Our New Website Saturday 4th March 2006 @ 10:51
	Submitted by Adam Wasiak Things are starting to stir. Welcome to our new website. If you know me you'll know that I've been talking about the Mongol Rally for quite some time now. Well it's now time to put all that talk into action. Over the coming months we'll be building up this website and as we set off we'll post updates from the road ... so don't change the channel.
	We really are doing this! Monday 20th March 2006 @ 14:26
	Submitted by Adam Wasiak Whayhay ... at last, after several months waiting and two false starts we've finally signed up for this years rally. It should have opened for signup over a week ago but each time they delayed at the last minute. Of course I couldn't just sit back and wait like everyone else, I had to email Tom at rally HQ and ended up writing part of the signup process, at least it kept me occupied. I must admit to being a little stressed about signup though. Reading the Rally forums each day it was obvious there was going to be quite a bit of interest, and with only space for 100 teams I was worried we wouldn't get on. Luckily I was on the ball because it sold out in under 2 hours. So now we're all signed up we can start sorting out sponsorship and fund raising, first up is a car - watch this space.
	Butterflies Monday 10th April 2006 @ 20:07
	Submitted by Adam Wasiak We've still not started looking for a car yet ... and with only 14 weeks to go it's now starting to hit home what we're doing. Every time I think about it I feel like I've swallowed a swarm of butterflies. No car yet, but we do have two 20 ltr jerry cans, for petrol, for the car we don't have yet - how organised are we I think they've been used for diesel in the past, so not quite sure if I can just stick petrol in them and the car will like it - answers on a postcard. We're hoping to have a mini-pre-adventure at the end of June, a kind of trial run. Hopefully we'll have a car by then so we're going to drive the length and breadth of the country over one weekend. Not sure how many miles that is, because I've not looked at a map yet, but it sounds like a good idea ... well if you compare it to my idea to drive to Mongolia it is! So that'll give us about 4 weeks or so after our mini-adventure to iron out any problems before the big push. It also means our sponsors will get UK wide coverage. Gosh the next few weeks are going to be busy.
	The reality of travel Monday 24th April 2006 @ 20:32
	Submitted by Julie Mankelow Malaria, Typhoid, Hepatitis, Cholera, Diphtheria, have I missed any? Oh, Tickborne encephalitis (Adam calls this one Tick Borne Enchiladas , Japanese B, Rabies ... and they're the ones you can get jabs for. I hate to think what else is out there. Worms, Leeches, Scorpions, Snakes ... I SAID I HATE TO THINK WHAT ELSE IS OUT THERE - right, quick, change the subject. As you've probably figured, we've been to the docs for jabs. I didn't need any but Adam needed Diphtheria, which comes in a "buy one get two free" syringe shaped pack. He didn't need the other two and the nurse said it would be fine, though he'd probably feel a bit ill for a day or two ... fancy telling a man that. Next stop is the chemist to check out Malaria tablets. We're only going to be in malaria zones two or three times for a few hours each, assuming the car doesn't break down, but it's better safe than sorry. Ciao for now - J
	Cooking on Gas ... erm, Vodka Sunday 7th May 2006 @ 14:18
	Submitted by Adam Wasiak We've been really busy over the last few weeks. Hunting for a car, jabs from the docs, travel insurance, health insurance cards, international driving permits, it's amazing how much time all these little things take - and the biggy's still to come - visas. We've been in the local paper too. The Dunfermline Press did quite a good write up and as a result we've been invited to the HMS Caledonia Summer Fair. We going to be stood there, probably in the rain, telling everyone who'll listen about our mad little journey and shuggling a donation bucket, it should be a good laugh though. I've enlisted the help of our mate Brett. He was meant to be coming with us to Mongolia, as a three-in-a-car team but couldn't get the time off work. Looks like he'll be coming part of the way though, to Prague at least. On Saturday we were in Tisos, the Camping and Outdoor shop, to pick up a few essentials. The folk there were brilliant, they demoed a few multi-fuel camping stoves for us. These things are great, they can run on just about anything, gas, kerosene, petrol, if its flammable it'll work. So naturally when I got it home I put it through its paces ... with vodka, yep that works too So in the event that we're lost somewhere in the depths of Russia, with only a bottle of vodka we can relax safe in the knowledge that we can still cook ... drinking it would never cross our minds
	The Mongolmobile Wednesday 24th May 2006 @ 20:08
	Submitted by Adam Wasiak So with 8 and a bit weeks to go we finally have a car. Our chariot of choice is a 15 year old Ford Fiesta Popular aka "the banger", which we picked up from Newcastle on Sunday. It's a rather stylish two tone red with designer bumps, scrapes and rust spots, although we are thinking of painting it black. It'll happily do 80mph - going down a biiiiiig hill, I'm sure it could do more but I had to test the breaks before the speed camera got me. Will it get us to Ulaanbaatar? Who knows, but it'll be fun finding out. There's been plenty of other rally stuff keeping us busy over the last week or so, but mainly it's been visas. We've now applied for 7 - Iran, Turkmen, Uzbek, Kyrgy, Kazak, Russian & Mongolian, an awful lot of confusing form filling and an awful lot of money. For the Iranian visa photos Julie had to wear a Hijab (a head scarf), it was fun standing at the photo booth in the local shopping centre trying to put it on her, tucking in her hair and ears, she looks so funny with it on.
