Ze Germans

Ze Video on Dailymotion

2010-07-18T10:04:00.005+02:00

Mongol Rally 2007 - Ze Germans
Hochgeladen von sueselsau. - Entdecke Exoten mit Hilfe von Videos.

As YouTube has disabled our video for some countries (including Ze Germany), I've reuploaded it to Dailymotion. Click on the video for bigger size. Enjoy!

Ze Video

2009-04-06T13:52:00.007+02:00

For the three of you who still care, here is the official Ze Germans Mongol Rally Video. Great for avoiding work! Best watched in HD with sound on. Click on video for larger size. Use as directed. Side effects include spontaneous visa applications, mongol mania and involuntary adventure travel.

Ze Postcard

2007-10-24T17:22:00.001+02:00

Today my parents got my postcard from Mongolia. Total time in the mail: 2 months, 1 week. Long live the Mongolian Postal Service! I can't help but wonder how long the card would have taken, if hadn't mailed it at the main post office in Ulaanbaatar.

438080!

2007-10-05T17:07:00.000+02:00

That's how many Tögrög our trusty Polo was still worth at auction, after the Mongolian countryside had done its very best to destroy it. 438080 Tögrög translates to about 261€ in case you're curious. This just happens to be more than we paid for it in the first place.

Not bad!

Team Ruhrpott's Polo brought in even more money (450000 Tögrög), probably because their car still had its front bumper and bonnet attached. Ours was more of a self-assembly kit, with half the car strapped to the roof.

As far as Polos go, 500000 MNT seemed to be the limit, so I think we did pretty well. The only cars that made substantially more money were either much newer cars or 4WD, like the Suzukis and the Justy. Which makes sense, because it's pretty much impossible to drive through Mongolia without 4WD.

Trust me, I've been there.

On the low end of the spectrum, Team Bataar-Mobile's Polo fetched a whopping 20000 MNT. That's about 10 Euros. If you consider that the car looked like this at the end, a full tank of gas is the only way the new owner got a good deal there.

In total the cars have raised about 60000€, which probably exceeds the original purchase price by quite a bit. So here's our Mongol Rally Top Tip for the day: If you want to increase the value of your vehicle, drive it to Mongolia.

Roland?

2007-10-01T18:15:00.002+02:00

It's just been pointed out to me that one of our photos apparently features a mysterious headless man. I didn't notice him before, but the picture is definitely a bit freaky. Check it out.

Who knows, maybe I've accidentally caught Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner on film? Not sure what he's doing in Uzbekistan of all places. Probably still chasing that son-of-a-bitch Van Owen.

Ze Gallery!

2007-09-28T09:52:00.000+02:00

As you can see on the right, I've finally gotten around to putting up a gallery of our pictures. I'll add comments to the pictures in the coming days as well. Enjoy.

Our official video is still being edited, so stay tuned for that.

Ze Donations

2007-09-12T16:51:00.000+02:00

As you can see on the left, the donations from the Student Technology Conference and from Microsoft have now been transferred to the charities. This means we have now reached 133% and 175% of our donation goals for the Mercy Corps and the Christina Noble Children's Foundation. I made a quick donation myself, so that we have now raised a total of exactly 1500£ (or over 2200€) for charity, 500£ more than required.

Thanks again to everyone who donated. You can click on the links above to see some of the projects your money is going to. If you donated and gave us your address, you will get an additional "thank you" in the mail from us in the next few weeks.

More Pictures

2007-09-06T20:53:00.000+02:00

I'm still waiting for Team Ruhrpott's pictures to come in before I set up the gallery. Until then I'll keep sharing some of pictures with you.

A really, really annoying guy from the launch. Apparently he was a Mongolian throat singer, which was kind of cool in the beginning, but then he wouldn't stop and after 20 minutes I was pretty much ready to strangle him.

Completely and hopelessly lost in the desert.

Visit beautiful Moldova. Actually, don't. It's terrible.

The only road in the whole of Mongolia was made impassable by a rainstorm. To be honest, at this point I felt like the land itself had decided to prevent us from finishing.

Asking for directions in Kazakhstan.

Sunrise over the steppe in Kazakhstan.

Ze Return

2007-09-03T10:19:00.000+02:00

While teams are still arriving in Ulaanbataar, we've been back home for over two weeks now. After reintegrating into society and getting lots of sleep we're now ready to start sharing stories, pictures and videos with you. I'll set up a proper gallery soon, and as I'm cutting our Official Rally Video™, I'll be sharing some video clips with you. The full video will probably take a few weeks, as I've got over ten hours of video to condense into a few minutes.

Some housekeeping: The donations from the STC are finally on their way to the charities, so the counters on the left will soon be updated. Everyone who donated and gave us their address should hopefully find something in the mailbox soon.

Finally here's some pictures to keep you busy until the gallery is up:

Nightfall in Uzbekistan.

Trying to find Kazakhstan.

Getting lost in the desert.

Uzbekistan was full of amazingly beautiful places. This is Bukhara.

On a mountain pass in north-western Mongolia.

The car in Ulaanbaatar. Notice that some parts had to be removed to improve cooling.

Update #31 - They made it

2007-08-19T21:28:00.000+02:00

I just got a call with with no number, and after a few seconds of delay I heard Richard saying:

"We made it !"

The car looks like crap, but what the hell. They made it on their own, finishing ~30th. Whereas about 15-20 of the other teams got in on a truck, the Polo took the ride bravely and succeeded. We all congratulate you to this hell of a trip. It might be a little late for the party (3.00 am local time) but whatever. There's a whole lot going on in UB, so go and have some drinks boys, you earned it. And as the votes for the journey back are pretty balanced, I'd say we allow them to take the plane home on tuesday. Enjoy your free days boys... and get a shower.

They made it, this means, that my reporting most probably is over now (I'm pretty sure, that Martin and Richard will send you some notes and stories though). I wish to thank everybody, who helped me solving all the mysteries of international dialing codes, opening hours and locations of embassies and especially Katja for calling those embassies and arranging a smooth visa process. Without all of you I couldn't have helped them that much. I hope you enjoyed reading this blog as much as I enjoyed writing it. So let me send out this final message:

Thank you !

Update #30 - There's some progress

2007-08-19T14:56:00.000+02:00

Yo. I received quite some updates over the last few hours. Thus, I'll present them to you in chronological order.

2007/08/19 @ 0.35

600km to go to UB, however it looks like this will be a tough ride. The hood is already gone, as is the cooler (again !) and the gearbox is most likely to die anytime soon. The oil temperature is constantly high, forcing the boys to take it slow and fight for any single kilometer.

mileage counter shows 13.344 km

2007/08/19 @ 7.26

I wonder why I still keep answering phone calls at that time on a sunday... otherwise I couldn't give you more news... so I'll tell you what Richard told me. At least what I understood, because the phone line quality wasn't too good. It's only 430 km to go, but as there is no road, it'll still be a challenge to be in UB on time. They were near a city, starting with an 'A'. As I couldn't find any match on my map, I'll simply have to believe him. The convoy is getting smaller and smaller as more and more cars give up. Thus, luggage has to be distributed on other teams, forcing them to take a longer break. The Polo still seems to run, however no one knows for how much longer. Maybe they would have been better off with a Porsche Cayenne. Today the Rallye Transsyberia ends in UB, too. For them it was only a navigational challenge. I guess our boys had a much harder trip. I can't imagine though how the Porsche drivers could defend / keep their cars from the greedy border guards...

2007/08/19 @ 11.12

Wow. After this strange A-town, there actually is come kind of road again. This allows our heroes to go a lot faster. It's only 270 km to UB now. If they can keep up that pace...+ they are 6 hours ahead. I guess, they should at least have a few more hours until the party ends.

Anyone booked that flight to UB ?

Driver Comments #10 + Problems

2007-08-18T12:32:00.000+02:00

First of all, sorry that it is difficult to participate in the poll right now. Looks like destiny doesn't want you to vote for the crawl option, such that they get home faster. I'll see what I can do about that.

And here we go with the latest comments...

The Mongol Mugs
Location Tsagaannurr(Mongolia) 08:44 on 18-08-2007
Made it to mongolia! Mental! Spirits lifted after gettin thru border- car is fine, my stomach still isn't! Lost another car in the convoy yesterday- 19 ppl in 5 cars was a little cozy. Spk soon
Ice Cream Adventure
Location Almaty(Kazakhstan) 05:28 on 18-08-2007
north of almaty, met kazakh mafia - nice chaps. Gave us a good luck charm! Eating bread and jam on a beach. Towards semey today.
Team Sussex Best
Location Arvaikheer(Mongolia) 04:45 on 18-08-2007
took a massively wrong turn yesterday. Took all day to get back. Bumper returned by lorry that picked it up
Rustbucket Express
Location Barnaul(Russia) 00:26 on 18-08-2007
46 hours of straight driving has got us to Baurnal. Another 30 or so should get us to the finish - wait, whatcha mean the border's shut at weekends?
Rustbucket Express
Location Unknown 15:15 on 17-08-2007
passed the russian border, still goldteeth everywhere. Gords did a good job driving all day, todays lunch, same as yesterday, a can of pringles.
TB Mongolian Adventurers
Location Tsagaannurr(Mongolia) 14:24 on 17-08-2007
head gasket exploded in cloud of smoke in russia. Drove/towed just over the border,Sold car for $100 to border guard. Very underhand. At least it made it
Mongol Mystery Machine
Location Tsagaannurr(Mongolia) 14:06 on 17-08-2007
Long night drive with prolonged death of fiat so Jet entered Mongolia with 5 passengers and 11 peoples luggage Made it!
Two Loose Screws
Location Unknown 13:17 on 17-08-2007
had a little accident yesterday. Thankfully it was of the brown variety. Mum can you send more diareaze and some fabreze for the car seats...
We're Actuarially Going To Mongolia
Location Altay(Mongolia) 08:58 on 17-08-2007
after pushing cars out of lake and back up mountains following detour finally back on track! Exhaust on roof beside many flat tyres! Hope to make party.x
awhoohoo
Location Unknown 11:39 on 16-08-2007
app cnt sell car without incuring $1000s in import tax wil hav to pay $400+ to get it on a truk leavin us wiv $80 to get home, hitch thru rusia? Rob bank?
Rustbucket Express
Location Unknown 11:03 on 16-08-2007
Will drive by myself from Almaty, Gords has decided to quit the race and fly to Mongolia. Reasons unknown. Fuck
Horn OK Please
Location Altay(Mongolia) 07:44 on 16-08-2007
Went back in truck 2 where we abandoned car 2 find it broken into and stolen! By some miracle we recovered it & some of r stuff. Back in altay on truck.
The Goonies
Location Khovd(Mongolia) 07:24 on 16-08-2007
Crazy few days.forced onto southern route due to landslides in north mong.justin sold his car $625 and flew 2 UB.Our car wont start from various probs.
Goldenoeuf
Location Tsagaannurr(Mongolia) 06:10 on 16-08-2007
Mongolioliolia! After 23hrs of negotiating borders that closed every hour we made it in. Then promptly took a wrong turn?! just 3ish days to UB!
The Wartburg Tourists
Location Khovd(Mongolia) 05:39 on 16-08-2007
after an adventurous day of getting stuck,first in a river then in a canyon,we hopefully learned to choose our ways more wisely in the future.
Moon Unit Alpha
Location Bayankhongor(Mongolia) 05:26 on 16-08-2007
Exhaust fell off after Hovd. Near Altai we were rammed by a Porsche Cheyenne, wrecked the boot, the rear window and the roof rack. Car still going well

Update #29 - Part III

2007-08-17T20:54:00.001+02:00

Thanks Claudia for correcting me... they have to arrive in UB on Sunday the latest. So we're pretty sure they'll make it ... if the car won't break down. We'll all pray for you.

But there is one important thing I need to know from you. If you in some case enjoyed the blog and the news here, will you please vote in the new poll.

I need to know the results soon, so I can forward the information.

Thanks for your support.

Update #29 Part II - Let's fly to UB

2007-08-17T13:01:00.000+02:00

Hello boyz and girlz,

how about we fly to Ulanbaatar and welcome the boys when they reach the finishing line... I just found a nice flight for us. Flight leaves tomorrow and we'll be back within a week. Who joins me ?

Update #29 - Getting closer

2007-08-17T12:34:00.000+02:00

2007/08/17 @ 6.45
Pit stop in Altai, around 1000km to go...

Cheerio. The boyz are getting closer and closer. And the streets claim their tribute. On their way they encounter more demolished and broken rally cars, which are being transported on trucks rather than cars that drive on their own. The tarmac - or whatever is left of it - is so spikey that the boys loose one tyre after the other and furthermore, they also lost a damper. On their map it says, exactly 1000 km to UB. Let's hope the navigational skills are still present, such that they will make it to UB on time. As far as I can remember, the famous party is supposed to happen tonight, isn't it ? If they won't make it to that party on time they brought their tuxedos to no avail.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Driver Comments #9

2007-08-15T12:16:00.000+02:00

Here we go again, sorry for the long delay... however the beach here (plus the beach girls) are very tempting...

