Team Basic Cruising Goes to Mongolia

We spent the night of the 16th at a glorious British tavern called “The Miller Arms” in Canterbury, near Sandwich where we were going to see the “The Open” the next day. We’re finding out that in the English countryside most pubs and taverns also have rooms available on the second (or in this case, third) floor. So after getting blind drunk you can just drag your ass upstairs and plop yourself on a proper bed. Needless to say, we awoke the next day after a night of shots of Guinness and some lessons in proper English from a group of Irishmen. To wit: never, ever say the words “moist” or “plop” to an English lady. You’re welcome.

After the Open was done we got in the Punto and drove towards Anstey, a small town near the place where the mechanical whizzes at Greenwood Motors were going to make our Punto rally-ready. We spent the night at Anstey Grove Barn, which sadly didn’t have a pub on the first floor, but was still a great place. We were anxious to get to Greenwood Motors the next day and start fixing up the Punto.

I’m finally in England, hours away from the launch. I’m totally sleep deprived and our car still has a long way to go before it’s finished. I’ve been working mainly on the electrical systems while the rest of the team takes care of the paint job. I wanted to post the following list, which is exactly what I took with me to the Mongol Rally… Do you think I forgot something?! My teammates scolded me for not bringing some tequila – they’re really tired of spending the queen’s finest!

• 26 Ball Point Pens
• A SpotGPS
• Old iPhone w/ Traveling Charger
• Mexican Nokia w/Charger
• Carnet de Passage for our Fiat (which is still nameless, BTW)
• GBAO Permits
• Pre-Mongol Rally Launch Camping Tickets
• Booking Confirmation for Dover-Calais
• Mongol Rally Signed Release Contract
• Copy of our Fiat’s V5
• Copy of US Visa
• Copy of Passport
• Copy of Medical and Traveling Insurance
• Passport
• Maps of Russia, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria, Central Asia, Mongolia, Romania, Iran, and Turkey
• International Driver’s License
• 3 Deactivated Credit Cards
• A logbook
• USB Reader for transferring pictures and videos to a computer
• “The Art of War”
• Book on Low Cost Rally Cars (extremely useful!)
• Cash
• Two 1TB Drives
• 4 CD’s made by someone special
• 10 White Tagless T-shirts from Target
• Extra set of eyeglasses
• 20 Pairs of White SOcks
• 30 Pairs of Disposable Contact Lenses
• Old Spice Deodorant Stick
• Toothbrush
• 59mL of Hair Gel
• 1 Roll of Deep Clean Dental Floss
• Tweezer
• Nail Clippers
• 30mL of Cologne
• Lip Protectant
• 4g of toothpaste
• Two 12V DC to 110V AC Converters
• 12V Splitter
• Duct Tape
• 2oz of QuickSteel
• Leatherman
• 38 lithium batteries
• GoPro w/ Motorsports Mounting Accesories
• Datarex Emergency Ration
• 15 boxer shorts
• 2 pair of shorts
• 1 pair of jeans
• 1 batching suit
• 2 dress shirts
• Official Basic Cruising Shirt
• 1 Pair of ASICS
• 1 Pair of Pumas
• Laundry Locker Dirty Clothes Bag
• Flip Flops
• Travel Guides (Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, Mongolia)
• Hospital Pants from UCSF
• Mechanical Hopping Bunny
• Sun Glasses for The Gazelle
• Sun Glasses
• 3 Mexican Flag Embroidered Patches
• 1 Genie Lamp
• 1 Cucaracha Horn
• Radiator Stop Leak
• Royal Sultan Costume
• Crazy Glue
• 2 Puzzle Books (forgot the one I was actually reading in my desk, boo)
• Quantcast Jacket
• Wind Breaker
• Captain Hat!)

We just got word from The Adventurists regarding our Turkmenistan Invite… Things are looking “iffy” to say the least:

Those of you who applied for Turkmenistan invites via the Visa Machine are still waiting to hear from Turkmenistan as to whether or not you’ll be allowed into the country this year.
The Visa Machine would like you to know that though this is a very long wait, it is not out of the ordinary. However, they are, just as you are, very frustrated to have not had confirmation of your invites by now.
This might mean that you’ll recieve confirmation when you are on the road. This has happened before and not been a problem, but it is important you understand that this might be the case for you this time around.

So that leaves us with three options:

1. Wait and hope our Turkmenistan Invite goes through
2. Go from Iran to Kazakhstan via the Caspian Sea
3. Try and acquire a transit visa for Turkmenistan in Turkey and/or Iran
4. Try and acquire a visa for Afghanistan in Turkey and/or Iran

Scary? Yes. Very scary.

After the dead battery fiasco, we finally managed to get out of London and haul our asses up to Harlow to ATS Eurosport, the place where we had found a set of cheap Avon Avanza AV10 tyres, which where highly recommended by our top-of-the-line research service, TGO (The Gazelle Online).

When we got there we were disappointed to find out that they had been unable to secure a set of such tyres, and instead had secured us another brand of tyres, Event. We didn’t know anything about these tyres, and after some research we discovered that they were not as good as our original tyres, but a suitable (albeit cheaper) replacement. We searched for other tyre places nearby, and called around 8 places looking for the tyres that we wanted, but we were unable to find them anywhere. Due to time constraints, we were forced to settle for the Event tyres, and we have been driving them ever since.

Let’s hope the saying “Lo barato sale caro” (What’s cheap ends up being expensive) doesn’t come true halfway through Uzbekistan.

Cheers mate.

