Vanishing Point

I must admit that this rally was one of the hardest things we had ever done, and we have taken on some challenges over the years.  For me the main point of the rally was charity.  I was a bit disappointed by the response of the public when trying to get money off them.  100% of money raised was going to charity.  Unfortunately I was the one with all the money so purchased the car and equipment myself.  The Rally was a great experience and was not without problems along the way.  It is these problems that made it for me.  Through Europe the journey started event free.  The problems started in Poland.  The Pajero started over heating and losing water.  After stripping it down at the side of the road we discovered that the radiator cap was faulty and was trying to get rid of 2 litres of water to balance the pressure.  The fault was soon rectified and off we went.  I then drove down a pot hole at a railway line.  This was a heavy blow and we thought it was game over as the car was all over the place.  Fortunately it was only the tyre that had collapsed.  A quick change and off we went.  Our first real boarder was Belarus.  This was a complete nightmare.  We were being sent from one office to another, filling in several forms.  When we thought we had finished we were told we needed to pay tyre tax.  Two  euros a kilo! We had four wheels and tyres on the roof and one on the back.  We weighed one of the tyres and were told the tax would be £200.  We had a bit of a stand off and were told to go back to Poland.  We explained we had visa's, were legal and that we were not lining their pockets.  Someone more senior arrived and pretended to read the English rally documents (he obviously could not)  This lasted nearly 4 hours and we eventually wore them down with a great queue of people behind us.  They decided to let us go with nothing to pay.  We were then stopped by the police within the first 2 miles.  This was the first and only bribe we paid.  $50 to a police officer who we did feel sorry for.  The Russian boarder was a little better and a little quicker.  We headed to Moscow to try and register Visa's.  The office was near Red Square and they said it would take 2 days.  We decided to risk it and move on.  The Pajero would not start and no one would help.  It was only a flat battery so stood in front of the next car and opened his bonnet before he could stop us.  The jump leads were on and we were running again.  I think he thought we were going to rob him so was quite relieved we did not.  As we left Moscow the road just got worse.  More pot holes than tarmac.  The views were the same too and became quite boring after a while.  We were doing a bit of late night driving to get to a motel, when I discovered the lights were getting dimmer.  I pulled into a garage and by habit turned the engine off.  It would not start.  We changed the battery and got a jump start.  We decided to continue and the new battery improved the lighting situation.  It started to rain and then lightning.  The lights got dimmer and dimmer and the wipers stopped working.  We were at least 100 miles from anywhere.  the only solution to the problem was for me to tailgate the next truck that passed.  With no lights, no wipers, in a lightning storm I tailed this truck at about 60 / 70 MPH.  This scared BBD and Lasty to death.  We continued until light and pulled into another garage.  We changed to battery again and drove on to a small town near PERM.  We found a garage and they told us that the alternator was broken.  It had in fact fallen apart with the road conditions.  They sourced a replacement and fitted it, all for £300.  Despite us being awake for nearly 36 hours we drove another 200 mile until we found a Motel.  It was more of a windowless sweat box but we were so worn out it did not matter.  The following day we were stuck in an almighty storm.  I have never seen so much water fall at any one time.  We were on a motorway and were creating a bow wave!  A fantastic sight. 
We were glad to get out of Russia as we were stopped at least 5 times a day by the police, all asking for money, although we never gave a penny.  It became a game of cat a mouse and a battle of wills.  The roads were full off knackered old trucks, bellowing black Diesel smoke.  And the end of each day we would wipe a thick black film from our skin.  I'm not sure even with Russia's trees they will ever be carbon neutral.  We eventually reached the Altai region which was refreshing after the rest of the country.  The only problem was the lack of hotels.  We drove until dark to get a hotel but failed.  I went to sleep in the back of the car whilst BBD carried on driving.  I was awoken with the car pointing at the sky and the 2 Dave's arguing about how to get it out.  BBD had driven us into a ditch.  I got out and into the driving seat and managed to get us out.  We slept in the car a bit further down the road.  It was not until morning I discovered my wallet was missing.  We went back to the ditch and searched around the muddy water.  To our shock I found it in the water.  In daylight we continued to the Mongolian boarder.  Again great views and lovely weather.  On arrival the boarder was closed and we were offered accommodation in a family Ger.  It was more like a refugee camp with about 40 people in it.  We declined the offer and slept in the car again.  Getting out of Russia was almost a difficult as getting in, more forms and more stamps.  Mongolian boarder was great.  We were met by a very attractive female guard who saluted and said "welcome to Mongolia"  The paperwork confused them a little but did not take long.  We had picked up a couple of hitch hikers and said we would take them to the next town.  Our first camp site not far between the first and second town was spectacular.  We swam in a lake, had a few beers and relaxed for the first time.  We were joined by several thousand mosquito's, but did not mind.  Mongolia has some of the greatest countryside views.  Massive contrasts from rock to dessert to green meadows.  It also had some of the most punishing roads.  I am amazed the Pajero put up with it!  It was not long before we had a puncture.  We tried to change the wheel, but the jack collapsed.  We flagged down the next car and borrowed a jack.  Really nice people.  They had nothing, but were prepared to give what they did have.  They said we could keep the jack and we gave them a 10 day ration box.  We were glad of the jack because it was not long before we had another puncture. A family from China stopped and gave a hand on this occasion.  The Mongolian people were some of the nicest I've met.  They were always willing to help and would always stop if they thought we needed it.  Driving in Mongolia was very stressful.  On one occasion I was driving at 2 in the morning and ended up in a wetland.  The head lights lit up a flapping duck and then a horse walked by.  Very surreal.  The 4 wheel drive got us out and we continued.  Shortly after this tensions were raised in the car and it ended up in a blazing row between me and Lasty.  It was over something stupid and we soon apologised and moved on.  We found a hotel to stop in.  This place made rising damp look 5 star.  It was cheap and it had beds.  We all had cold showers (no hot water) and got some well earned rest.  Next stop was Ulaan Bataar.  What a great city - very relaxed and great night life.  I could have spent a few days here but needed to get home.  We met up with the CDPF and handed over the car.  It seemed strange walking away from her but knew it was for a good cause.  The staff were outstanding and helped us with a hotel and flights.

Would I do this again, probably not but would not have missed it for the world.  What a great experience!

The hardest thing for me was being away from my wife and 2 boys.

The best sights were the Altai Mountains, Siberian plain, Mongolia deserts and lakes.  The Irish Bar in UB was great.  They even cooked us some food when the restaurant was closed.  The CDPF were fantastic.  They made us feel welcome and it was like we were old friends.  If people do not want to drive to UB, it well worth a visit by plane.

If this trip had been without problems it would have been boring.  We have all come out the other end wiser and better people.  On seeing the poverty of people en route, it made us all appreciate what we all have.  We met people with absolutely nothing.  For them every day was about survival.  We gave in to this and gave what we could to the genuine people.  The sights of poverty will stay with me forever.