Team Touchy
Location Almaty(Kazakhstan) 09:24 on 15-08-2007
Steve crossed kyrgyzstan is 7 hours. 2 borders, 3 countries in one day, Huge! Team together again. Stacy well but lost rear left brake cylinder. Meh!
Rustbucket Express
Location Samarkand(Uzbekistan) 09:10 on 15-08-2007
turkmen border was mental, uzbek border went smooth. kids riding donkeys talking on their mobiles. And smoking on the street is allowed.
awhoohoo
Location Unknown 08:37 on 15-08-2007
duck tape chewin gum and a crutch the petrol tank (jery can) is now on my lap only 1000 miles left big thanks to the kiwis
The Kilmorie Gentlemen
Location Ulaanbaatar(Mongolia) 07:43 on 15-08-2007
Actually in UB! Unbelievable i know. The truck dropped us just short and we actually drove in, fantastic! 27th finisher, & voted least likely to finish!
The 3 Mongoliers
Location Almaty(Kazakhstan) 06:43 on 15-08-2007
Hailarious club in Almaty w/ gokarts & strippers & stayed in yurt last nite 4 C's bday.Worchester sauce best present ever! Charlie gone home 4 bros stag do, big hole in team, 2/3 Mongoleers not quite the same. Speeding 2 Russia. We miss u Stan!
The Crimson Monkeys
Location Ulaanbaatar(Mongolia) 05:49 on 15-08-2007
arrived safely in ub at 9pm! Can't believe we made it with only a wheel falling off! Just shows what you can do with a £120 car from ebay!
Team Fido
Location Ulaanbaatar(Mongolia) 05:29 on 15-08-2007
made it at 12.15 last night after fixing collapsed suspension 50km from ub. We've only gone and done it. 6884 miles and the trip of a lifetime.
Horn OK Please
Location Altay(Mongolia) 02:30 on 15-08-2007
its game over. Back wheel all but fallen off. Car not driveable. Have abandoned car 100 miles east of khovd, in altai searching for a truck to get us 2 UB
Team Bird
Location Almaty(Kazakhstan) 19:48 on 14-08-2007
Settled down in kazakhstan. Laundry & tennis tomorrow...
Rustbucket Express
Location Turkmenabat(Turkmenistan) 18:14 on 14-08-2007
Another day, another Embassy. Now in very dodgy hotel in Turkmenbat after stunning drive through desert. Early start tomorrow and off to Almaty!
Bugs Meany
Location Unknown 15:20 on 14-08-2007
chkpt cop asked if we had porn in vehicle via obscene hand gestures. Chicken attacked our car in Guliston. Car won. Hair in denwoods salami. Fun
Minor Velocity
Location Biskek(Kyrgystan) 10:07 on 14-08-2007
uzbek great.we have just entered kyrgyz. Border no probs.Best scenery so far.Last night with family.Police interrogation at midnight!Escorted to border!
Team Extreme
Location Barnaul(Russia) 13:14 on 13-08-2007
When the day ends over the sunflower fields, the countess follows red and silver beyond the sand of the east to the temple where the cold ones wait.

Update #28 - Updates are coming

2007-08-15T12:02:00.000+02:00

Hey there. I got some more updates for you to tell. And I don't wanna cause 'Honey's heart attack though I suffered from a severe earthquake (thanks Kerstin for telling me;) )

2007/08/13 @ 8.54

They are trying to pass the Mongolian border on the next morning while driving in a huge group. I was told the Russian border was terrible (whatever that means... terribly expensive ???) maybe that's the reason why they went shopping in the last supermarket (get some vodka for the poor Russian border guards)

2007/08/15 @ 7.11

Mongolia seems to be incredibly in all terms: incredibly beautiful in scenery and incredibly brutal to the cars. Still it seems like most of our work was still worth it, as the Polo still holds together similar to the Millenium Falcon in A New Hope (for the film geeks). However, the Polo of Team Ruhrpott seems to act like a TIE, always loosing parts. That forced our heroes to improvise a new gas tank out of a water tank, some plastic pipes and wire straps. And it actually works. Now they are officially promoted to Heroes 1st class. Sleeping got a little cold, as they have to set up their tent in the mountains at 2.600 m above sea level. But I'm sure Martin 'Tim Taylor' S. and Richard 'Al Borland' S. will build something to fix this.

Update #27

2007-08-12T23:35:00.000+02:00

Spanish internet sucks. A storm seems to have caused major havocs, that's why I'll keep this short. The boys have reached the Russian border and have to wait for ever. At least they are not alone. About 15 teams are waiting along with them, all celebrating a small border party. Maybe they'll get a group discount (in the bribing I mean)...

Update #26 - Delay

2007-08-11T12:45:00.000+02:00

So far I couldn't get any updates from our boys. They're still heading towards Russia and let's just hope that the car keeps running fine. I'm kinda wondering though, when I started the first poll, that within 1 week, there were 38 replies, now when it comes to girl pictures... I'm getting 34 replies within 3 days... and the message is pretty clear. I could manage to talk 'Honey into sending me a pictures. BUT, don't be too excited. She was still trying to keep her anonymity. Thus, this picture will make it difficult to compete with classy George Washington. What dou you think ?

Well, I know 'Honey can do better ;) Just leave me a few comments. By the way, in a few minutes I'll be off for my own vacation, so updates my take a little longer, until they appear on screen. Don't be worried, I'll still keep ya informed.

Cheers

Update #25 - Where the hell are they ?

2007-08-10T15:56:00.000+02:00

Richard got me up to date. More or less. At least, I know know that they are heading towards a lake. I can only guess, which one they mean. So probably, they are close to 46°14"09' N 78°24"39' E looking for a camping ground. I checked Panoramio, to find a picture of that area... the only thing I got is this. Maybe not the best place for a Polo to drive through...

The last few miles from Tashkent went pretty smooth. Passing the border seemed to take for hours, but an English team showed them a VIP booth. That's only meant for diplomats, but who cares. Martin and Richard showed them their German passports and the were waved through the border. That was easy. Then however, the car broke down. It didn't wanna start again, looks like the engine doesn't get any gas. So they removed some pipes and tubes and since then the car seems to run pretty fine. Unfortunately, they were distracted from other problems... like getting some more money. Luckily, they found an ATM in Taraz, where they spent the night in the most shabby hotel ever. At least, that's what they say. By the way... shame on you Italians.. driving way too fast so that our boys can't follow. But that's no surprise when driving a '95 Twingo with AC ;)

2007/08/10 14.01

Somewhere after Almaty, driving close to the Chinese border, mc shows: 9608 km

Almaty, Kazakhstan

Driver Comments #8

2007-08-08T21:19:00.001+02:00

well... now I'm pretty curious that happened to the other teams, too. As I just got an sms from Richard that teams were robbed... let's see:

Bottom Gear
Location London(United Kingdom) 18:10 on 08-08-2007
we're back in the UK. we just got off the plane at heathrow and we're waiting for a coach up to the midlands.
Bottom Gear
Location Ulaanbaatar(Mongolia) 18:09 on 08-08-2007
we're here! We arrived in ub on monday at 8pm. 17 days of travelling and we're ready for some beer at Dave's and a long lye in tomorrow :-D
Green Team 2cv
Location Unknown 17:22 on 08-08-2007
have come aross canadian oil drillers. Chassiss welded and fixed. Thank you canada. Artic transport. Mongolia here we come greenteam reborn.
Green Team 2cv
Location Unknown 17:20 on 08-08-2007
the 2cv broke in two. Chassis fell apart while driving kaz roads. Potholes the size of houses. No steering giving up. With other guys though.
Team Tom
Location Almaty(Kazakhstan) 16:49 on 08-08-2007
We're in a hotel which our new friend the policeman sorted out for us n now having a meal next door. hugo is surrounded by hookers. Nice.
Wrong Way Wound
Location Bukhara(Uzbekistan) 16:48 on 08-08-2007
Appeared on Turkmen news last night and as we crossed Uzbek border were recognised! Dirtiest TV stars ever. In Bukhara now, with air con room-luxury!
The Dolly Mixtures
Location Turkmenabat(Turkmenistan) 15:24 on 08-08-2007
Why are there no roadsigns in this country? Still, petrol is 1p/ltr except at the last one when they refused to take any money. Nice people.
Le Mongs 24
Location Unknown 15:05 on 08-08-2007
Rally is over for us :-( Jeep made it to Odessa but that was as far as it was going without a 3rd Engine. Dylan is home and Chris is skipping the Wreck :-)
MALLORCA2MONGOLIA
Location Tsagaannurr(Mongolia) 14:31 on 08-08-2007
YYaaaaa!!! En Mongolia.100km de pais,pura pista,alucinante.5 grados por la noche y las strellas muy cerca.MMuuaaa!
Team Touchy
Location Unknown 13:23 on 08-08-2007
lat59.0 lng43.8 arrived at Aral Sea. Stacy took a beating on road from Uzbek border. Now no blinkers, left brake or right headlight and making funny noises
Team Touchy
Location Unknown 13:00 on 08-08-2007
lng45.5 lat55.0 Serious 4x4 for last few days. Met 3 teams and rally camera crew in middle of nowhere. Saved micra by towing 40k's thru sand. Stacy lovin it
Berrow Fellows
Location Unknown 09:11 on 08-08-2007
just arrived in kyrgystan - quickest border crossing for ages - border guard gave us 5 som then we give him 5 dollars - guess who s best off!
Rogue Telepath
Location Ashgabad(Turkmenistan) 08:24 on 08-08-2007
made it to turkmen. Ashgabat looks great. Just seeing girls again after 5days of ghosts is Fantittytastic. The dreaded border guards waved me through in 5mins and gave me beer. While Andy got full treatment and fleeced $140 Drink!!!!
Team Driving Miss Daisy
Location Unknown 16:09 on 07-08-2007
National catastrophe narrowly avoided, when under imminent threat of deportation, prison &/or large fine, Brit Emb came thru @5pm w. unheard of exit visas!
The Kilmorie Gentlemen
Location Barnaul(Russia) 12:47 on 07-08-2007
... Windscreen mostly gaffa tape now: bump=glass rain hey ho!
Norfolkin'chance
Location Unknown 11:35 on 07-08-2007
whichever team just left aktau in a black fiat panda and drove past us, you are a disgrace to the rally and yourselves. Does it look like we're havin 250 a barbecue with a tow rope on the front and our hazard lights on in the middle of the desert?
Norfolkin'chance
Location Unknown 10:55 on 07-08-2007
near aktau. Rear axel broken. Crawled 150k back to civilization but now alternator broken also. The time has come to sever the rotten limb for good!
Green Pea
Location Unknown 09:56 on 07-08-2007
car died. Fuel pump gone then engine fire. Sold to local. Hitching ride with some extremly nice americans. At nukus uzbek. Love to all, spirits still high!
OMEYAS TO MONGOLIA
Location Tashkent(Uzbekistan) 05:04 on 07-08-2007
seguimos sin permisos para abandonar pais. Coche definitiv. parado. Esperamos salir hoy noche a cualquier pais europa, aunque burocracia y mordida ....
The Dolly Mixtures
Location Ashgabad(Turkmenistan) 18:42 on 06-08-2007
Handbrake snapped off today. Starter motor screams now. Staying in crap Commie hotel. Still, this country has beer.

Update #24 - New Visa - new poll

2007-08-08T14:57:00.000+02:00

Yo. I just got word that Martin and Richard managed to bribe themselves to a visa (costs 15 $ US). Thus, they plan to enter Kazakhstan tomorrow. They have to hurry a little bit, as they have to drive around 580 km / day to be in Ulanbaatar in time.

That is, they can neither afford the car breaking down nor being kept at the border for long. With the car, I can't help them. With the border... maybe. 'Honey' offered to send in some pictures of her, because she thought they would be more persuading than George Washington. So, here's a new poll: Should 'Honey' indeed send in some pictures ? You'll find the poll on the sidebar to your left.

Happy Voting !

Update #23

2007-08-07T16:19:00.000+02:00

So, again I had the luxury of an extremly expensive wakeup call, as Richard again forgot about the time difference and woke me up way too early. However, I don't want to keep the news to myself. They made it to the embassy today. Hooray. To bypass the long queue, they simply bribed some guard. May 'honey' would have been of use too, but unfortunately ... she didn't join them yet. What's wrong, honey ? :)

As they simply kept bribing on - this time the man behind the counter - they made sure, that they would get their 5-day transit visa through Kazakhstan by tomorrow (late afternoon). Thus, allowing them to leave the country on Thursday. Hopefully, the car will hold for at least the Mongolian border, because I dunno what happens when their visa runs out and them still being in K-stan.

Come on... be a good Polo...

P.S. I added a link to the picture gallery of the start in London Hyde Park

Driver Comments #7

2007-08-06T17:40:00.000+02:00

The poll is over. You wanted it. You get it. Here we go with some more comments, while our boys are sweating under the Uzbekian sun at 38°C.