	Makeover Monday 12th June 2006 @ 18:51
	Submitted by Adam Wasiak Black paint turned out to be expensive so we settled for a rather subtle shade of red with a white stripe. We're getting some very strange looks as we drive down the road now, I can't quite imagine why The car's also been checked over and serviced by our friendly mechanic, Stevie from Babcock Lauder Training, who incidentally described our lovely little car as a "disaster". He pointed out the rusty chassis by sticking his finger right through it, so now a trip to the welders is called for. Also a big thanks to Peoples Ford and Pentland Components in Edinburgh and Watsons scrap yard in Inverkeithing, who generously donated most of the parts we've needed so far. We're going to give the car a good run this weekend, hopefully to Lands End and back. Don't worry though I'll have my AA card with me just in case. Here's a wee preview of the car.
	Another fool joins the team Wednesday 14th June 2006 @ 19:08
	Submitted by Adam Wasiak Then there were three ... well ok 2 and a half. Our mate Brett has decided to join us for the first leg of the journey, he'll be jumping out at some point though, probably Bratislava. Brett was the swine that introduced me to the Mongol Rally way back in August 2004. Initially I thought it was a great idea, but a bit of a joke that I'd probably forget about, boy was I wrong. Julie thinks it's a great idea that Bretts coming along, I don't think she's looking forward to driving abroad. I keep having to reminder her that it's not the driving she should worry about, it's the lack of decent sit-on toilets.
	Mini-Pre-Adventure Tuesday 20th June 2006 @ 18:52
	Submitted by Adam Wasiak Well we've made it back from Lands End safe and sound. We set off on Friday evening and made it to the lake district for about 10pm, I'm sure we could have done it a lot quicker but we took a long convoluted route that added about an hour or so to our journey - it was nothing to do with my map reading - honest. Next day was a scorcher, we spent a few hours strolling around Ambleside, a lovely little town, very touristy though, and very expensive - a can of coke was £1.70 But decided it was time to hit the road when we saw a group of bag snatchers being chased down the street by shop security guards - it just shows that this sort of thing can happen anywhere. We'd decided to try and avoid motorways and this turned out to be a blessing, apparently the M6 was at a standstill because of a lorry fire. That made the local roads quite busy so it was slow going. Map reading was still a problem, I lost count how many times we drove round and round a roundabout trying to decide which exit to take. But after many wrong turns we made it to Liverpool and then pushed on through to Wales, Bristol and eventually arrived near Exeter at around 11pm. Our first attempt at finding a campsite lead us to Exeter race course. There appeared to be a caravan park but no tents, so after a quick dash to the third furlong we headed down the road to the next campsite, which was all locked up for the night. That didn't stop us though, we pitched the tent under a tree and had a great nights sleep. Sunday took us to Lizard Point, the most southerly point in Britain, and Lands End, the most westerly point. For some reason I'd always imagined Cornwall to be quite flat, it's not and the rolling hills proved to be a problem for the cars ickle engine. We had to go as fast as we could down hill just to make it up the other side - it was great fun, but I'm sure the cars behind were cursing us. By this point it was Sunday evening, we were a long way from home and had to be back by Monday night. So we had to hit the road again for a long drive over Bodmin Moor, past Dartmore, and Stonehenge and on up to Oxford. We arrived there at midnight and the only campsite was well and truly locked up. We got our heads down in the car and were back on the road by 5:30. Sleeping in the car was actually quite comfortable. We headed over to the east cost, past Skegness and Grimsby, up past Newcastle and then home. In all we had a great time and covered almost exactly 1,500 miles. Apart from the lack of uphill power we needed to top up the oil each day, both of these I can live with. I hope it goes just as smoothly when we head off for real - touch wood.
