Today’s lesson: Kazakh policemen are some of the nicest people in the country. Chocolate croissants from Kazakh gas stations are surprisingly tasty.
Ending Point: N47°07 E51°55
Distance Traveled: 236.9 miles
|
There are so many wonderful things about traveling with a big convoy. Getting a timely start in the morning/early afternoon after a party is not one of them. It must have been 2:00 or 3:00 PM by the time we rolled out of Astrakhan, but we made it out of the city eventually and on our way towards the Kazakh border. The unmarked and slightly confusing roads were a hint of what lay ahead, but we enjoyed traveling over a floating bridge to cross a river that we followed south then north then south again before making the turn that led to forward progress. Just before the border, we made a shockingly efficient gas stop (though I’m sure it did not seem that way to the Russian family waiting for a pump behind us). While all of the passengers got out of their cars and meandered about as usual, the drivers took care of business until George of Sitting Thunder pulled out the megaphone and encouraged, “Please return to your vehicles! Please return to your vehicles!” A-ha, the organization/cat-herding we had needed all day! We arrived to lines at the border on the Russian side and took it as an opportunity to play with our convoy. The Frisbees, footballs (in both the American and British senses), and GoPros came out, and we no longer cared about the lines. To advance the Panda in line, Charla even attempted driving! With ease, even though everyone was filming, she put the Panda into first gear and inched forward. When she didn’t stall, the cameras went away and the toys came back out until it was our time to cross. After officially leaving Russia and a fairly long no-man’s-land, we arrived on the Kazakh side of the border. Even though the border guard found Charla’s passport too thick and annoying, we were soon into Kazakhstan and a whole different phase of the Rally. The road quality changed immediately, and we found ourselves faced with some sizable potholes, broken pavement, and uncertainty with directions (not to mention with the animals being herded past). The Cads had struggled with clutch issues for most of the Rally, and the first 100 kilometers into Kazakhstan were no exception. We trailed behind as they made it to a mechanic, who upon inspecting the situation, pulled out their snatched clutch cable. Unfortunately, the mechanic did not have a replacement nor was one available for some time. Three aggressive, homophobic Russian young men got involved as well and kept asking us for iPhones, which they argued would also be a payment for the clutch cable, though they had no relationship to the Kazakh mechanic. So, we got out of town without a clutch cable for the Cads but with everything else luckily intact. The sun was setting as we dealt with the difficult situation, but the convoy agreed to push on to Atyrau that night. It was a late night of driving on some pretty iffy roads, but we made it with the help of walkie-talkie conversations and a bag of chocolate croissants. Today’s lesson: Kazakh policemen are some of the nicest people in the country. Chocolate croissants from Kazakh gas stations are surprisingly tasty. Starting Point: N46°80 E48°00
Ending Point: N47°07 E51°55 Distance Traveled: 236.9 miles
0 Comments
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 Still unaware that we had crossed into another time zone, we had quite a full night’s sleep and woke up to go downstairs to a full breakfast with the girls and Valentina. Shortly after breakfast, we began our day tour with Jenya that the Ganzas had organized. We were more than used to driving our little Panda around cities, but it was quite a treat to be driven around Moscow not only by someone who actually knew where he was going but also by someone driving a nice clean BMW. Valentina put a few sites on the must-see list, and so we went to those places first. As we drove into the city, we passed the Kremlin and headed straight to Red Square. After walking around Red Square and taking the typical tourist photos in front of Saint Basil’s Cathedral and the Kremlin, we went to Gum, one of the largest and nicest shopping malls in the city. From there, we jumped back in the car with Jenya and headed to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior to admire its architecture as well as its great view of the city. Because the Cathedral is located on the bank of the Moskva River, walking from the beautiful church across the bridge nearby (a bridge decorated with love lockets) allowed us to see a lot of the city. Back with Jenya, we cruised around for a while, as he pointed out notable streets and buildings of Moscow. After the driving tour, we decided to go back to the Kremlin to walk around the park and fountains outside, including a countdown clock for the upcoming winter Olympics in Sochi. We ended our day with Jenya at Moscow State University, also located on the river and offering a great view of the city. Our stop was a popular one, as many just-married couples and wedding parties cruised by. From there, we left the heart of the city and went back to the Ganzas for dinner and playtime in the garden. Starting Point: N55°40 E37°19