Ice Cream Adventure
Location Bukhara(Uzbekistan) 17:13 on 06-08-2007
driving blind down Uzbekistan 'motorway'. Uzbek border £0 and no hassle! Thermometer topped out at 55C, then exploded. Immodium supplies running low...
Muswell Mongols
Location Bukhara(Uzbekistan) 15:05 on 06-08-2007
just given a lift to 2 Uzbek border guards into town. They bought us breakfast, petrol and cleared road blocks for us.
Two Loose Screws
Location Aktau(Kazakhstan) 11:21 on 06-08-2007
spent 9 hours in customs getting stamps from various officials including a vet. Didnt give the ok until she reached the back of our teeth. Daka
Perseverance
Location Aktau(Kazakhstan) 07:31 on 06-08-2007
finally met back up! Typically i arrived first despite azeri's concerns. Met a girl at the airport and stayed at hers last night. Dropped at port this morning. Last 5 hours waiting for car in customs... Should be on the road in 30. Finally!
Muswell Mongols
Location Turkmenabat(Turkmenistan) 06:40 on 06-08-2007
Reached the Uzbek border at 7 am after driving all night...after getting several bits of paper stamped several times we are free at 11.30. Only the British railway is less efficient!
Land of Down
Location Ulaanbaatar(Mongolia) 04:36 on 06-08-2007
We made it! Second car here, first car from London. Welcomed by a cheering crowd at Dave's Place. 15 days on the road just to hop on train to Beijing!
Rustbucket Express
Location Mashhad(Iran) 15:53 on 05-08-2007
Denied entry to Turkmen as it was last day of visa. In Mashhad trying to figure out what the flip to do. Afghanistan maybe?
The Crimson Monkeys
Location Orenburg(Russia) 14:42 on 05-08-2007
heading on towards ufa tonight.Keep getting stopped by police but we have a magic bit of paper which tells them we are doing it for charity which works!
ARE WE THERE YET?
Location Aktobe(Kazakhstan) 13:45 on 05-08-2007
reached kazak. had a vodka drinking contest with the mafia the other nite and had all loose change nicked by a coin collecting border guard. Bizzare
Muswell Mongols
Location Ashgabad(Turkmenistan) 13:15 on 05-08-2007
crossed into Turkmenistan. 12 bits of paper, 47 official stamps. First drink for a week. 5* hotel, bugged rooms, watchers following you. All good but hungover
The Payne Train
Location Unknown 13:14 on 05-08-2007
just got through border everyone very friendly guards gave us apples and small money just got cake from wedding party as well!
Bottom Gear
Location Unknown 13:06 on 05-08-2007
it's 10 o'clock at night and we've just arrived at the border with Mongolia which opens at 9am. 11 hours to go.
Perseverance
Location Baku(Azerbaijan) 19:58 on 04-08-2007
f*@#ing s*#t bollocks. Stuck in baku. No car. No teammate. No rally peoply. No nothing. Mistake by kazakh embassy and azeri border guards won't let me get there an hour early. Thank god i packed my brown underpants.
Team Crazy Fools
Location Baku(Azerbaijan) 18:39 on 04-08-2007
and we're off! Finally leaving this god-forsaken bribe-infested place. Bring on Boratland!
Team Crazy Fools
Location Baku(Azerbaijan) 17:10 on 04-08-2007
finally on board ferry to kazakhstan despite visas having EXPIRED. 1st real bribe is get out of jail free card. When we actually leave is anyones guess.
Team Bad Idea
Location Rovaniemi(Finland) 14:23 on 04-08-2007
finally escaped sweden and now reindeer sandwiches
Horn OK Please
Location Bukhara(Uzbekistan) 09:42 on 04-08-2007
Absolute result! We bumped into a german polo convoy in bukhara and they gave us their spare rad! All we have 2 do now is replace our broken suspension!
Ice Cream Adventure
Location Turkmenbashi(Turkmenistan) 03:16 on 04-08-2007
2g hours trying to get into turkmenistan. 2 hours sleep as usual, now three days to get the hell out. Turkmen border police offered us heroin!
Team Bad Idea
Location Sundsvall(Sweden) 18:14 on 03-08-2007
rescued from disaster by swedish mechanics at last!
French Touch
Location Unknown 16:17 on 03-08-2007
Georgie. Pluie diluvienne. Nous prenons l'eau, 1cm dans la voiture. En route pour l'azerbaijan. 27 h de route dont 6h de sommeil depuis ankara.
Le Mongs 24
Location Lviv(Ukraine) 16:04 on 03-08-2007
left lviv this morning heading for odessa. Jeep smoking and drinking more than deliquent teenager...
Starsky and Clutch
Location Unknown 14:11 on 03-08-2007
ps how is christina doing?

Update #22 - Calling again ? + Promotion

2007-08-06T14:41:00.000+02:00

Dear readers, again I can offer you some more news. Richard called in again (I don't wanna see his cell phone bill) to ask me to ask you a favour: The list with all the postal addresses got lost in the endless desert. And unless you don't want them to turn around and go looking for it, they ask you to send them an email (see address on the sidebar) with your postal address in case you want them to send you a postcard. That sentence looks weird... did you get what I mean ?

Furthermore, he could explain to me, why everybody is taking pictures of their car. The '7' is not the reason, though it's said to be some kind of a mystical digit in the Koran, but it's because for them a 20 year old VW Polo is something similiar to a Porsche 911 here. They are driving Daihatsu Cuores and Opel (Vauxhall) Kadetts, which are being built in license. So for them, the Polo is like a brand new sportscar and everybody checks the tachometer to check the top speed. Lot's of cheers for the Polo, long live the Polo :)

An hour later, I get emails with lots of pictures and a blog report from Team Ruhrpott. Looks like I promoted to the official representative of the majority of the German teams. I will show you some pictures, the rest is being forwarded to German television (WDR), so hopefully you'll see them there soon. I was given two contacts there, but after calling the WDR, no one has ever heard of them... I wonder where I am sending the pictures to ?...

Update #21 - Being late suckz...

2007-08-06T09:56:00.000+02:00

Well, I suppose there was not a lot going on yesterday, as I only got a short sms, saying the boys reached Tashkent and are relaxing in a hotel, trying to get a visa on the next day. Now, I just got the phone call, explaining the sad truth... they reached the embassy on 12.01 and the embassy closes at 12. And it won't open again until tomorrow. Bad luck. But that gives them time to do some other things like, getting money. Which is obviously an adventure of its own, as the first bank refuses to accept a VISA card (though it says so on the entrance) , sending them to another bank, which refuses as well, but finally the third bank really gave them money. So they were horrified of the amount of money, they were asking for: 650 $, thats 50 times a monthly salary there. Now, the bank is bankrupt ;) Travelling back to the hotel with a taxi seems to be difficult. You can't spot them as they look like regular cars, so you just have whistle on the street and hope a taxi hears you. I guess they kept whisteling at the wrong cars far too long as both of them suffer from a sunstroke. So, in the meanwhile they have been in an internet café (15min / 30ct), checking all the visa forms online (so they have a translation German / Cyrillic) and waiting for the Team Ruhrpott to return with new cooling units for their cars. Hopefully George Washington can quicken the visa process tomorrow, such that the boys can get back on route soon.

Keep your fingers crossed !

Update #20 - Anyone familiar with russian numerology ?

2007-08-05T14:30:00.000+02:00

Hey Richard is calling in again, this time with his own mobile number ;) In case some of you (especially the families of Richard and Martin) are worried... don't be. Looks like whenever they run into a police blockade, they are being allowed to continue as soon as they say they were German. The police even greets in German ("Guten Tag... auf Wiedersehen"). Almost everybody speaks a little German. Cool. The only thing they couldn't figure out yet, is why so many people keep taking pictures (with their mobile phones !!!, looks like everybody got one) of their licence plate. They were told, that was because of the digit '7' that appears several times on their plate. I already asked some Russians, but no one could explain that to me. If you know something about it, please leave me a comment. So, to sum up the progress:

2007/08/04 16.50
Samarkant (Uzbekistan), mileage counter shows 8330 km, now heading towards Tashkent

Update #19 - Backrally Boys are back

2007-08-05T13:55:00.000+02:00

It's Friday afternoon and I get a strange call from a number I have never seen before (+173 2555 1212) has anyone of you ? Well I answered the phone and had Richard on the line. Yeah. They're still alive. However, the phone line was a bit crappy, so I'm not too sure I got everything right. So don't blame me. After their endless trip through the desert, they finally reached the border between Kazakhstan & Uzbekistan. Leaving the country was pretty easy as they were allowed to bypass the queue and just leave. However entering Uzbekistan wasn't as easy. So it took them 9 hours. Waiting in all the heat is not that comfy, and I guess that's why Martin experienced some circulation problems (he is fine again). After passing the border, the convoy of 4 cars was extended by a local women and her Belgian husband, both driving a Mercedes C-Class (I guess I wouldn't dare to do that in that country). Those were the best guides you could imagine. As you would have to take lots of precautions in that area. You would drive for hours without any village / gas station / people in between, so it's vital to have enough water and gas for the trip. Then the cars showed their first weaknesses, Martin and Richard had 2 blown tires and Team Ruhrpott lost their exhaust pipe. The tires were changed easily: Richard "Schwarzenegger" Süselbeck and Martin "Stallone" Saternus just lifted the car by hand and the super-mechanic from the english team switched the tires in formula 1 fashion. Unfortunately Martin then also lost the engine cooler, so they could only proceed slowly (they also ran into some other guys from the rally Prague-Samarkant (how many rallys are running in parallel ???), but they were already on their way back (2-way rally ?????)) . Luckily they made the hard trip, just to run into the next police blockade. The woman from the Mercedes however, was very very convincing and arranged a nice spot to rest and get some sleep for the drivers: all could sleep at the exact point they were, surrounded by lots of police cars, guarding them :) Ain't that everybody's dream ? Then finally, the convoy arrived in Chiwa (may as well be called Khiva). Richard approached the woman at the counter: "Do you speak english" while she replied, "Sure I do !". How could he think otherwise... Well, as they were all dirty, tired, broken as hell they were more than happy to find a nice spot to stay and recover.

On the next day, they enjoyed a huge breakfast, did some sightseeing in the lovely city center, took out everything from the car - being astouned where all the stuff they were looking for now re-appeared again - neatly packed all the stuff again and then head off - destination Bukhara. As we are talking on the phone they were 100 km before Bukhara (probably somewhere close to 40°15'43 N, 63°17'47 E). If anyone wants to join them on their tour. I just found nice flights from Frankurt-Tashkent, run by Uzbekistan Airways. Wouldn't it be cool to say hi ? ;)

... meanwhile in Mongolia

2007-08-03T15:45:00.000+02:00

the first team made it to Mongolia and crossed the finish line ! Congratz go out to:

Vienna Calling
Location Ulaanbaatar(Mongolia) 10:37 on 03-08-2007
YESSS! WE DID IT!!!!! 12 Tage, 9250 km, 580 Liter Sprit. Special Thanks to our panda racing machine!!! YESS!

Driver Comments #6

2007-08-03T14:51:00.000+02:00

Here we go with some new exciting events & comments:

Muswell Mongols
Location Tehran(Iran) 09:05 on 03-08-2007
driving in Iran is survival of the biggest. Road markings and direction are irrelevant. Petrol 3p per litre. Water 5p per litre. Hottest day in the world ever!
OMEYAS TO MONGOLIA
Location Tashkent(Uzbekistan) 02:51 on 03-08-2007
llegamos a tashkent despues dia solucion problemas mecanicos, avance ruta, otro mas segmento pegado(coche consume 1l aceite 100km...
Land of Down
Location Unknown 17:27 on 02-08-2007
in @ss end of nowhere on way to irkutsk. Coping with roads, trains, trucks and not insignificant hangover. Kids do not try this at home!
Team Mongu Mongu
Location Irkutsk(Russia) 15:58 on 02-08-2007
Been driving solidly since july on only bread, water and kebab. Currently playing dodge the cow on the road to Baku.
Team Crazy Fools
Location Baku(Azerbaijan) 09:36 on 02-08-2007
headline on p7 of baku Post: Xtina Aguilera ill with the flu!
The Dolly Mixtures
Location Unknown 07:02 on 02-08-2007
No mans land 4 teas and 2 pepsi's for 70p! We're also 2.7 million Iran dollars richer.
Team Jackal
Location Samarkand(Uzbekistan) 05:45 on 02-08-2007
salimos hacia Toshkent. Otra frontera. Seguimos sin encontrar internet...
hobo logistics
Location Baku(Azerbaijan) 19:35 on 01-08-2007
just had bottle of vodka and meal bought for us by locals. Amazing how far a smile and hello gets you in the world
teamGoZzilla
Location Mashhad(Iran) 16:11 on 01-08-2007
still here, forgot about rally while doing studies of locals and sorroundig waiting the turkmn visas, maybe saturday
The Goonies
Location Unknown 14:54 on 01-08-2007
Upon reflection, 'wind washing' just makes you dirtier.
The Goonies
Location Unknown 14:53 on 01-08-2007
We're out of wet wipes.I cant describe how big a blow this is! We have resorted to 'wind washing' which involves sticking various body parts out the window.
Mr. Dinosaur
Location Astrahan(Russia) 13:58 on 01-08-2007
outside of volgograd trying to avoid cops who tend to just laugh at us anyway...
Starsky and Clutch
Location Unknown 09:34 on 01-08-2007
almost in Baku. Just saw a Larda hit a horse hard and the horse just got up and walked off. We love it
ATOPOCU 2
Location Istanbul(Turkey) 09:12 on 01-08-2007
made it to istanbul. Big fat turquish man washes me in hammam. Guys from genghis kar have worms.
The Goonies
Location Unknown 06:40 on 01-08-2007
woken by about a hundred wild horses going through our camp in the middle of the night.had to bribe some police this morning who wouldnt give documents back
The Great Sandbadgers of the East
Location Volgograd(Russia) 20:06 on 31-07-2007
Mongol rally not welcome in volgograd. Avoid. Remove stickers. Head north. DO NOT STOP FOR POLICE
ARE WE THERE YET?
Location Luhansk(Ukraine) 19:11 on 31-07-2007
just about 2 cross in2 russia. 46 degrees here
The Kilmorie Gentlemen
Location Turkmenbashi(Turkmenistan) 17:46 on 31-07-2007
Yawn. 26 hours & counting. Hate the ferry. Hate Azerbaijan. Will murder the next person that asks for money. I hate Azerbaijan. I hate Azerbaijan. X Dom
Rustbucket Express
Location Tabriz(Iran) 17:18 on 31-07-2007
Royally shafted at iran border - 70 dollars to get carnets back, really sure these guys were real. They were not.
Mongolbikers.com
Location Volgograd(Russia) 16:39 on 31-07-2007
40°C on the road today. Have finally made it to volgograd with no money and having spent a night drinking vodka with a russian family. Great fun!
We're Actuarially Going To Mongolia
Location Atyrau(Kazakhstan) 15:32 on 31-07-2007
after waitin 6 hrs on ferry to kazakh last night we finally experienced off roading, Me with b'day hangover! Jinst out tonight lookin for borat's sister!
The Penelope Pitstops
Location Volgograd(Russia) 14:47 on 31-07-2007
Industrial hellhole, largest gas plant ever, never come here in your life...
AKA Busters
Location Unknown 14:00 on 31-07-2007
correction. The border is closed for the night so we're stuck in no mans land till 8am!
The Kilmorie Gentlemen
Location Turkmenbashi(Turkmenistan) 13:38 on 31-07-2007
Hour 22 of the ferry crossing... We've been at the port for 9 hours but the boat wont go to dock. Theyve conned us (7 teams) out of around $400. Fuckers
Two Loose Screws
Location Unknown 12:26 on 31-07-2007
ed has ball rash. Ollie is going into arse labour. Can someone send us out some savlon & some immodium. Address is Renault 5, daka avenue, Baku

Keep on rollin'

Update #18 - Guess what happened...

