China
Well, Ellis and Andrew have undertaken the uneasy task of transforming from Mongol Ralliers to plain old “backpackers”. It still raises a smile though when meeting other tourists and getting asked “so where have you travelled from then?”
The only 2 members of Wrong Way Round still in Mongolia are the cars, as Nathan and Daniela have arrived home in Minneapolis (see other post) and Andrew and Ellis are enjoying Beijing for a few days before heading to Hong Kong to catch their flight home. Getting from the Mongolian capital to the Chinese was a bit of an ordeal involving a 15 hour train ride to the border, a minibus across, and then a 7 hour wait for a sleeper bus (which was NOT like the ones Andrew experienced in South America! And he really liked the ones in South America………) which took us to Beijing battery hen class for another 15 hours.
What happened to simply getting in a small car and driving? It seems so simple now……
Minneapolis
On Sunday August 26th, Daniela and Nathan flew from Seoul to Beijing to Chicago and finally Minneapolis. The next day they had to go to work, pay bills and mow the lawn. Needless to say, they deeply miss the rally. Ellis and Andrew are still in Ulaabaatar, but will be leaving shortly for Beijing and then working their way to Hong Kong and then back to Scotland.
Seoul
Nathan and Daniela arrived in Seoul this afternoon. Tomorrow we fly to Beijing and then cross the pacific. It was really hard splitting up the team and leaving Andrew and Ellis in Ulaanbaatar. It feels weird traveling without them, two of the greatest teammates you could ask for. It really hit home that the rally was over and the adventure was wrapping up. During the last month of traveling, everything happened gradually. The landscape would slowly turn from fields to forest to mountains to desert… Crossing into different countries would take diplomacy, patience and the occasion bribe. But all that changed flying from Mongolia into South Korea. By hopping on an airplane and flying to a developed country, everything changed really fast. By spending three hours in an airplane we went from climbing mountains at high altitude and frigid temperatures, to suddenly walking along the beach in balmy weather. We miss the gradual changes, it was nice having the pace of life slowed down for the last month.
Departures
The last 24 hours have been rather emotional. Firstly, we had to drop the cars off yesterday in the compound from where they will be auctioned for charity. We had to fend off several offers (of up to $500 for one car!) from Mongolians who were interested in buying them directly. But of course the point of the rally is to raise money for charity so our metal friends were duly delivered ready to start their new lives after the auction on Tuesday. It sounds silly but we had become attached to them and it was quite hard walking away from them for the last time! They did so well, and everyone who helped us work on them, in Scotland and en route, did an amazing job.
Nathan and Daniela are now airborne somewhere on their way to Seoul, before heading to Los Angeles, Chicago and finally Minneapolis ready to start work on Monday. It was a sad occasion splitting the team up, and each of us wished the rally could continue. However there are future plans warming up in the pipeline, so the four of us could be adventuring again in the future! Andrew and Ellis are now looking at ways to get home, through either Russia or China, but are currently enjoying Ulaanbaatar along with their friends from the teams Driving Miss Daisy and The Ice Cream Adventure, who arrived late last night.
We made it!
Well, it has cost us a lot of time, effort and dignity (and some money too!) but we are finally in Ulaanbaatar! It is a fantastic feeling to have completed the journey. Tomorrow we are dropping the cars off at the compound from where they will be auctioned for charity. The vehicles were beginning to suffer from their ordeal but they struggled to the end and it will be like saying goodbye to a pair of old friends!
Nathan and Daniela are heading off over the weekend on their long trek back to the USA whilst Andrew and Ellis are going to take a slightly more leisurely route by rail back across Russia to Moscow. The problem is the trains are all full at the moment as Mongolians and Russians enjoy their summer holidays! Maybe it would be easier to buy the cars at the auction and start it all over again…………..
Mongolian border
Made it to the mongolian border at 7pm. But it is closed, so we are camping out here for the night and are at the front of the line. Supposed to open at 8:30 in the morning. Think we will open a celebratory bottle of wine and cook up some noodles on the camp stove.
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240k to mongolia
It is about 240k 150miles to the mongolian border. So close! Not sure how late the border is open or how long customs will take. Going to push on and find out.
Mongolia here we come!
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New Russian friend
While we were waiting for the front strut to be repair in one of the cars a couple of days ago in the town if Ainsk, we made a new friend. The Auto repair shop included the main office and a Cafe. Natasha, the director of the office, gave us a quick tour of the town including the historical sites and a visit to the bank. When we got back, we found out the other front strut had to be fixed so while we waited another 30 minutes, Natasha treated us to a nice dinner in the cafe. She packed us treats for the road: local dark chocolate (which Daniela has truly enjoyed) and meat pies. We were also given Souvenirs to take with us home. Thank you Natasha!!!
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Lake baikal
Driving along lake baikal looks just like the drive along lake superior. All the forests and rolling hills in siberia really remind nathan and daniela of northern minnesota.
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Lake baikal
Currently at the southern tip of lake baikal. We have been driving through siberia in order to save time and not kill the cars. We will enter mongolia directly north of ulaanbaatar. If we had entered mongolia from the western side it would have added a good 4 days plus the lack of roads may have done the cars in. Hoping to make the russian - mongolian border tomorrow and then push on to ulaanbaatar. At which point a beer and shower will be in order. After 4 nights sleeping in the car, everybody is pretty ripe.
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