Ending Point: N55°40 E37°19 Distance Traveled: 0.0 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 We started our day with a strangely simple but elaborate breakfast at the Pensiunea Minerva in Halmagel, Romania. We knew we had a lot of miles to cover to reach the beach party, and after missing the Pit Stop Party in Sibiu, there was no way we would miss the beach party! We hit the road after breakfast, and with the road conditions in that part of Romania, pieces of the Pandas were hitting the road as well. Thankfully, the road conditions improved as we approached Deva and stayed fairly nice all the way through Sibiu, including a section of brand-new highway that did not last too long because the road itself was under construction. From Sibiu, we found our way to the start of the legendary Transfagarasan, picking up a couple other Rally cars before stopping at the end of the straight stretch of road leading to the mountains (where a kind old lady came out to greet us with apples and her tiny fluffly dog). Now, as we head into the mountains, we should clarify: the Transfagarasan is no ordinary highway. The Transfagarasan is a strip of windy asphalt directly up and over the Fagarasan mountains, and it attracts drivers from all over the world; Jeremy Clarksson, the world-famous driver from Top Gear called the Transfagarasan “the most beautiful road in the world” after his team conquered it in Ferraris and Aston Martins. If it was good enough for Jeremy Clarksson, the road was definitely good enough for us, even though we were driving a different Italian car that starts with an F. By the time we started gaining elevation, our convoy had grown to five small cars struggling with the slope. We slowly creeped uphill, continuously switchbacking and crawling up, and occasionally stopped for photos as the Romanian farmland shrank from sight and opened up magnificent views. Towards the top of the Transfagarasan, the switchbacks practically double-back on themselves, searching for any route that can continue up, and creating a route so insane that our road map actually gave up trying to trace its course. After kilometers and kilometers of steep grades and blind corners we finally made it to the peak, and we could look down at the road we had just climbed. It was a glorious sight: in the foreground, a ribbon of asphalt that so tangled that it could tie itself in a knot, and in the background farmland stretching to the horizon. By now our convoy had grown to eight teams, and there were many hugs and high fives with photos being taken of various countries’ flags being held proudly in the wind. Not to be outdone, the trip down was spectacular as well. Shortly after the surprise herd of wild horses on a blind downhill corner, our brakes began overheating. Before a crisis could actually strike, we found a pull-off to cool off our brakes and allow the entire convoy time for sandwiches and snacks. After a while of enjoying the sunshine on the mountainside, it was time to head off. Not surprisingly, the trip down the mountain was much faster than the trip up, and before long we were back on the highway driving towards Bucharest. Driving through Bucharest was quite the adventure, though of a completely different sort than the Transfagarasan. Charla nearly had a heart attack navigating, as there were no road signs to be found. She remembered talking to a Romanian guy in Halmagel, and we made a right turn after the President’s House in the center of the city that led us along the canal to exit the city on the correct road. Spotting a couple other Mongol Rally cars out in the distance was fairly helpful too! Once we made it on to the highway, the frequency of Rally car-spotting increased. We were indeed headed the right way! Once in Mamaia, our convoy was cut off by a Rally car using us for directions; we had made it over a thousand miles together and got separated five miles from the party. We went straight to the beach and awaited the others. We celebrated our success with a beach party with the other Ralliers! Starting Point: N46°16 E22°36
Ending Point: N44°16 E 28°37 Distance Traveled: 474.9 miles
We even managed to squeeze in a walk along the Thames!
Today was the day we got our Panda! We rode a double-decker bus from Purfleet out to the suburb of Grays, where we had arranged to meet the representatives of our car purchasing agency with our car. Shortly after getting off the bus, a blue Panda came driving into the parking lot and we immediately fell in love. After a few necessities of purchasing a car (counting cash, signing documents, etc.), it was time to hit the road for the very first time! Our first drive on the wrong side of the road went well, and we even negotiated a roundabout with ease! It was tougher to get used the transmission; Chase has never really driven stick before, and the Panda turned into Chase’s do-it-yourself learn-on-the-go driving school. John, Chase, and their amazing Pandas! There were surprisingly few stalls as we headed straight into Central London traffic during rush hour. Unfortunately, our map was not detailed enough to include street names, and we fulfilled our team name of “Team Turnagain.” We’re fairly sure we fulfilled all stereotypes of Americans driving in England as we tried to navigate the one way streets, were surprised as we passed landmarks of the city like St. Paul’s and the British Museum, and may or may not have found ourselves screaming in three-lane roundabouts. Though Chase is used to driving in New York City traffic, London traffic defies logic. The roads turn unexpectedly or become one-way against you when you least expect it. On a positive note, it was easy to learn to drive in London because traffic was so insane that no one was following the rules of the road; rather than thinking Chase was learning how to drive, other drivers just assumed he was a rude driver and tolerated him. After taking a scenic tour of London, including Oxford Circus twice and Picadilly Circus in the middle of a film premiere, we finally made it back to John’s flat to pick up our camping gear that had been stowed there. After spending an evening with John, it was time to get out of the city; we were off for Brighton!
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.
|