2007-08-02T15:21:00.001+02:00

they actually made it to Uzbekistan. Next question: will they make it out of it again ?

To get from where ever it was to Uzbekistan, our boys have driven all night through the desert and the land of bandits. They think they've mastered the most dangerous part of the rally. I don't think so. I guess getting the visa to Kazakhstan again will still pose a time consuming and maybe dangerous challenge: bribing officers or trying to illegally enter the country ? That is the question here. Let's see how they'll decide ;)

2007/08/02 7.29
Reaching Uzbekistan, mileage counter shows 7305 km

Update #17 - No news = good news ?

2007-08-01T19:37:00.000+02:00

Hey there. I just got an SMS from Richard with an update and I'd like to quote Sean Connery in Indiana Jones III :"Our situation has not improved". They are still in the southern part of Kazakhstan. It took them 16 hours to pass the last 120 km. Fortunately they are not alone. A lot of sand is accompanying them. Along with 3 other teams, which is quite good. 'cause it seems that everyone gets stuck once in a (short) while. I was told that one time, they needed a digger to help them out. The desert is showing it's rough side, but our boys + company are still in a good mood.

Let's hope it stays that way

Update #16 - Add on

2007-07-31T17:30:00.000+02:00

To show you where the "might" be currently... (click on picture for scale up)

See the "tracks" between Beyneu and Akzhigit... no tarmac, no roads, just sand

Driver Comments #5

2007-07-31T16:47:00.000+02:00

Damn Google editor, now all Team links got lost. Hope you can enjoy the comments nevertheless, there are some jewels there...

Berrow Fellows
Location Astrahan(Russia) ; 09:59 on 31-07-2007
what do you call two englishmen a scot a irishman a swiss and a luxembourg man missing the last ferry at thee border with kazak ? Tired as next one was 6am and it was midnight
Team Scraz
Location Ufa(Russia) ; 08:27 on 31-07-2007
Look like shit? Feel like shit? Smell like shit? Relentless Scraz Tours welcome you to Russia! Aa aa aaaaaaa...
Team Crazy Fools
Location Trabzon(Turkey) ; 06:41 on 31-07-2007
Man down! Ryan has the squits! Impressed by last nights georgian hospitality. Ate cheesybread and some random meat, possibly dog. May explain the squits.
Team Crazy Fools
Location Trabzon(Turkey) ; 17:28 on 30-07-2007
So good to be back in convoy! Locals driving like loons. Dodging cows. So much black smoke coming from one truck we thought it was on fire! *A-hurgh!*
Minor Problems
Location London Hyde Park(United Kingdom) ; 16:02 on 30-07-2007
Left toothbrushes hyde park so returned to pick up. Hopefully in georgia tea time.
Land of Down
Location Unknown ; 15:02 on 30-07-2007
Sammy doing some low altitude flying! ...
Mongolia in a Micra
Location Trabzon(Turkey) ; 14:45 on 30-07-2007
Speeding fine! The ginger one was at the wheel, i'm still considering not paying and leaving him as security. (Only joking mr and mrs cooper)
The Goonies
Location Unknown ; 14:36 on 30-07-2007
Just saw a dog eating another dog!Team Tom Location Volgograd(Russia) 14:21 on 30-07-2007 300km away from volgograd - just got stopped by the russian police doing 120km per hour in a 60 area. $10 US later we're on our way...
Team Barton
Location Moscow(Russia) ; 12:48 on 30-07-2007
team barton sitting in tema bar. lost our convoy. Russian lady answered their phone. Bad sign. We will be at the bar 8-11pm tonight if anyone is in moscow
Austrian Team
Location Ufa(Russia) ; 04:31 on 30-07-2007
weiter geht's. Stromteufel besiegt. Banken in Samara sogut versteckt, wie Stalinbunker.
Yakky Racers
Location Unknown ; 21:40 on 29-07-2007
Somewhere in kstan!" last saw a sign 4hrs ago, cant remember what tarmac looks like. Car loving off roading though; sell your landrovers and buy a micra!
2togs2mongolia
Location Merzifon(Turkey) ; 20:39 on 29-07-2007
... Saw Paris to Peking cars today. In good shape and enjoying the trip.
Green Pea
Location Trabzon(Turkey) ; 15:34 on 29-07-2007
... Hasn't been 1 burger king since istanbul ...Damn we're hungry...
Team Barton
Location Moscow(Russia) ; 12:38 on 29-07-2007
200km off moscow! Stopped by police - no idea what they wanted. border crossing made interesting by angry russian lady. met team mister dinosaur in riga
turbodurbo
Location Lviv(Ukraine) ; 12:25 on 29-07-2007
just got stopped for 'speeding' and paid first fine. Gave policeman pen to sign car. He wrote fine on bonnet! Paid a sixth of what he wanted in dollars and off again. Moldova here we come...

Update #16

2007-07-31T10:21:00.000+02:00

I'm beginning to think, that our heroes are doing this deliberately. As they kindly woke me up yesterday by calling in the middle of the night (hello you already are 4 hours ahead of us), I was prepared today. Got up early. Sitting there. Waiting. Nothing happend. Now, at 10 am, I get this wonderful text message, I immediately wanna share with you:

"We're in the desert. It's hot, dry, and dusty. Hardly doing any progress. Keep getting stuck in the $!")%! sand"

Niet straße ! Didn't I say going to Uzbekistan, might not be such a good idea ?...

P.S. There's a poll at the far end of the right sidebar, it'd be cool if you would participate. Thx

Update 15# - What did you say ?

2007-07-30T15:28:00.000+02:00

2007/07/30 7.50

Few miles before Atyrau, mileage counter shows 6229 km

I'm pretty much experiencing the distance between them and me right now, as talking to them on the phone sounds like talking to the man on the moon. What a coincidence, I just found that article here, saying that a 1,5 Mbit DSL flat would cost around 2500 € in Kazakhstan (16.000 € for a 6 Mbit flat). No wonder they haven't found an Internet café yet. I've come to know, that on their way to finding a camping ground, they met a guy from Heidenheim (Germany) and his family. They were so happy to see them, that the father and his son showed them the most beautiful camp ground directly at the sea and cooked spaghetti with them. On the next morning, Richard and Martin had to take care as lots of camels and nosey horses came by tents to check them out ;)

Then, there is the more stressful part, as they won't let me talk them out of going to Uzbekistan. I tried everything, but it wouldn't help. Thanks to my lovely friend Katja, who called the embassy of Kazakhstan in Toshkent (Uzbekistan), we now know, that getting a visa takes at least (whatever that means in Russian terms) 2 working days. So, either trying to do so or - as some other drivers met people from the rally Paris -> Bejing, get the special permission they need to drive through China.

To be continued...

Driver Comments #4

2007-07-29T23:43:00.000+02:00

some more comments...

Rustbucket Express
Location Unknown 10:02 on 27-07-2007
at the uzbekistan consulate where they only speak uzbek and bad turkish. I wonder if a few dollars will make them speak english?
Microlia
Location Kiev(Ukraine) 10:04 on 27-07-2007
stayed in really nice hotel here last night.strip bar next door,ladies looking for company in the lobby.everything a growing boy needs.strange country.
Starsky and Clutch
Location Unknown 10:43 on 27-07-2007
Hey we're at the turkish boarder. What fun. Queue after queue. People here love to use their horns. Pushing car to save petrol.
hobo logistics
Location Sofia(Bulgaria) 11:15 on 27-07-2007
We are driving to Mongolia and the only cassette we have is kraftwerk's Computer World
Mongol Mystery Machine
Location Odesa(Ukraine) 11:24 on 27-07-2007
finally made it to odessa, been in and out of moldova 3 times! ...
The Kenya Crew
Location Hamburg(Germany) ; 13:51 on 27-07-2007
Left late due to visa problems. Spent last night in Brussels and watched Heat, on our way to Hamburg. Car is fine although steering is 20deg off centre!
Chariots of Rust
Location Unknown 16:20 on 27-07-2007
odesa.3hours at ukr border,had to use fake car passport given to us by crazy german...
Mongolbikers.com
Location Kiev(Ukraine) 18:44 on 27-07-2007
Still in kiev. Spent the day servicing the bikes. Now drinking free vodka/aftershave with energy drink. Maybe blind...
TB Mongolian Adventurers
Location Odesa(Ukraine) 05:39 on 28-07-2007
went out for quiet supper last night, ended up joining a ukrainian wedding party being forced to drink champagne by the father of the bride... Classic! X
Yakky Racers
Location Atyrau(Kazakhstan) 11:59 on 28-07-2007
dodging camels and potholes in equal measure, now sat in an irish bar ( is there anywhere in the world without one?!) enjoying some liquid refreshment
French Touch
Location Ankara(Turkey) 13:13 on 28-07-2007
stuck in ANKARA for god knows how long. Need to get 3 visas. Turkmen, Azerbaidjan and Kazakstan visas.very confident that we ll get them for xmas!
The 3 Mongoliers
Location Simferopol(Ukraine) 17:01 on 28-07-2007
2300 miles! On crimea...! Woohoo! Charlie's starting to realise just how lucky he is to be with 2 girls... Becky bribed border guard without realising, 10 of us attended ukrainian wedding party cos father of bride wouldn't let go of them and through their combined 'talking to tire' tactic and russian they cut a deal with police over speeding fine... All hilarious! Hope all's really good. Lots love x x x
Team Extreme
Location Istanbul(Turkey) ; 17:01 on 28-07-2007
so the key is now stuck in the ignition & wont turn so cant start the car. Not to worry, we've just been taught how to hot wire it by some local turks!
Land of Down
Location Unknown ; 21:49 on 28-07-2007
have finally parked at only non smoking truck stop in Russia. Pulled over by coppers twice but jedi mind tricks worked.
teamGoZzilla
Location Tehran(Iran) ; 02:14 on 29-07-2007
not so easy to get petrol!

Update #14

2007-07-28T17:35:00.000+02:00

2007/07/28 17.31

100 km in front of Astrakhan, mileage counter shows: 5884 km

Yeah, thanks to the advice of an anonymous anotater, I could talk to Richard on the phone again. They are all well and around 100 km in front of Astrakhan. If everything goes as planned, they should be in Kazakhstan tomorrow.

However, they told me about their first Russian police encounter where they had to pay the 50 €. After paying 100 Rupiens (shouldn't be too much) they were able to pass the border just to run in the police control, I told you about. Martin had to go to the officer's cabin and a nice guard with a Kalashnikov suggested to do as told. The other guard wrote a sum on a piece of paper: 100 US$. Meanwhile Richard is still sitting in the car, being watched by another armed guard, who didn't look pretty friendly in his direction. So... I'm asking you: What would you do in such a situation ? Probably the same as Martin. He took the pencil, wiped out the 100 US$ and wrote down 50 €. That's it, Mr. Cool. Just as I tought you.

After this "meet&greet" they continued on their track, just to be controlled over and over again. But, the other officers were baffled how anyone could be so stupid to travel to Mongolia in a car like this, so they let them go. As Team Ruhrpott has a visa, which allows entering Kazakhstan twice, all are still planning to go to Uzbekistan. If we (that means you, dear reader and myself) find an embassy or consulate for Kazahkstan in Uzbekistan, then hopefully the can continue with their new friends.

In this spirit, spasiba for your help

Help me please

2007-07-28T16:27:00.001+02:00

First we all thought, that Richard and Martin's cell phone provider don't have a roaming contract with the russian carriers. Now I found a webpage with different area codes for Germany (the +49 obiviously doesn't work there), it says 8~10 + 49 + area code + number.

Anyone got an idea what thy symbol between 8 and 10 could mean ?

Furthermore, has any of you traveled to Kazakhstan (or a similar country) and knows how much money you have to offer the officers to speed up the visa process ? Or whether you could get in trouble for doing so ?

Thing is, the boys didn't manage to go to the consulate of Kazakhstan in Moldova. So, there still is the problem of having only a single entry visa. Anyone any ideas ?

