We made it!
After approximately 8,500 miles, 14 border crossings, many breakdowns and many more cups of tea we reached UB at 5pm on Saturday night, in time for the final 6 week party and thrilled to see that the Finish Line had a bar where many drinks were drank (where, actually, I've spent most of my time since Saturday).
From Kazakhstan we raced across Russia in two days entering Mongolia 13 days ago. We were stuck at the border for 24 hours with 17 other teams while they processed out paperwork and another team (the lost boys) put a goat in our ambulance while we were at customs. We were quite surpised to see it sat on the front seat of the ambulance when we returned. And I now understand why driving across Mongolia is not advised, nay, discouraged. Roads are tyre tracks in the sand or mud, there are no signposts, and surfaces are like corragated cardboard and very very bumpy. It is not unusual to find rivers flowing across the roads and there are some steep mountains. When asking Mongolians for directions we often found they all pointed to a different place on the map so many times we had to resort to out trusty compass and checking the position of the sun in the sky.
Across Mongolia the ambulance suffered a battering. The back door completely fell off, we lost the front left headlight, front left suspension broke, shock absorber broke, two exhausts fell off, and the fuel pump broke when we were lost in the Gobi Desert of course we broke down (leaving us stranded for 24 hours - no phone signal of course - where just 5 cars drove past in a day. we managed to pay a truck to tow us 20km to the nearest Ger camp where thankfully Nina was fixed by Nomads). And many, many blown out tyres (and tyre changes are not simple on an ambulance). And a wheel fell off halfway across Mongolia! We were driving along and suddenly we stopped and saw one of our wheels rolling off down the road. We yelled at the ambulance and then just got on with it. We had no spare wheel nuts so had to take nuts off the other three wheels to reattach it.
We also found a cursed bulls head. Now, other teams had collected animal bones and fixated them onto theur vehicle as decoration and for about 1000 miles I had been scanning the roadside, keen to find one of my own. We found this MASSIVE bulls skull that was in perfect condition that we thought would look lovely on the ambulance. it was a hot and sunny day as I collected it, but within seconds of tying it on (cable ties through the eye sockets, attached to the bonnet) the wind picked up, the sky turned black and it was raining before we had even got back in the car. Following this, the ambulance broke down 3 times in 24 hours and we had three blown out tyres. My team mates made me get rid of it and thankfully after I did our luck improved slightly.
We handed the ambulance over yesterday - I thought I would be glad to see the back of it but it was really sad. We were pleased to hear from one of the Adventurists, Rob, that after being fixed up (at the moment our ambulance needs an ambulance of her own) she will be given to a hospital and put to good use.
Next week I am hoping to venture back into the Gobi and try my hand and camel trekking and I also want to do some volunteer work with the street kids. Following this I will be getting the maps back out and trying to catch a train to Bangkok where I will spent the month of October volunteernig at a tiger sanctuary and living at a Buddhist monestary. Jobs will include taking the tigers for walkies, cleaning out cages, and advising English speaking tourists that if they put their hand in the tigers mouth it will probably bite them.
Love n stuff,
Hev xxx
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Altay, Mongolia
Khovd, Mongolia
Ölgiy, Mongolia
Rubtsovsk, Russian Federation
Pavlodar region, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan - Glorious Capital!!
Hallaw (Rackmed) from Kazakhstan,
We is in Astana - where Glorious Leader change Kazakh capital to in 1997. He has built many big buildings and an indoor sea and beach because he wants his people to be happy in the city. It is very shiny and new but kind of empty and not many people. So you should all come on holiday here!
Glorious Leader has built himself a home that looks just like the White House. We have not met him yet because he is not in the city sadly. But we have been able to touch a handprint of Glorious Leader which has made team very happy :)
If you are planning to visit here please be aware that is you ask for water they will give you fizzy so its best to show them with a serious of diagrams that you want still water (unless you are weird and like fizzy water).
The roads yesterday were meant to be motorways whereas they were mainly dirt tracks between fields of sunflowers higher than the ambulance. We also saw many magpies and had fun with ambulance siren scaring them. Thankfully no spiders yet but we did meet a friendly marmot while we were cooking dinner whilst camping in an abandoned quarry in the desert. Also no snakes, wolves or rabbits. I am still carrying bugspary incase of spiders and dog treats incase of wolves.
Tonight we go party!
Hev xxx
Astana, Kazakhstan
Aktobe, Kazakhstan
RSS Feed
|
Previous Entries |
