After 47 days and more than 8,500 miles, we are done. Arrived in UB on Thursday and waved goodbye to the Hilux today after our first showers for a week and a massive night in irish pubs and Metropolis nightclub to celebrate. A sad farewell to the car that that got us there, albeit with many a breakdown and a new engine... but glad to be finished and finally not having to drive anymore! Off back to London tomorrow morning and Tuesday respectively, back to civilization.

Gobi Taxi Co out.

no more boring boring Kazakhstan after 12 hour border crossing and more repairs to the convoy. in Barnaul with no sleep and hoping to make it the 700k to the border in order to cross over into the promised land tomorrow. it what we're all been waiting for and its just around the corner. Finally, we should be in the Gobi and eating up the final 1000 miles through the desert. probably last update since we havent figured out this sms coordinate update thing so assume we're somewhere between here and Ulaan from now on.

...or visit www.gobitaxicompany.com for tweets

hasta luego

Right, finally able to write a blog entry as we are back in Kazakhstan and the relative civilization of Almaty. Checked out the dubious nightlife and shouted f*** America with some lagged up locals last night, now nursing a horrible hangover and seeing the sights and sounds of Borat's university city. During the last week, Uzbekistan was a brief affair as we shot through in a day, and Kyrgystan favourite country by far with incredible mountain driving. Now chicks' turn to break down as our convoy once again grinds to a halt and we awit for repairs to their fuel filter/pump, due to inability to start the engine while cold. Should be done tomorrow and dashing up north to Ruski border and should be in Mongolia within a few days...then the real fun begins

No internet along way, no time to write now...updating location as we are through most of the stans and 5,000 miles under the belt!

A comparatively painless 1 hour border crossing with the right docs into the Ukraine was followed by 2 days ploughing on eastwards and south, and we are now back together with the Mixtape guys and The Team chicks in Crimea, about to hit the famed "Ibiza of the East" - Kazantip festival near Yevpatoria...happy times

Gobi's drama continues...

So we ended up shelling out quite a few Polish zloty to get our Hilux pretty much a whole new engine in Pzemsyl, where we were stuck waiting for parts for a stagnant and infuriating week of boredom. There was no way the rally was ending for us a week in, in Poland, that was for sure...

Car problems over, for now, we made our way to the Ukrainian border. 7 hours later, we are turned away for not having a 'tech passport' after much arguing and attempted bribery, all unsuccessful. The V5, which we needed to get through, had in fact been couriered to the British Embassy in Kiev after some crucial changes by the DVLA took too long. Bit of a pickle then. Car - Poland, Car documents - Ukraine. No way to get through.  read more »

First chance to update our blog and location...

9 days in and currently stuck in Przemsyl with Mixtape Marathon and The Team having two of our cars repaired in the garage, the former with a buggered gearbox/clutch and ours making strange noises and needing repairs to the valves and regulator! No idea what it means but apparently our lack of oil knowledge is costing us...

The 'indestructible' Toyota Hilux proving a little fragile at the momenjt

Fingers crossed we leave soon, been 4 long long days and very keen to get back on the road again.

X

We now have a team website

Please visit www.gobitaxicompany.com for all the info and updates from now on

Thanks!

entry one, exciting stuff...the first ink is spilled, in what is bound to be an epic odyssey to rival Homer's, about a team in its dawn of development. so far so good, we are one week old, with 169 days til the screeching of tyres on tarmac on July 11th: a LOT of work to be done. charity donations are trickling in, sponsors been seeked out, but one envisages the ol' c-crunch shall not make this too easy as purse strings are tightened. vehicular constraints and own studentesque lack of funds are making a suitable steed rather elusive. team Blackford Klimov fear not, however...forward we march...relishing the challenge. the smell of adventure is in the air.