Please leave me a comment. Your help is greatly appreciated

Update #13

2007-07-28T12:03:00.000+02:00

Our boys made it to Russia last night. That is, after spending 4h at the border, because all the forms were in Russian only. Maybe Richard should have spent more time in learning Russian ;) Finally, they were allowed to pass on only to rush into the next police control. This time, speaking Russian wouldn't help either, only 50 € could bring them farther. To avoid paying so much over and over and again, they teamed up with Team Ruhrpott since Rostov. Now they can split the bribes.

2007/07/28 12.44
Driving towards Astrakhan in a convoy.

Driver Comments #3

2007-07-27T11:00:00.000+02:00

I begin to feel, I should have joined the trip. Here we go with some more events of rally companions. By the way, remind me never to go to Serbia, as it seems you have to pay a fee / fine for everything...

Team Mongu Mongu
Location Budapest(Hungary) ; 07:57 on 27-07-2007
Just spent 3 days ignoring the less than subtle mariage hints of our hostel owners hideous daughter while our engine was being replaced. Hell.
R77
Location Ruse(Bulgaria) ; 07:22 on 27-07-2007
Ruse.Policia fronterizo su mejor amigo trabaja en Tenerife .desde aqui un saludo.
Austrian Team
Location Kursk(Russia) ; 22:55 on 26-07-2007
we are in RUSSIA. Hier gibt es Russendisco als Freiluftversion. Grenze alles ok. Niet pistola :)
Starsky and Clutch
Location Unknown ; 20:07 on 26-07-2007
in bulgaria in a hotel its really nice, just had dinner and beer. The pool looks good shame its not built yet! Love 2 everyone
Tim & Fudge's Big Adventure
Location Kiev(Ukraine) ; 19:27 on 26-07-2007
In Ukraine,hd'n4 Kiev..where's the tarmac gone?!we're pretty far from Kansas!people on donkeys+carts! difference between here+Poland is unbelievable! Xx
TB Mongolian Adventurers
Location Chisinau(Moldovia) ; 17:39 on 26-07-2007
not going to make odesa today due to having to avoid an unrecognised soviet separatist state in east moldova who have their own borders and special@)se in arms and drug dealing! As a result we're only just gaining on the ukrainian border down in the south. Ps there is a high chance we're going to be on tv
Team Scraz
Location Unknown ; 19:39 on 25-07-2007
We have crossed into Russia! Only 2 hours at border! Split a molar in half on lump of bone hidden in salami so going to dentists in Moscow. Love Jay x x x
Ey Up Genghis
Location Kiev(Ukraine) ; 18:41 on 25-07-2007
late start as team austria were busy with sponsors n ukrainian tv..Gave our first present to a jolly fat policeman who wanted one of our beers!
Team Jackal
Location Volgograd(Russia) ; 18:31 on 25-07-2007
retained at Russian border. They ask directly for a bribe. We resist.
Land of Down
Location Unknown ; 18:28 on 25-07-2007
Four hours of incomprehensible bureaucracy supervised by a dozen attractive female border guards in uniform left us feeling like in a third rate movi@%. But we're in and Moscow bound!@
Team Crazy Fools
Location Belgrade(Serbia) ; 17:33 on 25-07-2007
The fools have crossed border into Serbia. Guard a Chelsea fan. Got fleeced over 275 quid for road tax because we drive a van! Extortionate parasites!
Norfolkin'chance
Location Vienna(Austria) ; 17:18 on 25-07-2007
are doing an engine rebuild in the bavarian wild and looking out for lederhosen
The Goonies
Location Arad(Romania) ; 16:08 on 25-07-2007
Through Hungary,now into Romania.Staying at a haunted house in transylvania where Dracula used to hang out.sump guard now fitted-bring on the desert!
The 3 Mongoliers
Location Pascani(Romania) ; 14:37 on 25-07-2007
In romanian mountains! Too awesome! Just about overtaking horse and carts with number plates. So many stray dogs government renamed them 'community dogs'... Gonna bag one for ourselves...

Go, go, go guys...

Update #12 - Amendment

2007-07-26T18:54:00.001+02:00

I'm getting a bad conscience, that Moldavia's reputation might suffer from my description. So I'll tell you some events that were actually quite good there:

When the boys were shopping in a Metro store in Chisinau, it wasn't until they reached the checkout counter, when they realized that they would need a customer card to be eligible to shop there. However, using all of their charme they managed to persuade the salesgirl to bend the rules and give them staff's discount.
Wandering around Chisinau, trying to decide which route to take next, they stumbled across a guy from Hannover (Germany). The world is somewhat small. Using his advice, our boys managed to avoid some road blocks and managed to reach the border in a reasonable (in Moldavian terms) time.

Still... I'd suggest a different travel destination ;)

Update #12 - Long story................. long

2007-07-26T14:20:00.000+02:00

Wow, I just had a very very long phone call (crystal clear quality) from Kherson (Ukraine), I don't want to see those roaming costs. But we do everything to keep you updated. So here we go.

Our boys were on the way to Moldavia when we talked last time. To sum up Romania, a beatiful country, verly lovely, but also very poor. On their way through the mountain passes, they did a refuel at a gas station and looked pretty astonished, when the owner started speaking German to them :) Afterwards, they continued their way south, trying to find a spot to spend the night. But that turned out to be difficult, as whenever they thought they found a nice spot, someone came by, either some farmers, some guys trying to repair their car or just strange lights... so our heroes fled before anything could happen to them (to be honest... we would have done the same). So they stopped on a mini parking space around midnight and rested until 4.00 am. Then a Mercedes Sprinter came by, 3 guys hopping out, doing... hell who cares, Martin just kicked the gas and tried to get away. In doing so, they made it to Iasi (Romania) finally. Shortly before the border, they couldn't resist to take a nap. When they woke up again, they were surrounded by a lot of people and cows, all waiting for the bus. Next time you better watch where you park your car ;) The border to Moldovia, a short drive for our heroes, but a great income for the customs officer. They directly asked for a bribe, so a beer and 5 bucks and they were done. Hold it, entering Moldovia with a car... you could bring bugs with it into the country. That's not possible. So what next ? Yes, the officers sprayed disinfectant-spray all over the car. Die you bugs ! Can we now pass the border... well, do you have Moldavian money ? No ? Then go and exchange some. Allright, so Richard went to the bank, which luckily was right next to the customs office and exchanged 5 bucks. And what did he get in return ? Moldovian money ? You wish. No, he got a certificate, saying the exchanged some money. Well, that's a cool way to become rich. Remind me to adapt this for students coming to my office ...

Finally, our boys were free to go and headed to the Capital Chisinau to get some rest, but as this city or rather this country isn't much of a beauty, they kept going straight for the Ukraine. However, the word highway gotta have other meanings, in Moldavia it means farm track. So making 2 miles took them almost 45 min, eventually stopping for a few seconds to search for a "real" road using field-glasses (finally they come in handy). Nothing helped, Moldavia sucks. So off to the border, where - who would guess so - they had to fill out a lot of forms again for the Moldavian officers. Entering the Ukraine didn't appear to be much easier: filling out visa forms (luckily in English) and a car insurance form (only in Cyrillic). The officers looked like they saw another 2 idiots not being able to speak Russian. But then, the major officer showed up, being all interested in the car. How old is it ? -> 20 years. How cool, I drive a Luars (never heard of that before) with a VW engine and a dashboard from Audi. Your trip is cool, maybe I'll join on the Mongol Rally 2008. That made it a lot easier. Direction Odesa, which isn't easy as a) the road looks like a clobbering (dt. Bombenteppich) and b) there are no road signs. Probably there are, they just can't read them. As we talked on the phone, the get passed by police cars in rapid succession. But none of them stops them, it seems that they are to astouned to 2 Europeans in such a car in such a country, that they miss the point to stop them. As it gets dark, it gets more and more complicated to guess where the road might be and avoid driving into huge holes on the street. Luckily, they finally make it to Odesa, where they stay in the Hotel Palladium (sertified for 4* ;)). After taking a shower they are asked to remove their reserve wheels from the roof of the car, just in case. How friendly.

2007/07/26 14.09
Kherson (Ukraine), mileage counter shows 4478 km

Driver Comments #2

2007-07-25T17:25:00.000+02:00

as they are too good to miss :)

Norfolkin'chance
Location Frankfurt(Germany) ; 08:40 on 24-07-2007
are back in the race. Got 3 new wheels, bearings, big fix and only charged for parts. If your gonna break down you should have done it in germany!
The Dolly Mixtures
Location Nuremberg(Germany) ; 07:21 on 24-07-2007
we got a little navigationally challenged and ended up in hamburg instead of munich.
Vienna Calling
Location Lviv(Ukraine) ; 15:12 on 24-07-2007
wir hab den fuss am gas - den fiat fest im griff....falco ist mit uns!
The Toad Elevating Moment
Location Unknown ; 16:19 on 24-07-2007
I love the instant trust & team atmosphere on the rally. The fact I can sleep in another team car & feel safe, the way no 1 gets left behind a convoy etc-Gem
16:33 I spoke too soon. Team Tom just drove into our car. Now we have to tie the boot shut! D'oh
We're Actuarially Going To Mongolia
Location Satu Mare(Romania) ; 18:12 on 24-07-2007
... Guards obv not as friendly as romanians who accused us of bein osama's smugglers
Perseverance
Location Oradea(Romania) ; 19:56 on 24-07-2007
ordea, romania; 20 ralliers in a crap motel, got big discount. Going good, still running hot,+ heat on full blast to draw heat from engine, so hot in the car our air vents are melting
Team Crazy Fools
Location Debrecen(Hungary) ; 13:56 on 25-07-2007
Spent night in real bed after well needed shower. City of Szeged is stunning! Spent the day taking photos. Got a parking ticket, not planning to pay.

Update #11

2007-07-25T11:43:00.000+02:00

2007/07/25 10.40
Leaving the European Union and entering Moldavia (by paying bribes for the first time)

Unfortunately, my information is not very exhaustive, but as far as I know, they are all doing ok and could be on their way to the capital of Moldavia. There they probably head to the embassy of Kazakhstan to apply for another visa. They already have one, but as the want to visit as many countries as possible, they will have to re-enter Kazakhstan. And so far, their visa allows only for a one time entry.

All this trouble with visa... next time get a mastercard *g*

Driver Comments #1

2007-07-24T17:32:00.000+02:00

I thought of a new type of message, where I could have you participate in what other drivers experienced on their trip. So, from time to time you'll see new comments on this blog...

Rustbucket Express Location Belgrade(Serbia) 14:22 on 24-07-2007 just paid 90 stg by the border for a "car insurance" we already have. God bless Serbia
nissan2do Location Prague(Czech Republic) 14:27 on 24-07-2007 got car back from a good but miserable mechanik,new clutch,rear susp...
Yakky Racers Location Lviv(Ukraine) 14:28 on 24-07-2007 Joined up with Southern Best and Rusty rhinos and heading in convey to Kiev. Enjoying ukraines decision to hide speed bumps in the middle of main roads
Green Pea Location Unknown 14:37 on 24-07-2007 Rijeka slovenia. Just had a pizza before leaving italy. Turns out pepperoni pizza is peppers not meat...

Update #10 - The heat is on

2007-07-24T16:01:00.000+02:00

It gets more and more complicated to write you about the progress of our boys. They don't know where they are... and neither do I. It pretty complicated as Google Maps doesn't contain a lot of Romanian cities and I guess this won't get better when travelling eastwards. Furthermore, the heat in the car (around 50°C) worsens things as well.

However, so far they had a fun time in Romania. As Budapest didn't prove to be very much of interest, they kept sitting in the car and couldn't quit driving. So they passed the Hungarian-Romanian border around midnight and decided to spend the night in Oradea (hey I found that town in Google Maps). I was told, this is an awkward city (maybe I can find a pic of that): it's really poor, but got some real nice churches and street cleaners, who work around midnight. So, finding a hotel at night seems to be a bit of a problem or our boys are just to smelly (and probably unkempt) to find some nice and cheap hotel. The only hotel that let them in was a 4* Hotel Continental, but so what... it's Romania, it's cheap (for us). On the next day, more heavy expenses came their way: the highway toll. So they threw in all their money and paid 1 € for the vignette and continued to race on the street, carefully not to crash into one of the many carriages. I wonder if one or two horses wouldn't help in giving the car some of the much needed extra hp...

2007/07/24 16.00
Somewhere after Targo Mures (Romania, check out the link), mileage counter shows: 3380 km

Scenery in Rumania

Update #9

2007-07-23T17:57:00.000+02:00

2007/07/23 17.43

Crossing Hungarian border, mileage counter: 2647 km

Good news everyone. So far our team didn't encounter serious problems and already reached Hungary. The oil pressure lamp keeps coming up from time to time, but it looks like, that this only happens when pushing the car to much. So they decided to slow down a little bit, nevertheless it should be no problem to reach Budapest this night. On the overall comparison, our boys do pretty fine. There it the team "Bottom Gear", which already made it to Lviv (around 500 km ahead) and is close to Kiev, but probably this team skipped the meeting point in Prague and is driving through the night. Again, this is NOT a race and who knows whether their Volkswagon Polo will make it to Mongolia at that pace.

Update #8

2007-07-23T12:50:00.000+02:00

2007/07/23 11.52
Leaving Prague, mileage counter shows: 2250,1 km

As Prague is a lovely city with lots of things to see, Richard and Martin decided to take a walk through the city before leaving. Then left town on the D1 towards Brno, but didn't make it very far as they immediately got stuck in a traffic jam. Therefore, today's destination might change from Rumania to something closer. From now on it's pure adventure, up up and away towards destination unknown...

p.s.
I'll show you a picture of how our boys looked like when they left, in case you don't recognize them again when they'll return. Take a look a the rear axis of the car, maybe they have a little overweight ...

