After 39 gruelling days, all members of Team Ghenghis Can't are now safely home. Craig flew back from Beijing on the 5th August, and (after spending 4 days living in Terminal 3 of Beijing Airport after missing our flight...) both me and Tom returned to Bromsgrove this evening. I'll post again with the full after action report when I've recovered from all the whisky and wine drunk on the plane home.

Hazell.

Hello!

This morning, after recovering from a thoroughly memorable night out, we signed the van over to the CDPF. They showed us examples of all the good work they do, which made the trip feel thoroughly worth while. Prehaps more importantly they gave us cheeseburgers and beer.

When cleaned up, the van looked surprisingly good - with the only major damage (visible) being the dent where I hit a post in Birmingham. Sorry CDPF. Also, the friont bumper was hanging off, but that was fixed in a few minutes. The inside wasn't too bad either, especially considering it had powersteering fluid, brake fluid, diesel, petrol, water and engine oil all over the floor and 5000 smashed mosquitoes on the walls. The only major problem it'll have is the transmission and clutch. We drove half of Mongolia using only 2nd and 4th gears, which would have done some damage. The warning lights on the dashboard have been lit up like christmas lights over the last week.

Some kids tried to pickpocket tom this morning but, using all the streetfighting skills he's learnt from the mean streets of Bromsgrove, he managed to fight them off.

We're going to go and stuff our faces with fast food now, so from an extremely proud (and quite hungover) Team Ghenghis Can't - goodbye! Wait out for an after action report and news of our exploits in China!

 Hazell.

 

Team ghenghis can't have made it to ub! WE'VE FINISHED! It's been a long month but we got there. Standay for a more detailed post. HUZZAH!

Hello! After a physically and mentally exhausting 11 hour drive (including 3 hours at night) we have made it to the next city on route, Bayanhongor. Only 400 miles to go!

Yesterday started well with every petrol station in Altai having no diesel left. We ended up having to go to the Mercy Corps office and asking for mercy. One of the guys there knew someone who had a load stockpiled, so we went around his house and managed to get 80 litres. Suffice to say the 'water in fuel' warning light has been on more frequently than normal.

 We hit the road and went well until it got dark. Then we got lost. Stopping at a ger we were lucky enough to find a family who were driving to our next stop and we followed them. I thought this was a good idea until they forded a 3 ft deep river - another moment where I thought it would be the end of Maxus. Along the route we shared a can of beer, some biscuits and some extremely dodgy looking meat.

 Maxus is looking good. I have the utmost respect for the vehicle, that after the pounding she's taken she's still projecting us east. We've managed to fix all the little problems we had (i.e. the doors) and the mechanics have essentially sorted us mechanically. We're expecting some more problems with the transmission, but we're all experienced Maxus-fixer-uppers now so we're confident we will overcome. Still haven't got 1st gear and we lost 3rd, but this isn't proving too much of a problem anymore as we're getting to grips with the driving.

Tom's mum - tell him to wash his feet or his team mates will kill him.

 Hopefully we should be in UlaanBaatar tomorrow evening, and rest assured (in the words of the character from the fast show) we'll be getting 'vveeery vveery der-runk'.

COME ON MAXUS!

Hazell.

 

 

Hello! We stayed in Altai yesterday to have a rest day (for both ourselves and the van). Got a mechanic to put new transmission fluid in and repair the underbody protection, so hopefully it'll hold long enough to get to the finishing line. Gears grind horribly when you change, so it'll be a good idea if the charity rally people start researching LDV transmission repairs for when we arrive.

 Had a icy cold shower this morning, which was most appreciated.

 We set off in an hour or so, so if you don't hear from us for 4 days start contacting international rescue. I think Thunderbird 2 will be the most appropriate rescue vehicle....

See you on the other side of the Gobi!

Hazell.

 

Hello! Mobiles not working out here. We're in Altai in the Gobi desert. Van is being literally ripped to pieces, but we're all safe and well. Going to have the first shower in 2 weeks tonight and i'm really looking forward to it. Everything is dusty and we stink, but hopefully we'll be finished in 3/4 days. Spent a day stuck in sand 2 days ago, and yesterday we lost all transmission fluid and therefore the ability to select a gear. Brilliant! HUZZAH! Hazell.

In mongolia! Where haue the roads gone? Tom's already given his shoes away... Beautiful scenary and very friendly people. Maxus in for the test of its life!

Making our run for the border today! Eta 6 hours. Also, just bumped into team kipper!

on the road to mongolia! Tough day driving, but should make the border tomorrow evening. Everyone tired and smelly, but morale still high!

Finally crossed the kazakh - russia border last night at 4am local time after arriving at around 10pm. Kazakh side took 20mins, russian side took mre than 5hrs due to stupid amounts of paperwork and people who dnt understand what a queue is. Hello to the azarbaijani family who almost had to dismantle their whole car to cross! Poor guys!