Ending Point: N49°29 E89°43
Distance Traveled: 328.4 miles
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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
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We woke up on the early side and began our drive as soon as we could. Our goal for the day was to reach the Russian border, and we had some miles to put away! Over the course of the Rally Charla spent a large portion of her time studying the map, and today we learned that Kazakh people also enjoy maps. In the morning we were pulled over by the police (for the eighth time in Kazakhstan), and Chase walked up to the officer to see what the problem was this time. (Unlike in the US where you sit perfectly still when pulled over, in Kazakhstan the driver gets out and approaches the police officer to shake hands and exchange pleasantries.) Suddenly the officer surprised both of us by jumping in the drivers’ seat! Maintaining her cool, Charla gave him a tour of the Panda from the passenger seat, pointing out the maps, the snacks, and of course our giant stuffed panda. The officer took his time to study our map of Central Asia before hopping out and sending us on our way. A couple hours later we were doing our grocery shopping in a military town when two met approached us; they didn’t ask about us, they didn’t ask about the car, but they did ask about a map! For the second time in two hours Charla had the giant map out and then men were fascinated by where our journey had taken us so far. Our goal of getting to Russia was starting to seem a little too ambitious for today. We got into Semey around dinnertime, and after exploring the city decided it would be a fine place to dine. We devoured our meal in a local café, and as it as dark and raining we decided to stay in Semey for the evening. We decided to leave at sun-up the next morning, so it was coincidentally appropriate when the only hotel we could find was an hourly hotel. We kept it classy and purchased the 12-hour package, and called it a night. Starting Point: N46°04 E80°46
Ending Point: N50°23 E80°13 Distance Traveled: 384.4 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 After three and a half hours of sleeping soundly in the Panda on the roadside, we woke up to Faye tapping on the window about an hour before sunrise. Good morning! As the sun was rising, we found our way back to the main road and turned east to Odessa. As we passed through Tatarbunary, Pandaland dropped back down to one as the girls stopped at a garage to try and get their car fixed up. As we continued on, we wanted to avoid entering Moldova (and thus re-entering Ukraine) at all costs. Oddly enough, every main road connecting Odessa to southwest Ukraine was through Moldova; luckily for us there was one minor coastal road that would stay in the country. Let’s do it! Even by Eastern European standards, this road ranked poorly. On the side of the road there was a wide off-road path that had been created by people who chose to drive off the road rather than face the potholes; on the side of that was a second off-road path that had been carved by people who didn’t want to face the potholes or the mudpuddles of the first path. Factor in all the heavy truck traffic (because truckers love avoiding border crossings), and it was an adventure of a road. The nice thing about the road is that it did allow us to cruise through a few beautiful beach towns along the Black Sea. By the time we got to Odessa we weren’t really interested in exploring the city anymore, and decided to get out in the country. We headed north out of Odessa and just kept on driving. By four in the afternoon we realized we had been on the road for over 25 of the last 29 hours, and it was time for a well-earned break. By exploring the town of Bila Tserkva, and with some excited hand gestures from a Ukrainian woman at a Lukoil gas station, we found ourselves the City Park Hotel; luckily for us, City Park was so interested in the Mongol Rally they offered us a cheap rate for the night, including a light breakfast. (Two ragged Americans with a good story must be a lot more interesting than their usual clientele of Ukrainian businessmen visiting their satellite offices.) Across the street was a delicious restaurant, and after a bit of dinner (well, maybe a feast) we chose an early bedtime and called it a night. Today's lesson: Food and sleep are very important. Also, things often look better in daylight. Starting Point: N45°35 E28°35
Ending Point: N49°47 E30°06 Distance Traveled: 453.3 miles |