	HMS Caledonia Summer Fair Sunday 2nd July 2006 @ 19:54
	Submitted by Adam Wasiak A BIG thanks goes out to everyone who came down to see us at the HMS Caledonia summer fair this weekend, it was a great success despite the weather. We had loads of fun and more importantly raised lots of money for charity. Remember, every penny donated goes to charity. If you missed us you can donate online now. Thanks.
	The Mongolian Mad House Wednesday 12th July 2006 @ 21:04
	Submitted by Julie Mankelow In an attempt to get organised for the big off next Friday our house is upside down. Every nook and cranny has some rally related item crammed into it, every where I look there's rally stuff, everything I touch is rally stuff - but I'm sure it'll all be worth it in the end. Someone said to me today "you must be very brave", little did they know I've been cacking it for weeks now The next few days are going to be murder, I just want to be on our way - roll on next Friday.
	Squeak Squeak Wednesday 19th July 2006 @ 23:35
	Submitted by Adam Wasiak It's mad panic at the moment - trying to get everything ready for the off in 33 hours time - eeeek. We've just spent hours trying to get everything into the car boot, we're obviously trying to take too much but there's nothing we can really leave behind. We've also noticed that the car's developed a bit of a squeak. I thought at first it was the exhaust but after giving it a good prod and poke I'm now wondering if its the engine moving on its mounts - which is normal - I think - we'll try and get someone to take a look at it before we go - otherwise we'll stock up on gaffer tape, might need it to hold the engine in Oh and our passports are still in the Turkmenistan embassy in London, we're keeping our fingers crossed that we get them back on Saturday as promised. So its all going quite smoothly really
	Message From The Road Friday 21st July 2006 @ 09:03
	Submitted by Adam Wasiak So after many many many months of talking we're finally on our way
	Message From The Road Saturday 22nd July 2006 @ 17:34
	Submitted by Adam Wasiak Drive down to London went well v hot though. 150 odd cars caused mayhem in London Now at Dover waiting for ferry.
	Message From The Road Sunday 23rd July 2006 @ 11:34
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Drove through the night, now 120 clix from Prague - 6 countries in 22 hours - all getting v tired now but Party tonight
	Message From The Road Sunday 23rd July 2006 @ 20:51
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Stopped by czech rozzers for driving up no entry - ooops - wanted 500 usd got nothing
	Home to Bratislava Tuesday 25th July 2006 @ 10:42
	Submitted by Adam Wasiak The number of cars at Hyde Park on Saturday was awesome. We made Dover for 1630 and were on our way through France by 2030 Drove through a lightening storm and torrential rain, got lost in Germany and after a 3 hour sleep stop made Prague for 3pm. Driving through Prague was mad. We managed to get the car grounded on a curb that separates the road from the tram lanes, scraped the bottom of the car but doesn't look like any damage has been done - phew. Got pulled over by a not-so-friendly Czech copper for driving through a no entry sign and driving without our lights on. He tried it on at first asking for 500 dollars, after a while we got him down to 500 crowns (about 15 quid) before offering 8 euros - which didn't impress him. I think he got bored so just let us go. Met loads of other ralliers at Cafe Dinitz for a bit of a knees up - had a great time. We're in Bratislava just now with 4 other team. Will be heading for Hungary and Romania shortly.