NEW Map Links

2007-07-23T11:51:00.000+02:00

Hey fellow rally enthusiasts,

we have new means of tracking our boys along their way. There is an SMS service that allows them to send their current position to the organisation of the Mongol Rally. They put the location on a Google mashup for you to see. So I added to links on the sidebar (Maps & Tracks), one containing an overview of the routes the teams want to take and one with the current positions.

Hope you like it :)

Update #7

2007-07-22T20:50:00.000+02:00

2007/07/22 20.27 Reaching Prague

As I haven't been told otherwise, it looks to me that they made it to Prague in one piece. This will be the last stop in a hotel before the "real" part of the journey will begin, featuring wild animals, dirt roads, no running water. Let's see how they will cope with that. But for now, there's a party in Prague to celebrate. Maybe this is the last time the drivers will meet at one place before Mongolia. So boys, drink one on me, too.

Good luck

Update #6 - First Pit Stop

2007-07-22T13:17:00.000+02:00

After they left the Hyde Park, our competitors had a smooth tour through the Euro Tunnel, through France, but in Belgium... something interrupted. What does the funny looking red light wanna tell ? Hmm... well, before smoke could arise, our boys just stopped the car on the expressway and refilled a lot of motor oil. That did it ! When it comes to such old cars, engines tend to burn oil, so guys, hope you think of that next time or your engine will blow ;)

So, after successfully passing the first test in "mechanical engineering", including an equipment test of the warning triangle and safety vest, the continued their trip and arrived Wiesbaden (Germany) at night time. Getting some rest and a good breakfast, our guys gained enough strength to get back on course, towards Prague. Thus leading to the following intermediate result:

2007/07/22 10.25
Leaving Wiesbaden, mileage counter shows 1649,3 km

Update #5 - The Rally is on

2007-07-21T15:04:00.000+02:00

2007/07/21 14.41 Leaving the Hyde Park

A huge crowd is cheering the drivers. Everyone is highly motivated. Let's see how many will actually make it to Mongolia and in what time. The overall question is: Will Martin and Richard meet drivers from last year on the path ? Can they give them some advice to get there in the 3 weeks ? Questions over questions... I'll be there to give you the answers.

Stay tuned

Update #4 - The Rally is about to begin...

2007-07-21T12:09:00.000+02:00

if it wouldn't be for the first minor problems. The party must have pretty thrilling as both of our boys can't remember where they put their parking ticket. And without any money (alcohol wasn't for free on the party ;)) they are wandering around, only finding broken ATMs. Finally, Martin is now trying to get the car out of the underground parking, while Richard is registering the team for the start. Thereby, he told me a secret, they already lost their way 4 times while travelling through London. Now, if that is not good news...

Update #3

2007-07-20T22:39:00.000+02:00

2007/07/20 21.18 : Reaching the Streets of London

Finally our boys managed to reach London and fought their way through the heavy traffic of UK's capital. After a short bio-break, they will be off to find the location of the Mongol Rally Kick-Off party. Here, they hopefully make some new friends, who can help them along their long journey. After that, they'll return (or will they stay on the party all night ?) to their 35 € hotel (where did they find that one ?) and get some rest, such that they will be ready for departure.

Update #2

2007-07-20T15:45:00.000+02:00

2007/07/20 15.41
Hopping on the Euro Tunnel train to UK, mileage: 795,7

As for now, everything went pretty smooth, let's hope that it'll continue like that

Update #1

2007-07-20T11:09:00.000+02:00

So, Richard and Martin reached the Netherlands, and in such a good time, too. Let's take a look at the facts:

2007/07/20 09.38
Start in Bochum, Germany; mileage counter shows 357,4 km

We're sorry for the inconvenience, but we're not sure whether the car made the 100,000 km once or twice. To simplify matters, I'll be omitting the first 3 digits ;)

2007/07/20 10.58
Reaching the Netherlands, mileage counter: 464,2 km

One country down, 13 to go :)

Information Base Support

2007-07-20T10:27:00.000+02:00

As our two heros have departed on their way to London, you might read articles from me as well. So, I guess it's a good time to introduce myself. My name is Mirko and I am a fellow researcher of Martin, acting as a link between our two rally competitors at the MongolRally 2007 and the rest of the world. They will try to keep me (and thereby you) informed with the latest information, reports and maybe even pictures if they manage to fit them into an SMS/MMS ;) Well, the rally is on; I hope I can provide you new infos soon, so check our website.

Yours,

Mirko

We are on the road!

2007-07-20T02:08:00.001+02:00

If you read this after about 8am, then we are on the road and on our way to London. Thanks to Mirko, all our SMS Updates will also be posted here, so stay tuned!

And for God's sake, wish us luck!

Almost Ready

2007-07-17T20:12:00.000+02:00

Only four days to go. The Rally better be an amazing experience, because it's cost us a lot of time and energy in the last few weeks and months. Not just us in fact, but also the people around us. I wanted to take this time to thank them for their enormous patience. At some point they were probably ready to strangle the 413th person to ask me about the Rally (God knows I was ready to do it), but they didn't. For that, I am grateful.

It's not just cost us a lot nerves, however, it's also cost us an amazing amount of money. Between visas and last minute shopping, we've blown through 600€ just today. If think about doing the Rally next year and you read this page on the Mongol Rally website, here's some advice: Don't believe their lies! Fortunately we've had some amazing sponsors and I'd like to thank them as well. Without them, we would have had to cancel the Rally, simply for financial reasons.

Also a big thanks to everyone who donated to our charities. You've done good. Literally. Note that there's been a bit of a snafu with transferring the money collected at the STC. Fortunately that's been corrected and the money is on it's way to us and then on to the charities. I hope we can get this done before the start of the Rally.

Speaking of the start of the Rally, there's finally been some solid information regarding the London launch. If you're in London over the weekend and want to hook up with us, you can do it here:

Location: North Carriage Drive, Hyde Park
Entrance: Victoria Gate, off Bayswater Road

The launch event is from 11:00 to 13:00. Or you can come to the party on Friday night. See the official rally homepage for more infos and tickets. We've already given away our contingent of discounted tickets to people who are slightly cooler than you, however. Sorry.

Anyway, we're this close to being ready to go. We've got the visas for Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and our passports are on the way back to us. We might have gotten the visas for Kyrgyztan as well, but that would have been cutting it very close. The passports would have been back an hour(!) before our planned departure to London. Considering the somewhat flaky visa service, we decided not to take the chance.

From what I understand the car is ready as well, and we've bought pretty much all the equipment we need. Still need to find places to stay in London and Prague, we need to buy some food and there's one last vaccination shot tomorrow. Oh, and I still need some decent shoes.

Otherwise I think we're good to go. Let's hope I'm right.

Ze Video Interview

2007-07-16T18:15:00.000+02:00

The video interview I mentioned a while ago is now online. I haven't watched it, actually. Way too scared of the possibility that I made a fool of myself. Anyway, unlike the one with Martin, this one is in English, so if you don't speak Deutsch, this one is for you.

Ze Visa Troubles Continue

2007-07-10T15:53:00.000+02:00

I hate visas. I hate them with every fiber of my body. Not only do they cost a lot of money, time and nerves, they're also trying to crush my soul. So far they're doing a pretty good job of it, too.

What happened this time? Well, somebody at the visa service screwed up and applied for our Kazakhstan visas with a request for processing in seven days instead of one, as planned. This means we'll have to wait for them until next Monday, when they should have been here today.

Maybe, just maaaaaybe we can still get both the visas for Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan done in the last week, but most likely we will have to skip Kyrgyzstan. Frankly, that wouldn't be a total disaster. I'm really looking forward to Uzbekistan, but Kyrgyzstan is not a major part of our planned route. Still, I'm not happy about it.

Not the least because I've once again had to fill out visa forms and now I'm once again heading to the post office. Fun, fun, fun.

Deluge 2.0

2007-07-08T22:17:00.001+02:00

Okay, so here's something I learned today. Whenever things are going well, my apartment floods. I'm not kidding. See, a couple of days ago I mentioned that things were going well again, and that I was bracing myself for the worst. After all, the last time things were going well, I came home to find a note from the police that the fire department had broken into my apartment to stop the water.

As it turns out, it's a good thing I was bracing myself, because the last three days haven't exactly been what you would call "good". First of all, I had a nasty allergic reaction to something I ate, which meant I had to bail out of the rather nice Schlossfest on Friday. Nothing too bad, but it did remind me how important it is to carry my bottle of Fenistil with me wherever I go during the Rally.

After that I got sick, which pretty much ruined my Saturday. Didn't go out shopping as planned, didn't clean up the apartment as planned, didn't do anything, really. The only thing I did on Saturday was feel really, really bad.

Today I felt better, so I did clean up the apartment. Big mistake. About an hour ago (I was just about to go to bed) I wandered into the kitchen to find water pouring out from under the sink. I opened the cupboard to find, big surprise, that the damn boiler had sprung a leak. Again.

Now keep in mind here, that this is the exact same thing that happened last time, minus the police and the fire department. I have no idea how this can happen twice. It's not like it was the same boiler. The boiler was brand new. It's not even the same model of boiler as last time. Not even made by the same company! With the same thing happening twice in a row, except with completely different boilers, I would normally suspect user error. But for user error, there has to be some actual use involved, doesn't it? I never even touched either boiler. Ever.

Seriously, what is going on here?

Anyway, there I was kneeling in the water that's rushing out of the cupboard at alarming speed, desperately trying to turn off the water, when I get a nasty electric shock. To be fair, I should have turned off the electricity before touching the water coming out of my broken electric boiler.

But still. Ouch.

Better yet, every single one of my towels was currently in the washing machine, five stories below me. So I used my freshly washed and dried underwear to soak up the water. Which means if course that I will have to wash them again tomorrow! Man, am I looking forward to that. At least I had the presence of mind to reserve enough fresh underwear for tomorrow.

To sum it up:
- An hour ago my apartment was tidy and clean. Now it's dirty and in chaos.
- An hour ago I had fresh underwear. Now I don't.
- An hour ago I had warm water in the kitchen. Now I don't.
- An hour I ago I wasn't pissed off. Now I am!

At least I was home this time. I was actually this close to going out tonight. The only reason I didn't was that I'm still feeling a little sick. I figured I'd go to bed early. Well, that didn't quite work out, but at least I didn't have to pick up yet another set of keys at the police station.

Tonights incident is in fact just the latest in a streak of unbelievably bad luck. For example, just this week my car failed it's TÜV test. This means I need to get it repaired before the Rally, or it no longer counts as road-worthy. A couple of weeks ago, the car broke down on me in the middle of nowhere, with a completely busted radiator, so I've already pumped more money into the car than I am comfortable with and now it needs to go into the shop again. Oh, and on top of that, it's time to pay the vehicle tax this month. Lovely.

I'll spare you the other disasters that have happened to me recently (though an unfortunate incident with my boss's UMTS card is worthy of honorable mention), because I'm tired and want to go to bed. I can't help but wonder however, when this bad luck streak is going to end. Let's hope that by July 21st, I will simply have exhausted all my bad luck for this year, or we'll never even make it to London.

The only person happy about that would be my Mom.

Long Way Round

2007-07-07T16:55:00.000+02:00

I've just watched the first episode of Long Way Round and you know what? I've decided not to watch any further until we're back. Not sure if this makes sense, but it would feel a bit like reading spoilers for a movie or consulting a walkthrough for a game. It just takes away the fun.

It seems that that they have taken pretty much the same route that we plan on taking, minus Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Not sure if that's the route they actually ended up going, but that's what they were planning in episode 1.

What's neat is how much their experiences in preparing the trip mirror some of or own. Yes, one of them is a huge film star and they've got their own headquarters building and production staff and lots of money and the backing of BMW and so on, but being a big Hollywood star apparently doesn't make it easier to get a multiple entry visa to Russia.

Good to know.

17 Days To Go

2007-07-04T18:37:00.000+02:00

I just express-mailed our passports to the service that does our Kazakhstan visas. Hopefully we will have those early next week, which would leave enough time to get Uzbekistan and Kyrgyztan before the start of the Rally. I had to drive there at maximum warp, because they were about to close. Almost didn't make it. Now I'm totally out of breath. The last time I was this fast on a bike, I still cared about whether I was late for school or not.

In other news, the lovely Lori was here today and we did a video interview about the Rally. Not sure if I was very coherent. Whenever I felt coherent, the cleaning lady came in and we had to start again. Or the tape ran out or something. That was great. The interview is also the reason I had to make my mad dash to the post office, because we did about a gazillion takes before we were done. All in all it was quite a bit of fun, though. I'll let you know when the video is available.

Having the passports here also confirmed that we definitely have valid visa for Russia and Mongolia. I have to say, seeing my Mongolian visa in the passport was quite a cool moment. Ulan Bator here we come!

Ze Status 3.0

2007-07-03T17:48:00.001+02:00

I've just got off the phone with our visa service and we've got our visas for Mongolia and Russia. This is the minimum we need to do the Rally, which means we're officially good to go!

Just going through Russia isn't our planned route obviously, so we still need to get three more visa. The most important one is Kazakhstan, because without a visa for Kazakhstan the visa for Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are pretty much useless. With a little bit of luck we will have that by the end of the week, which should leave enough time to get the other two. Worst case scenario: we need to skip Kyrgyzstan. We could live with that.

