying figure out what time of day it was, though sufficiently helped by the first darkness we had experienced in weeks, we slept in rather later than normal. After a slow start and some personal admin, we made our way to Victoria Coach Station, where we caught the bus to Bristol to see a friend of Charla’s that she met on a crazy night on Lonely Beach on Koh Chang a few years ago. After sitting in London traffic for ages, we crawled out of the city, and the journey took us through some beautiful farm country. While Charla was counting sheep in her dreams, Chase was admiring the landscape filled with them. [We later learned this traffic was not just a Friday night occurrence but that many of the buses were headed in our direction to reach the Glastonbury festival not too far from our destination. Note to selves: Investigate festivals nearby our travels and go to them!] Upon arriving in Bristol over an hour late, we walked around the station to see what we thought might be Samantha’s vehicle just drive off. Since we missed her, we popped into the White Hart, contacted her, and waited to see her again. In true Koh Chang spirit, as soon as we met up with Samantha, we went straight to another pub for some amazing food and drink. Though not the Ting Tong Bar, we loved the Kensington Arms for its cozy atmosphere and wonderful local, organic food. Charla went for the classic fish and chips while Chase ordered the bacon-wrapped monkfish. Delighted with our meals, we went on a bit of a walk around town, ending up on Whiteladies Street at the W.G. Grace Pub, where Chase practiced his skills at balancing a 50p piece on a lemon floating in a bowl of water. The game may sound silly, but it’s quite a challenge (and the proceeds went to charity). Our night ended with a stroll back to Samantha’s flat.
|