	Message From The Road Tuesday 25th July 2006 @ 12:52
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Said bye bye to Brett skipped breakfast and hit the road, we r now hungry in Hungary
	Message From The Road Tuesday 25th July 2006 @ 18:48
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Left the good roads behind for the pot hole ridden roads of Romania top speed so far 15mph car sounding a bit rough
	Message From The Road Wednesday 26th July 2006 @ 05:41
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Our first casualty of the rally is our rear view mirror which fell off as we overtook a police car
	Message From The Road Wednesday 26th July 2006 @ 12:23
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Lost in Bucharest
	Message From The Road Wednesday 26th July 2006 @ 13:09
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Finally found way out of Bucharest - Crazy crazy crazy
	Message From The Road Wednesday 26th July 2006 @ 15:30
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Found Bulgaria hot, tired and several dollars lighter, getting out of Romania was mad
	Message From The Road Thursday 27th July 2006 @ 06:31
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Bulgarian road signs r in Russian, took several wrong turns, pushing on - should be in Istanbul by lunch time
	Message From The Road Thursday 27th July 2006 @ 14:44
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Arrived in Istanbul this morning been lost ever since
	Leg 2 Friday 28th July 2006 @ 10:10
	Submitted by Adam Wasiak Hello from Istanbul, we've spent the last few days on the road. Now in country number 12 with 2,500 miles under our belt. We left Brett in Bratislava on Tuesday, he should be home now, and hit the road for Hungary. The roads were good to almost the Romanian border where they deteriorated badly. We crossed into Romania and made 15mph for almost an hour. They eventually improved enough to feel like we were moving. It eventually got dark and the road started to climb through the Transylvanian mountains. On one steep incline the car stalled and it took a minute of sweaty panic to get it going again. We gave up for the night and had a few hours sleep in the car before pushing on to Bucharest where we got totally lost. We eventually arrived at the Bulgarian Border with about a dozen trucks blocking the road - as there were no other cars around we skipped the queue by driving up the wrong side of the road. The chap in the first window wanted a $20 exit fee which was quite legit. so we paid up. At window 2 it turned out we should have had a Vignette (like road tax for driving on the motorways) which we should have got on the way in and didn't - he wanted to fine us $180, we just acted a bit dumb (easy) and held up the queue for a while - we eventually paid $30 just to get going again. At the next window they wanted 6 Euro and 45 Romanian LEI for crossing the bridge into Bulgaria, which we had none of. They reluctantly accepted dollars and we crossed no mans land to Bulgaria and window 4, where we were told we needed a Green Card. So off to window 5 for a $12 Green Card and then back to window 4 for our stamped passports before heading off ... to window 6 where we had to buy a £5 Vignette (wont make that mistake again) and then window 7 for a $3 disinfection We thought Bulgaria would be short and sweet, but the roads had other ideas, the kilometres were slow in passing and before long it was getting dark. We wound our way up a steep mountain road for about 45 mins, only to come down the other side which was covered in potholes - this took even longer. Eventually found a truckers stop and called it a night. Made Turkey the next day, the border was a lot easier and we were in Istanbul before lunch time. Almost gave up on Istanbul as we drove round and round for hours trying to find somewhere central to stay - the traffic is mad. We found a hotel as we were looking for the road out. Must go, pushing on towards Ankara today.
	Message From The Road Friday 28th July 2006 @ 15:40
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo In Asia at last, have only just escaped the Istanbul traffic. 360 km to Ankara. Car starting to smell off sweaty feet
	Message From The Road Saturday 29th July 2006 @ 09:02
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Just realised we should have put our watches forward 2 days ago - been on the go since sunrise & only just past Kirikkale - kebabs for breakfast mmmm
	Message From The Road Saturday 29th July 2006 @ 16:22
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Still clocking up the miles on the way to Mt Nemrut . Turkish mountains r lovely , more kebabs Mmmm
	Message From The Road Sunday 30th July 2006 @ 11:04
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Made it to the top of Mt Nemrut 2000m up a steep mountain road to see some ancient statues - now to get back down again
	Message From The Road Sunday 30th July 2006 @ 12:45
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Breaks smoking badly on the way down from Mt Nemrut, had to stop several times to allow them to cool. On open roads now so all is good
	Message From The Road Sunday 30th July 2006 @ 18:14
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo 100 miles from Iraqi border, might pop in for tea
	Message From The Road Monday 31st July 2006 @ 05:15
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Driving up western coast of Lake Van , looking for breakfast.
	Message From The Road Monday 31st July 2006 @ 08:43
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Passing Mt Ararat near Dogubayazit - oops just got a flat tyre
	Message From The Road Monday 31st July 2006 @ 09:12
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Typical, first flat tyre of our journey and the car is too low to get the jack under. Had to flag down a passing local, and with 2 jacks and a lot of swearing we're back on the road.
	Eastern Turkey Monday 31st July 2006 @ 13:08
	Submitted by Adam Wasiak Hello from Eastern Turkey, we're in Dogubayazit near the Iranian border at the moment, a large dusty town not worth stopping in except for internet access - but with a Turkish keyboard - arrrrgg. Its been a bit of a slog through Turkey the last few days. The roads are mad at times - main roads suddenly come to an end where they have dug them up and not bothered replacing them - last night we did a bone juddering 20km in a cloud of dust and dirt. Yesterday morning we visited Mt Nemrut where there are several ancient statues at the top of a perilous road. It took us about an hour to drive up the 2000m mountain in 1st gear and another hour to get down again - with smoke coming from the breaks as they started to overheat. Was it wise in the rally car? Probably not. We had our first flat tyre this morning on the way down yet another mountain road. The car was too low to get the jack under at the side so had to jack it from the front, this didn't give us enough height though - we ended up flagging down a lorry and with 2 jacks managed to get it sorted. We've been on the road now for about 10 days but it feels like our adventure is just about to start - with Iran.