Also, we went on a massive shopping spree on Saturday spending a huge amount of money at Europe's biggest outdoor store (pictured above). Equipment-wise we're pretty much ready to go. Unfortunately the tent we bought was only available in baby-puke green.

We still need to figure out how much money we're going to bring along and in which denominations. Plus we need to buy a reasonable amount of food.

Otherwise we're pretty much ready to go (much to our own surprise). The car is also making good progress and should be out of the shop on Thursday.

In other words: things are going well. Too well. I'm bracing myself for the worst.

Pull the Plug

2007-06-28T17:21:00.000+02:00

Here's a tip if you plan on doing something like the Mongol Rally: Take away your Mom's internet. I don't how you're going to do that, but trust me, it's like the best idea ever.

Here's why. If you don't take away her internet, she will trawl its depths and come up with at least a thousand different ways for you to die on your trip. No matter how prepared you are, she will always come up with at least two ways to die you haven't thought of. One of them will invariably involve worms. The kind that eat you from the inside.

Oh, and both ways will be impossible to prepare for, so it's not like the information is even useful. You can protect yourself from the khorkhoi by not wearing any yellow clothes, but the worms your Mom will find out about, will be completely impossible to avoid or kill.

In other words, knowing about these worms only serves to drive you (and your Mom) crazy. So do yourself a favor and pull the plug. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Ze Ugly

2007-06-27T13:34:00.000+02:00

A couple of days back I mentioned that our car needed a lot more work than we originally thought. Here's the terrible list of things that are broken:

The shock absorbers are completely shot.
The brakes are gone. That includes the hoses, the pads and the discs.
The engine is losing oil, which means the shaft seals need to be replaced.
The water pump is broken.
The generator is about to give up the ghost.

Fortunately we've picked up a new sponsor: HSW Autoteile. Not only are we getting all the necessary parts from them at cost, they're also giving us an excellent deal on the work they need to do. But that's not all! They're also throwing in a box of the most important replacement parts. For free!

All in all it's a pretty sweet deal. The car is being worked on as we speak, which means our chances of actually reaching Mongolia are currently increasing by the hour.

Ze Bureaucracy

2007-06-26T13:20:00.000+02:00

A sweet bureaucracy, how I love thee! So, I need an international drivers license. As it turns out however I can only apply for one, if I get a new driver's license first. (I still have one of the old, floppy, red ones.) Too bad it takes between six and eight weeks to get one of these. There is also an express application available, but not at the office that I went to this morning.

Also, they need a copy of my record from the city where I got my driver's license. Which I have to get myself. It's like these people still don't know what a computer and a database is. So I called back home, had these guys fax my record card to the guys in Mannheim and try my luck again tomorrow. Let's hope I gave them the right fax number.

So much fun.

Ze Mongolian Death Worm

2007-06-26T00:50:00.001+02:00

If we disappear somewhere in Mongolia, we may have met this creature. Supposedly it has the ability "to spew forth a yellow poison that is lethal on contact" and can also kill you at a distance by means of electric discharge". The color yellow is said to attract it and it's local name is llghoi which means "blood filled intestine worm".

This is not just an astonishingly disgusting name, but also a remarkably compact one. Apparently the Mongolian language can squeeze into six letters what the English language needs four whole words for. Rather remarkable, really.

Anyway, let's just say I won't be bringing any yellow clothes.

Disaster Strikes!

2007-06-24T00:48:00.000+02:00

Remember when I said that things were going too well and that I was worried? Well, turns out that I was right. They were going too well and now Karma has come to town for some payback. Martin took the car to the shop today it needs a lot more work than we thought. A lot. More on that tomorrow.

Also, a water mains burst at my place. It's always great to come home after a long day to find a note from the police that the fire department broke into your apartment to turn off the water. Even better when you realize that they changed the locks and you can get back into your place. But the best part is realizing that they came in through the window and you no longer have a a window. At least they had the decency to replace it with some black plastic. Good thing it's not raining much right now.

Oh wait. It is.

Well, at least they didn't use my new 100€ Hugo Boss sweater to mop up the water.

Oh wait. THEY DID!

If Adventure Has a Name...

2007-06-22T17:20:00.000+02:00

...it's "Mongol Rally". But if it has a second name, it's "Indiana Jones".

Yes, they've actually started shooting. If after all those years they can get a fourth Indy movie underway, maybe there's actually a chance we might make it to Mongolia.

My arms hurt.

2007-06-20T15:23:00.001+02:00

If there's one thing I really don't like about preparing for the Rally, it's all the needles. Seriously, I'm sick of getting stuck. Of course I'd rather be sick of getting stuck now, than actually be sick on the Rally later on, so I'll just have to suck it up and take my vaccinations like a man. Still, I wouldn't mind if I were done with it already. I feel like a pin-cushion and I still have two more rabies shots and one more TBE shot to go.

In other (and much less painful) news we can announce another sponsor. The Duisburg branch of MLP has generously agreed to help us out. Our visa costs are rising rapidly (since we need to apply for express processing wherever we can), so this is coming at a very opportune moment. Special thanks to Herr Aßmann.

We're also working on some neat ways for you to keep track of us during the Rally, so stay tuned.

Ze Status 2.0

2007-06-19T11:20:00.001+02:00

I've just made a phone call and our passports are currently at the Mongolian Embassy and are expected to come back tomorrow. After that it's off to the Russian Embassy, where they are apparently going to take their sweet time processing our visas. Once they're done however, there is nothing left that can stop us. The car is also getting another check today and we're starting to buy equipment. In short: Things are going somewhat according to plan.

This has me worried.

We've also got another sponsor! The cool people at Avanade have agreed to pay for some of our fuel costs, which I have to say is awfully nice of them.

Things are going almost too well right now. I'll let you know when our car falls apart or the Russians call to tell us that we will never be allowed to enter their country. Ever.

Ze Zune

2007-06-14T19:10:00.001+02:00

Hey, what's that? That's right, it's a Zune! It's not even available in Europe yet, but Ze Germans have got one, thanks to our sponsor Microsoft. To be honest, I'm not sure about the color, but hey, it was free (thanks, guys!). Besides, it could have been much worse. It could have been the Halo 3 Special Edition. Or pink. Or an iPod!

Not sure which one is more embarrassing. Probably a pink iPod.

Also, don't worry about Martin's potentially dubious taste in music. I've tasked my brother (pictured right, posing with his band) with selecting the contents of the Zune's hard drive. I have a sneaking suspicion that the aforementioned hard drive will be the only thing about us that's ready for the Rally come July 21st.

That's it for today, which means I'll go back to worrying about our Visa now. Thank you for your attention, you may leave appropriately envious messages in the comments.

Ze Interview

2007-06-12T11:38:00.001+02:00

The super-charming Lori did a video interview with Martin at the STC. Klick on the image above to see Martin in action!

Ze Status

2007-06-11T16:54:00.000+02:00

So, what's happened since our last update?

First of all, we've worked out our route in more details. We spent an entire afternoon pouring over our maps, working our way backwards from Ulan Bator to London. It's actually quite easy to pick a route in Central Asia, because the number of main roads is remarkably small. Sometimes a quick check of satellite imagery reveals even these "main roads" to be little more than glorified dirt tracks.

We're also finally getting our Visas applications out the door. We couldn't start this process earlier, because I still needed my passport for Rio. This means we have to pay quite a bit of extra money to expedite the processing at the various embassies, but we'll just have to suck it up. It's going to be close, but I think we'll make it. There was also a bit of a scary moment, when we realized that Germans can only apply for single-entry visa to Kazakhstan. That would make our planned routed impossible and would have forced us to skip Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Fortunately we were able to find two possible solutions to that problem. Let's hope the one we picked works out.

I've also taken a test drive in our car. It doesn't feel quite as cramped as I thought it would and drives quite well. Unfortunately it has a tendency to drift to the right. Let's hope that this not a symptom of something serious. The battery also needs to be replaced, but that's not a big deal.

If the visas work out, there's no stopping us now, so we're moving on to buying equipment. Space is going to be limiting factor there, because the car is, well, small. We'll keep you updated how things are going. As long as we take a year's supply of duct tape we should be fine.

Ze STC Aftershow Picture Party!

2007-05-27T15:35:00.001+02:00

The STC was a smashing success. I’m slightly miffed that I couldn’t be there, but Martin seems to have done a rather excellent job, because the cool people at the conference have donated a very spiffy 750€ for our charities. That means we’ve reached the goal of collecting 1500€! A big thank you to everyone who opened their wallets!

But wait! It gets even better! Our sponsor Microsoft is doubling the donations from the STC, which means we have now collected almost 2250€ for the Mercy Corps Mongolia and the Christina Noble Children’s Foundation, way more than the minimum requirement for the Rally. This of course does not mean that you should no longer donate. We obviously want to collect as much money for our charities as possible. So, um, go!

Anyway, enough with this whole “making the world a better place”-business. Time for the good stuff. Here’s our super-double-excellent photo gallery from the mega-triple-awesome STC. Enjoy.

This is our car. Shot by someone who knows which side of the camera is up. In other words, probably not by Martin.

This is one of the best sites on all of the internets! You should go and visit it right now! Oh wait, you already are. Well done! Clearly you are person of refined taste and superb judgement.

Hey, that’s us!

That’s not us. But he is one handsome devil, so he fits right in.

Is there still a chance we can switch cars and take the BMW?

“Let me ask you a question…”

“…are you guys crazy?!?”

I’m reasonably sure this is not a close-up of our engine bay. Reasonably.

We submitted this picture for the 2008 Pirelli Calender and we are expecting the acceptance letter any day now.

This photographer is really good. He makes Martin look 10 years younger!

“Hm, I wonder what Richard is doing right now…”

This is what he was doing. Just for your information. I'm not bragging or anything. This is the reason I’m only slightly miffed that I wasn’t at the STC, however.

I don’t know who that is, but he’s very excited. (Actually I do, it's the awesome Ingo!)

And now we know why!

We let people write their names on our car. Now do you wish you had come? Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

I just upgraded my miffedness from “slightly” to “substantially”.

Martin talking to some dudes who definitely think we’re crazy.

Did I mention we let people sign our car? We let even let an Alien sign the car. Right between M. Pleucxkuscneschi und L. Brahomphumpberg.

You can go here to see more awesome pictures of the STC. But be warned: they’ll make you regret you're failure to show up even more! Let’s face facts here; we both know it’s already tearing you up on the inside. Once you click that link, the tears will be coming hard. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Come back tomorrow for another awe-inspiring update of www.mongolrally.de: Where the Awesome never stops!™

He's back!

2007-05-25T22:07:00.000+02:00

I'm back from Rio and I still have all my fingers. This means that we will return to our regular update schedule once I've beaten the jet lag. (Which hopefully means tomorrow.)

Meet Ze Germans!

2007-05-18T16:03:00.000+02:00

As I’ve mentioned earlier, we’re being sponsored by the Microsoft Student Technology Conference 2007. What this means is that we will actually be at the STC this year. We’ll even bring our car, which will allow you to marvel at our magnificient mint-colored rally-stripes from up close!

Martin will give a little talk about the rally, and you’ll even have an opportunity to write your name on the car, so a small part of you can come with us on our journey.

So join us at the STC 2007 in Duisburg! It’s all the excitement of actually doing the rally, without all the tire-changing and getting-robbed. That’s what we experts call a win-win situation! If you don’t come, you will regret it for the rest of your life. Just look at that picture of Martin having fun at STC04! If you come, we’ll laugh and talk all night and have drinks and we’ll be best friends forever!

Disclaimers: When I say „we“ will be there, I mean Martin and the car. I can’t come, because I will still be in Rio enjoying a cool coconut water on Ipanema beach. Except this time the conference will be over and I willl actually be on the beach and not just wishing I were. Also, we won’t really be best friends forever. Unless you’re really, really cool. In that case we may be able to work something out, especially if you make a large donation to one of our charities. Offer void in Louisiana and were prohibited.

Ze Car IV - The Stickering

2007-05-18T15:17:00.000+02:00

Behold! Our mighty Polo has now been polished and has all the stickers applied. The car is also registered and insured. The license-plate number is MH-MR 7777. (Unfortunately MH-MR 2007 was already taken.)

We’ve spent over seven hours applying the stickers to the cars, but I think the result is well worth it. Take special note of our beautifully tasteless mint-green rally stripes. Amazing!

By the way, when I say that „we“ spent seven hours applying the stickers, I’m not actually including myself. „We“ in this case is actually Martin and the ever-helpful Mirko. As they were working they’re butts off, I was probably lying on Ipanema beach, enjoying the sun and a cool coconut-water.

(Actually I was most likely suffering through another badly prepared talk about Grid-Computing by a guy with very limited english-language skills and a fear of people. Nothing spells excitement like someone mumbled something at his shoes while throwing unreadable black-on-dark-blue slides at the wall. But I like the Ipanema-story better, so let’s stick to that, shall we?)

Martin is clearly slacking. Three pictures and still no butts in sight!

Just when you're ready to give up on him, the guy always comes through! Two butts in one shot, the car's and Mirko's! Clearly this is the work of a true master. Well done, Martin!

Finally, another shout-out to TwoTypes², who not only sponsored and produced all the stickers, but also designed our logo. Thanks guys!

Ze Sponsors

2007-05-18T15:03:00.001+02:00

You’ve already seen the banners of our sponsors on the right, but we haven’t really made an official announcement yet. So here we go: Our primary sponsor is Microsoft. Specifically we are promoting the Student Technology Conference 2007 in Duisburg. (More exciting news on that in a bit.)