	Iran at last Tuesday 1st August 2006 @ 22:37
	Submitted by Adam Wasiak Made it to Tehran mobiles not working so updates will be few and far between. Car playing up a bit so will get it to a garage in the morning. V. tired so off to bed - bigger update coming soon. (stop worrying mum, we're fine)
	Stuck in Tehran Wednesday 2nd August 2006 @ 14:05
	Submitted by Adam Wasiak Having a few problems with our car - cursed by all the "it's going well" emails we've received. We crossed into Iran on Monday and can't get a mobile signal even though Vodafone said we would so no mobile updates for the time being. We arrived in Tehran last night about 7pm and hit rush hour. The car then decided it would be a good time to die on us. So there we were sitting on Azadi Street, one of the main - busy streets with no means to go anywhere. Eventually two guys came over to help and we flagged down a taxi to tow us to a car park, where we dumped it and found a hotel for the night. This morning the same taxi driver towed us to a garage where we got it started but it turns out the starter motor is dead The mechanic is working on it as I type. But apart from that everything's fine. Keeping my fingers crossed for the starter motor - Julie might have to push after all.
	Oh Forgot To Say Wednesday 2nd August 2006 @ 14:09
	Submitted by Adam Wasiak Forgot to say - Full tank of petrol in Iran is 2 quid
	Broom broom Wednesday 2nd August 2006 @ 21:05
	Submitted by Adam Wasiak Just got car back from the garage - the old starter motor was dead beyond repair, but they worked a small miracle and found us another one - it now starts better than it ever did. It's still running a bit rough though - probably down to poor quality petrol. Mechanic also said don't drive too fast because the pistons are all worn. So tomorrow we're off to the Turkmenistan embassy to get our visas - which actually start tomorrow so we'll have to push on. Had a great time here and the people are VERY VERY friendly, we'll be back one day. A BIG thanks goes out to Jafa our taxi driver who not only ferried us to and from the hotel, but also towed us at breakneck speed through the streets of Tehran, and also to Mehdi, who took a day off work to help us get over the language barrier - without these guys we would be on our way home.
	On The Road Again Friday 4th August 2006 @ 09:02
	Submitted by Adam Wasiak Back on the road again yesterday - it felt good. Got our transit visas from the Turkmen embassy and headed for the caspian sea. Got pulled over by the cops for overtaking where I shouldn't have - helped them practice counting to 10 in english and we were back on the road Another flat tyre, a slow puncture this time because we'd bent the wheel rim on all the bad roads. And problems with the jack again - must try and get a new/smaller one. Two guys on a moped stopped to help and we were on our way. Got pulled over again for overtaking where I shouldn't have - this time it was a blue van in front that pulled on to the hard shoulder and waved me past, so I overtook straight into a police checkpoint. After explaining in my best sign language we were back on the road - watch out for blue van man - evil. We're now about 600km from Turkmenistan.
	Message From The Road Saturday 5th August 2006 @ 14:34
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Made it to Ashgabad in Turkmenistan with team marco polo. Border crossing was 4 hrs of stupidity - sweating buckets - mob working again yey
	Message From The Road Saturday 5th August 2006 @ 20:16
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Met up with 4 other teams for T & Beer in Ashgabad, no Englishmen for years & 10 turn up at once. I have pillow #764 at exSoviet hotel - it's 12am night night
	Message From The Road Sunday 6th August 2006 @ 21:20
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo 24 hrs, 400 miles & 15 police check points later we r now in Turkmenabat. Pushing on to Uzbek tomorrow before visa runs out. Petrol is 30p for a full tank
	Message From The Road Monday 7th August 2006 @ 06:03
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Lack of signs have us driving round in circles trying to find Uzbekistan border
	Message From The Road Monday 7th August 2006 @ 10:29
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Uzbeks let us in (fools) now in Bukhara - just washed sun tan off in shower
	Message From The Road Monday 7th August 2006 @ 18:00
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Relaxing afternoon in Bukhara - think Marrakech but less touristy
	Message From The Road Tuesday 8th August 2006 @ 11:43
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Hello Nic from Samarkand, didn't think I'd forget did you? Cant stop though aiming for Tashkent tonight.
	Message From The Road Tuesday 8th August 2006 @ 13:37
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Uzbek policeman danced with joy and whooped loudly as we drove through his check point
	Message From The Road Tuesday 8th August 2006 @ 19:15
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Made it to Tashkent. Car starting to rattle from all the bad roads - turning music up helps
	Message From The Road Wednesday 9th August 2006 @ 12:30
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Driving through Fergana Valley on the way to Osh, lovely and good roads too. Adam has Tashkent Tummy
	Message From The Road Thursday 10th August 2006 @ 06:26
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Made it to Osh in Krygyzstan last night stayed in a dump of a guest house but v tired so didn't care. Everyone wearing silly hats
	Message From The Road Thursday 10th August 2006 @ 20:06
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Car starting to squeak, groan and rattle. Today's been a long hard & hot slog. Arrived Bishkek after midnight.
	Message From The Road Friday 11th August 2006 @ 16:20
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Decided to have day off in Bishkek, absolutely shattered - slept till 3pm. First cup of tea in weeks mmmm
	Message From The Road Saturday 12th August 2006 @ 11:41
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Made it to Kaz Bumped into 2005 London to Tashkent rally team So far roads in Kaz have been v good & border was a breeze - something's bound to change
	The Last Few Days Sunday 13th August 2006 @ 09:38
	Submitted by Adam Wasiak First internet caf for a wee while and sooo much has happened it’s hard to remember. Arriving in Turkmenistan was totally crazy, I thought the Romania/Bulgaria border was mad - but this was … well … indescribable (although I will try when I’ve got more time). Ashgabat was great, driving was very civilised – they use roundabouts the same way we do at home - which is a novelty in this part of the world Next day we followed the signs for Mary, our next town, and found ourselves on a lovely 4 lane highway – only for it to come to an end 500 meters later, had to do a u-ey and then got totally lost – again – tis a feature of this trip. We arrived in Turkmenabat quite late, the going was slow because of the poor roads and the umpteen police checkpoints. Finding the border to Uzbek was virtually impossible – they’d tucked it out of the way up some poor little back street which lead up a farm road to a skaggy village, then across a pontoon bridge which cost us $5 plus $2 and another $10 all at separate windows of the same building. Once at the border getting out of Turkmenistan was much easier than getting in. Next stop was Bukara – a lovely old city - and then we pushed on passing Samarkand, Tashkent and Andijan before crossing into Krygyzstan at Osh. On the whole Uzbek was fairly uneventful, again friendly locals – oh and a dancing policeman. I started to feel a bit grotty after Tashkent, in Osh our B+B (or should I say B) was horrid – not sure if I got ill from the heat, exhaustion or food but by the time we got to Bishkek it was time for a day off. Krygyzstan is gorgeous though, Gers, Horses and Men in Silly Hats – people starting to look a little Chinese too. A days rest in Bishkek did us both the world of good and today we’re in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Got pulled by the rozzers for doing a u-ey, said I could loose my license and then asked for $20, eventually he gave up on this tight Englishman. Heading north today.
	Message From The Road Sunday 13th August 2006 @ 10:56
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Left Almaty this morning travelling with Team Fiesta and MongolMini Red. Roads good so far but sure that will change
	Message From The Road Monday 14th August 2006 @ 02:11
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Still on the road through Kaz camped last night. Its a rather nippy 25 this morning , brrr
	Message From The Road Monday 14th August 2006 @ 02:22
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Just noticed we've got a bullet size hole (from a stone I hope) in the headlight, still works ok though, cant find stone .... or a bullet
	Message From The Road Monday 14th August 2006 @ 09:07
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Roads are quite entertaining today - a bit like the Mouse Trap at Blackpool pleasure beach. Now about 50km from Ayakoz in Kazakhstan
	Message From The Road Tuesday 15th August 2006 @ 03:18
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Attacked by big pot hole - flat tyre number 3 - new jack worked a treat
	Message From The Road Tuesday 15th August 2006 @ 08:38
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Stopped many times yesterday as the mini we are travelling with has had suspension problems making progress slow, hope to make Russian border today
	Message From The Road Tuesday 15th August 2006 @ 13:06
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo After a brief 4 and half hrs at the border we are finally in Russia. On route to Barnual - I can smell Mongolia
	Message From The Road Wednesday 16th August 2006 @ 05:04
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Split from convoy at Barnual they are heading north for lake Baikal, we are off south to Tsagaannuur, hope to make Mongolian border tonight
	Mongolia Friday 18th August 2006 @ 15:11
	Submitted by Adam Wasiak Made it to Mongolia yesterday and since then the going's been tough The roads ... if that's what you can call them ... are more like dirt tracks, in fact they are dirt tracks. We're making 20mph and have another 800 miles or so to UB. We're now at Khovd, should be in UB on Sun/Mon. Our mobiles can receive messages but not send so updates will be few and far between. We'll try and post another update before UB, no promises though. BTW: Altai region of Russia was loooovvvvellly Oh, flat tyre No 4, and found the source of one of our rattles - it was the alternator about to fall off. Many more rattles and squeaks from the Mongolian roads, we're sure the exhaust will be off before long.