Additionally we’re being sponsored by TwoTypes², the excellent advertising agency that's helping us with all the stickers for our car. (Pictures coming soon!) Special thanks to TwoTypes²’s Henrik Bökenkröger for designing our super-shiny logo. (See above.)

Ze Updates

2007-05-18T14:47:00.000+02:00

Good morning everyone. Lots of things have happened recently, but I haven’t really had the time to update the blog. Right now I’m taking a few hours out of my well deserved holiday (Greetings from Rio!) to catch up, so you’ll be seeing several updates today. Stay tuned!

Ze Car III - The Rephotographing

2007-05-06T16:12:00.000+02:00

Martin has made some proper (and 100% butt-free!) pictures of our car. Enjoy!

Don't forget to admire the lovely rust spots under the door!

Witness the awesome power of our 1-liter naturally aspirated straight-4!

Can you feel the power?

To protect the ozone layer, Ze Germans only use 100% recycled number plates.

Somebody scratched an upside down V into the back of the car. We have no idea why.

We also have absolutely no clue what the strange triangular thing on dashboard is. Any ideas?

The sellers claimed that the car has run less than 100.000 kilometers. We have our doubts.

We're going to spend a lot of time in those seats. I bet they're incredibly uncomfortable.

Professional driver on closed circuit, do not attempt.

Ze Car II - The Arrival

2007-05-03T18:14:00.000+02:00

Martin picked up our car yesterday. It looks to be in reasonably good shape and survived its first trip just fine. We'll have it checked out by our expert (aka Martin's Dad) soon, but so far the car is getting the thumbs up from Martin.

Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, this picture makes Martin look like a complete doofus. Well done Mirko! (And thanks for helping us pick up the car.)

Unfortunately Martin's photography skills have turned out to be, let's say, limited. He made a bunch of pictures, but most of them ended up featuring Mirko's butt instead of the car (possibly in revenge for the thumbs-up image?). There's also no pictures of the front of the car or the interior, so, uh, I guess I'll be handling the camera during the actual trip. If only to prevent a series of unflattering photos of my butt.

Here are two more pictures of the car. Enjoy.

I chose this image because the car/button quotient heavily favors the car.

~~Winner of the 2007 "Best Image Of Our Mongol Rally Car Not Featuring A Butt"-Award. I wish I was kidding.~~

As it turns out: not true. This picture features a reflection of a butt, meaning the award goes to the tumbs-up picture above. Mostly because it's now the only picture of our rally car not featuring a butt, thus winning by default.

Ze Car!

2007-04-27T23:17:00.000+02:00

Yes, you read that right. We have a car! Well, technically speaking we don't have a car yet, because so far we haven't picked it up. We did buy one, however. Or promised to buy one anyway, because so far money hasn't changed hands. But it will, very soon, and then we'll have a car. Once we pick it up, that is. You know what I mean.

It's a 1988 VW Polo 86C Steilheck in blue metallic.

I never thought I'd buy a car off eBay, but then again I never thought I'd drive to Mongolia in a crapmobile and here we are. According to the small fuzzy pictures that we have and the description of the car on eBay, it might just be what we're looking for.

So, why'd we pick a Polo? Well, for one thing we're "Ze Germans" so we figured we'd have to drive some good old-fashioned German Engineering. Once you've got your heart set on a German car, there aren't that many options with 1-litre engines and the Polo is the most obvious choice. This is particularly true if you don't want to go with a Corsa and I really didn't want to go with a Corsa. In addition the Steilheck version of the Polo has the advantage of having a pretty big boot, particularly after you've flipped the rear seats.

Let's have a look at our particular Polo.

Ze Good

On the pictures it looks to be in fairly good shape.

It has TÜV and AU (MOT for you Brits), so even if we have to fix a bunch of things, at least we won't have to pay extra money for stupid tests

Several parts were recently replaced, including the head gaskets which are apparently a major point of failure for the Polo.

It has a CD Player! This thing is almost as well equipped as an S-Class.

Apparently it has H4 lamps installed. I have no idea what that means and I'm too lazy to Google it, but it sounds great, so I'm listing it under "Good".

The car comes with three doors. This is very useful. Even if two doors should fail, we'll still be able to get into the car. Maybe even out of it!

Ze Bad

It isn't white. I really wanted a white one, mostly because that would have been an excellent base for all the stickers. Still, at least it isn't silver.

It doesn't have those cool double headlamps, that some models have. I really wanted those double headlamps. I guess we'll have to bolt some on by hand.

Winter tires. July 21st isn't exactly in the middle of winter.

Ze Ugly

So far there is no ugly. But I'm sure there will be. Once there is some ugly, we'll let you know and post color pictures

Martin will pick the car up next week. Let's hope this is the one. If not, we'll just eBay it and get another one.

Ze Visas

2007-04-23T19:43:00.000+02:00

I'm currently filling out our visa applications. As you can imagine, this is great fun. Nothing like ending your day with a healthy dose of Uzbek bureaucracy. Russia really takes the cake, though. Among other things you need a so-called "Hotel Voucher". This is apparently some sort of document from the hotel you're planning to stay at. Of course we're not really planning to stay at a hotel, so we don't have a voucher. No voucher, no visa. Lovely.

Fortunately the market finds a way for these sort of problems, and you can purchase vouchers from Russian travel agencies, without actually booking a hotel. That'll be 50€, comrade.

Another favorite of mine is Kazakhstan's request that you write down the exact date at which you plan to leave the country again and the specific border crossing where you intend to do so.

How the hell should I know? I'm not even sure we'll make it this far at all! We'll probably have to do some creative guesstimating there.

The whole thing isn't made easier by the fact that I still need my passport in May for another trip and that the embassies generally take their sweet time processing the visas. Naturally, you can expedite the process by paying extra.

Applying for visas maybe a bit expensive and time-consuming, but you should really try it. It's fun for the whole family.

Ze Language

2007-04-09T18:17:00.000+02:00

I have started learning Russian. While gesticulating wildly and drawing stick figures in the dirt will probably be our primary means of communications on the rally, I thought it couldn't hurt to know some key phrases in Russian. Phrases like "Our car has broken down." and "Please you don't kill us!". You know, the basics.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Ze Money!

2007-04-01T16:11:00.000+02:00

English (für deutsche Version hier klicken)

Yes, I'm afraid we're going to have to ask you for money. Don't panic. It's not for us, it's for a good cause.

Each team on the Mongol Rally has to raise 1000£ for charity. 60% of that money goes to the Mercy Corps Mongolia and the rest goes to one of five other official charities. We have chosen the Christina Noble Children's Foundation. 1000£ is the mininum, though we're obviously hoping to raise a little more than that.

In other words, it's time to open your wallets. If you know us, now is your chance to prove how much our friendship is worth to you. In cold hard cash. If you don't know us, this is an excellent opportunity to make new friends. The more you give, the better friends we'll be.

Seriously, even if you're kind of broke right now, donate at least a little bit to show your support.

To the right you will find two donation buttons, one for each charity. We are required to make the donations through justgiving.com, but you are not. If for some reason those buttons don't work for you, you can simply contact us and we will find a way to take that money of your hands in the most convenient way possible.

Everyone who gives will get a postcard from an exotic location in Central Asia (if we make it that far) and we're also working on additional cool stuff for donors. If you want the postcard and the other cool stuff, don't forget to contact us after donating. Justgiving does not give us your e-mail address, so we have no way of contacting you.

Thanks a lot for your support!

Richard & Martin

Deutsch (for English version click here)

So, ich fürchte jetzt wird es Zeit, euch um Geld zu bitten. Keine Panik, es ist nicht für uns, sondern für einen guten Zweck.

Jedes Team das an der Mongol Rally teilnimmt muss 1000 Pfund für einen guten Zweck sammlen. 60% des Geldes geht an das Mercy Corps Mongolia, die anderen 40% gehen an eine von fünf anderen offiziellen Wohltätigkeitsorganisationen. Wir haben uns für die Christina Noble Children's Foundation entschieden.

Mit anderen Worten: Zeit die Geldbörse zu zücken. Wenn wir euch kennen, dann habt ihr jetzt die einmalige Chance zu zeigen, was euch unsere Freundschaft wert ist. Und zwar mit Bargeld. Falls wir euch noch nicht kennen, dann gab es noch nie eine so günstige Gelegenheit neue Freunde zu gewinnen. Und zwar auch mit Bargeld. Je mehr ihr gebt, desto größer wird unsere Freundschaft werden.

Ernsthaft, selbst wenn ihr gerade nicht so flüssig sein solltet, wäre es toll, wenn Ihr wenigstens ein kleines bisschen spendet, um eure Unterstützung zu zeigen.

Rechts findet ihr zwei Buttons (für jede Organisation einen), mit denen ihr Geld spenden könnt. Wir müssen die justgiving.com-Seite verwenden, ihr allerdings nicht. Falls ihr mit der Seite nicht zurecht kommt, meldet euch einfach und wir finden dann einen Weg, um eurer Geld so bequem wie möglich von euch zum guten Zweck zu bekommen.

Jeder der spendet, bekommt eine Postkarte aus einem exotischen Ort in Zentralasien (falls wir es bis dahin schaffen). Außerdem arbeiten wir noch an weiteren coolen Sachen für Spender. Wenn ihr die Postkarte und die anderen coolen Sachen haben wollt, dann vergesst nicht euch nach dem Spenden bei uns zu melden. Justgiving gibt uns keine Daten von euch, wir können euch also nicht kontaktieren.

Vielen Dank für eure Unterstützung!

Richard & Martin

Ze Route!

2007-03-30T16:20:00.000+02:00

We had our first proper planning session yesterday. First order of the day was picking a route. This means we can now proudly present the route we'll (probably) be taking:

Part 1: England, France, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic

Not much choice here. If we want to be in Prague for the party, we simply have to head straight there and hope our car doesn't fail us this early in the journey. This should also be the easiest part of the trip. Good roads, familiar terrain, no need for visas and even if the car goes up in flames we'll be back home for dinner.

Part 2: Slovakia, Hungary, Romania

Where to go from Prague? Quite a few possible choices here. For now we've decided to follow Central Route 1, through Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. This will be the first unfamiliar terrain on the journey and by the end we'll have put more than 2000 km behind us. Still, we won't even have left the EU at this point and things shouldn't be too tough.

Part 3: Moldova, Ukraine, Russia

This is were things get a little more interesting. From here on out we'll need visas and Moldova is actually the first country on the list for which the German Foreign Office has some warnings. Nothing serious, but we'll have to avoid Transnistria (a part of Moldova that has declared independence, but isn't internationally recognized). Transnistria is not particularly unsafe, but its unclear status would probably make crossing borders difficult.

Part 4: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan

The really interesting part. The list of advice from the Foreign Office is a lot longer for these countries, but there are rewards to be had. We'll be on the old Silk Road here and come across Samarkand, once at the very center of the Silk Road and the greatest city in Central Asia, now a UNESCO world heritage site. Still, we'll need to do more research before we fully commit to go this way.

Part 5: Kazakhstan (again), Russia (again) and finally...Mongolia

This may seem like the final stretch of the route, but it's actually about 6500km long and should prove the ultimate test for us and our car. That is, if we even get this far. We're still wondering why the suggested routes on the Mongol Rally homepage are so keen on avoiding China. Again, more research is needed.

The list obviously subject to change, but for now this is what we're working with.

Hello World!

2007-03-28T14:27:00.000+02:00

This is it, the official Mongol Rally 2007 Team Blog of Ze Germans. Right now we have no car, no plan and no tea. We do have some pocket fluff, however, and we're working on the rest.

Stay tuned!

Ze Germans

Ze Video on Dailymotion

Ze Video

Ze Postcard

438080!

Roland?

Ze Gallery!

Ze Donations

More Pictures

Ze Return

Update #31 - They made it

"We made it !"

Thank you !

Update #30 - There's some progress

Driver Comments #10 + Problems

Update #29 - Part III

Update #29 Part II - Let's fly to UB

Update #29 - Getting closer

Driver Comments #9

Update #28 - Updates are coming

Update #27

Update #26 - Delay

Update #25 - Where the hell are they ?

Driver Comments #8

Update #24 - New Visa - new poll

Update #23

Driver Comments #7

Update #22 - Calling again ? + Promotion

Update #21 - Being late suckz...

Update #20 - Anyone familiar with russian numerology ?

Update #19 - Backrally Boys are back

... meanwhile in Mongolia

Driver Comments #6

Update #18 - Guess what happened...

Update #17 - No news = good news ?

Update #16 - Add on

Driver Comments #5

Update #16

Update 15# - What did you say ?

Driver Comments #4

Update #14

Help me please

Update #13

Driver Comments #3

Update #12 - Amendment

Update #12 - Long story................. long

Driver Comments #2

Update #11

Driver Comments #1

Update #10 - The heat is on

Update #9

Update #8

*NEW* Map Links

Update #7

Update #6 - First Pit Stop

Update #5 - The Rally is on

Update #4 - The Rally is about to begin...

Update #3

Update #2

Update #1

Information Base Support

We are on the road!

Almost Ready

Ze Video Interview

Ze Visa Troubles Continue

Deluge 2.0

Long Way Round

17 Days To Go

Ze Status 3.0

Pull the Plug

Ze Ugly

Ze Bureaucracy

Ze Mongolian Death Worm

Disaster Strikes!

If Adventure Has a Name...

My arms hurt.

Ze Status 2.0

Ze Zune

Ze Interview

Ze Status

NEW Map Links