	Back Of Beyond Tuesday 22nd August 2006 @ 09:38
	Submitted by Adam Wasiak So after 7 time zones, 8 and a half flat tyres and 53 midgy bites we've finally arrived in UB Boy its been a tough ride the last few days - got here late last night - lots to sort out (and beer to be drunk) so will write more soon. Right which way is home?
	Out of UB Wednesday 23rd August 2006 @ 20:48
	Submitted by Adam Wasiak Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad - that's the best way to describe Mongolia. It's harder to get out of UB than it was to get in - but after a lot of leg work we've managed to find flights home via Moscow, should be home late Friday - so back to work on Monday assuming Aeroflot don't live up to their reputation. We'll both be out in Dunfermline on Saturday night - City Hotel 8pm - if anyone wants a pint and a story or two. As for the story about Mongolia, well that'll have to wait, we're really pushed for time just now. Just got rid of our car though - quite a sad moment, we'd both grown rather attached
	So What Happened In Mongolia? Thursday 24th August 2006 @ 16:34
	Submitted by Adam Wasiak Well we're now sitting in Moscow airport waiting for our connecting flight to Heathrow, our adventure is almost over Mongolia was amazing but very very hard work. As we approached the Russian / Mongolian border at Tashanta last Thursday we thought we were near the end, we were - but a whole new adventure was about to start. We rolled out of the border post and on to an unpaved road that'd been built with bone shaking / car wrecking ruts running across - it was like driving over a ploughed field ... the wrong way. Within 10 mins the car was starting to fall to bits, we'd slowed to 10mph and all the vibrations caused it to stall which took us another 10 mins to get it going again. Eventually we arrived at the first little town – Tsagaannuur – which was a smattering of buildings and no roads – you just drove wherever you wanted. We managed to find a bank and a lonely hand powered petrol pump but the start of the road to the next town eluded us - we ended up following some locals in a 4x4. The dirt track wound its way round a lake and up a steep hill which the 4x4 breezed up, we on the other hand couldn't and ended up traversing back and forth across the side of the mountain creating our own road. A wee while later we got a flat tyre and then car stalled again ... and again, each time getting the car going again took us 10 mins or so. Popping up the bonnet the engine looked very different – instead of the usual oily greasy mess it was coated with a thick layer of dust. A quick change of the air filter had us back on the road, and although it didn't fix the problem entirely it did make a big improvement, only stalling once or twice a day from then on. We passed through Olgi and then on up another mountain, past Gers, Horses, Yaks and a variety of other wildlife. Night fell and we camped out at the top of the mountain in the freezing cold. We were of course the star attraction of the evening and had various visitors: 2 boys on bikes, 3 guys on horses and a couple of Yaks. Friday saw our first few river crossings, starting easily with a puddle like stream and each time getting a bit more involved. No. 3 was quite a bit deeper than the rest so we stopped to ponder the best way across. After a while we found a point that was fairly shallow but with a small drop in. We put boulders into the water so the car could handle the drop and then proceeded to get the car stuck half in the water and half out - the boulders had sunk into the river bed under the weight of the car and left it grounded on the bank with the wheels spinning and spitting up water and mud. Half an hour of panic passed before a minibus came along and pulled us out, crossing was still going to be a problem though. We broke out our sand ladders and used them to bridge the drop into the water – exactly what we should have done in the first place. Piece of cake when you know how. Elated we were on the road again we slowly covered the kms to the next town and got there early evening. Pushing on we drove until nightfall, in all we'd covered about 120 miles in 12 hours of driving. Just before we stopped for the night we got another flat, and then a another. Exhausted from the bad roads and river fun we camped at the side of the road. Saturday was a long sloooow full day drive to the next town 320kms away and with all 3 of our spare tyres used couldn't afford another flat. Navigating the dirt tracks in Mongolia is a black art. One moment you will be on a fairly wide and well defined track and next it will have split in two, then three, four and five. With umpteen tracks now winding their way through the valley or up a hill you quickly learn that they probably all go the same way, but once in a while one of the tracks will veer off in the opposite direction. So with a mixture of following telephone poles that run from town to town, asking locals or flagging down the odd land rover we made our way across Mongolia. Who needs road signs! And Mongolia is gorgeous – the wilderness, high mountains, deep valleys, plains, the people, the wildlife and of course the roads – all make it an amazing place to visit. By Sunday we were absolutely filthy, dust was coming in the car everywhere, there was a thick layer of dust and dirt on everything (including us). We also had a strong smell of petrol but couldn't work out why, the petrol gauge wasn't dropping so we just pushed on. Bouncing our way over dirt and sand tracks sometimes smooth as a babies bottom, other times covered in boulders and huge holes. The car would occasionally bottom out on a huge boulder or ridge and everything would go flying. The sump guard on the engine took quite a battering, we would have certainly killed the engine if we hadn't had it fitted. The front of the car was also slowly being reshaped from repeated impacts, as was the underside of the car. Then disaster struck – all of a sudden our half tank of fuel disappeared, hoping it was just a dead fuel gauge I stuck my head under the car only to find petrol pouring out of a snapped pipe. After about 20 mins we managed to patch it up with a spare water hose and a few clips, our bodge job worked a treat. Another 400 km and another small town but time was really starting to run out so after another night on the hills we hit the road again, snapped the fuel line again, and got another flat. One of our rims by now was totally dead, bent beyond repair because we'd driven on it for a mile or so without realising, that's how bad the roads were. Another few miles down the road we hit another huge pothole and heard the wheel hissing away, not wanting another flat tyre I jumped out of the car with the hammer and beat the rim back into shape – it stopped it going flat and it lasted another 200 miles Later that day while pulling out of our last town the car went over something and came to a sudden stop. Thinking we'd just grounded it on a boulder I stuck it in reverse but that only made matters worse – the wheels dug in and we got well and truly stuck. It turns out we'd managed to impale the car on an inch thick steel cable that was half buried in the ground – it'd gone straight through the floor under Julies seat and no amount of wheel spinning would budge it. By this time a small crowd had gathered and their only suggestion was to try and lift the car off with logs of wood, but I was concerned that would snap the car in 2 as the sills were rather weak. In the end I jacked the car up, the steel cable popped out but was too thick to bend so we shoved the sand ladders under the wheel to give it a bit more height and put a spade over the top of the cable, lowered the car and drove off snapping the cable in half as the back wheel went over it, luckily the tyre didn't pop. By this time it was Monday lunchtime and we'd covered over 1100km, with 400 to go and we hit a good road – a very good road - silky smooth with white lines and road signs – it was bliss. We picked up speed and all of a sudden came across another rally car – the first we'd seen since Russia. They were limping along but happy as Larry, and there was another car ahead of us. They'd both entered Mongolia last Tuesday and it'd taken them 2 days longer than us – and I thought we'd struggled. The good roads held out and we picked up speed, 100 miles covered in the same time we'd done 30 the previous day. We were doing 60mph and I was just about to say to Julie that the road had changed a bit and the white lines had gone when she shouts “END OF ROAD, END OF ROAD”, I slammed my foot on the breaks and skidded to a stop at the edge of a car killing crater. The good roads didn't return and the last 120 miles into UB was a mix of off road and pothole ridden tarmac. After another flat tyre we eventually arrived in UB around midnight, eventually found a hotel – a big posh one - that ordered us take away pizza because their restaurant was shut. Got some shut eye and next day drove into Daves Bar to a round of applause from fellow beer drinking ralliers ... BLISS
	Message From The Road Friday 25th August 2006 @ 12:03
	Submitted by Team Plan.a.Doo Arrived Heathrow last night - Just eaten enough food to feed a small country - On way to Stansted for sleazyjet flight home - Missing my wee fiesta
	Monday 28th August 2006 @ 13:37
	Submitted by Adam Wasiak Back at work today - where have the last 5 weeks gone But look what I've just found - link
	Our Final Mileage Wednesday 30th August 2006 @ 20:18
	Submitted by Julie Mankelow A lot of people have been asking how many miles we covered, and I'm sure everyone who entered our Guess The Final Mileage competition is wondering the same. We left Dunfermline on the morning of 21st July and arrived in Ulaanbaatar four and a half weeks later, after covering an amazing 9,831.6 miles - more info on the competition here. On arriving in UB our car was donated to the Nairamdaal International Children's Centre, this is where we said our sad farewells, and where we took our final mileage. All the cars from the rally will be auctioned off to raise much needed funds. The contents of our car (jerry cans, toolkits, etc) were handed over to Daves Place (a great little bar in UB) where they will be sold separately, again with all proceeds going to charity.
	Photo Time Sunday 3rd September 2006 @ 18:02
	Submitted by Adam Wasiak At last, some photos of our trip are now online - enjoy.