Today we woke up around 7:30 AM on the wrong side of the river in London, and we prepared to get out of town to change the Punto’s tyres (that’s how you’re supposed to spell it) up at a place north of London near Harlow, close to where the fine folks at D+K Mobile Servicing are located. We had found a pretty sweet deal on some Avon Avanza AV10 tyres, and we had an appointment around 11 AM to finally pimp out our car with some sweet rubber. Bleary eyed, we packed our bags, checked out of the hotel, and packed the Punto to head out. We got in the car and turned the ignition…

Only to find a dead battery.

The day before we had driven during the day and hadn’t turned on the headlights at all, but we found out from one of the hotel restaurant waiters that they had seen the headlights of tour Punto on and had tried to find the owners. Our car has a peculiar kink where if you turn the key too far when you’re turning the car off, the headlamps turn on.

Thankfully, the hotel is located right beside a auto shop (and shares the parking lot with it), and an awesome lad from Uruguay gave us some juice (we tried to tip him but he refused) and we were on our way.

On July 13,  the Gazelle and I finally united forces in London to start the preparations for the Mongol Rally. Staying in slightly questionable quarters in a Central-Asian-themed hotel run by mostly Central Asian staff (in a mostly Central Asian neighborhood), we started plotting our plan of attack for the next ten days, which would be critical for the success of the Basic Cruising rally team.

The first step was to get acquainted with our (hopefully) trusty motor vessel, which would transport us 10,000 miles to Ulaanbaatar and which we had only seen online in low-res cellphone pictures. We were really excited and nervous to finally see it and drive it, and so we talked to Keri from D+K Mobile Servicing and arranged to meet her the next day outside her home to man the vehicle.

We were nervous. We took the tube to Liverpool Station, and then the rail to Harlow. Keri and Dylan picked us up at the train station and drove us the their appartment building, and this is what we found outside…

It was love at first sight.

Ladies and Gents,

It’s finally time. At 9:35 PM EST I will fly out of Newark Airport on the finest airline on the planet, Iceland Express Airlines, and I will be arriving at London Gatwick Airport tomorrow July 10th at noon. I will be joined by Enrique on the 13th.

Iceland Express Airlines offers extremely cheap tickets, but they have outrageous fees if you want any crazy extras like checking a bag, food on the plane, assigned seats, etc. Add to this the fact that we have very limited space in our beloved Fiat Punto (which we still need a name for), so I had a challenge: fit everything I need for the rally in a bag small enough to be a carry-on.

This is what I’m packing:

1. 1 pair of green Chuck T’s
2. 1 pair of Asics Cross Trainers
3. 1 pair REI khaki shants (which I pull off like nobody else)
4. 1 pair jeans
5. 2 pairs of cotton shorts
6. 1 bathing suit
7. 2 button down shirts
8. 5 cotton t-shirts
9. 6 ultra-pimp cotton guayaberas (our team uniform, courtesy of the fine folks at Mariscal Moda Hombre)
10. 20 pairs of cotton socks
11. 15 boxer-briefs

It all fits perfectly into a medium-sized duffel bag, which I hope will be small enough to be a carry-on. We still need a lot of stuff for the trip, which we will be buying on the other side of pond, probably once we get into Eastern Europe where we can buy cheaper camping equipment and clothing. Stay tuned.

Finally today we received our GBAO permits! These permits allow us to travel through the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province (GBAO) in Tajikistan. Our dreams to travel through the Pamir Highway, part of the Silk Road, will come true. This is the part of the trip that we’re most excited and scared about. Here’s a picture straight from Wikipedia to show you what we’re up against:

Once in Tajikistan we need to get in touch with Mr. Dilshod Karimov to collect the phisical copies of these permits. We then must not forget to register at the KGB in all Pamir Cities. Failure to do so may end us in jail!

Here’s a map of the Pamir Highway. We will cover all parts of in in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan:

Acquiring visas for all the countries we’ll be traveling through has probably been the biggest headache in partaking in the Mongol Rally. I think today in the morning we finally conquered them all (seeing that we just got our invitation codes for Iran), but what a nightmare!

Turkey
Visas will be issued at the border.

Iran
We applied for an invitation code for Iran on April 14, 2011. Today, July 4th, we finally received them. That took more than 11 weeks, but we’re all tremendously excited to be visiting that country. All we need to do now is trade in our invitation codes for visas in London. This will have to happen just a week before the launch!
Many thanks to Mitra from Iran Traveling Center for all her patiente and help during the process.

Turkmenistan
Our Turkmen visas were processed by The Visa Machine. All Mongol Rally participants traveling through Turkmenistan were required to apply for their visas via The Visa Machine, but with the following warning:

There is no guarantee that the Ministry will grant the LOI to everyone that has requested one; if any name is missing from the final list, no explanation will be given.

Uzbekistan
Doubly Entry Visas for Uzbekistan have been received by the three of us!

Tajikistan
Single Entry Visas for Tajikistan have been received by the three of us! However, since we’ll be traveling through the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province we need a special permit which is currently being processed and which we’ll pick up in Dushanbe.

Kyrgyzstan
Enrique applied for his Double Entry Kyrgyz Visa through the embassy in Washington and got it issued without trouble. However, when it came time for my visa, the passport was returned and I was asked to re-apply with a letter of invitation (LOI) from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in Kyrgyzstan. So I contacted the people who had been issuing LOIs for us and was informed that “the MFA won’t even ACCEPT an application for an LOI for countries that don’t need one, like Mexico”. I was advised to re-apply in hopes that another consul would see my application and issue the Visa. Unfortunately, my passport was returned without a visa AGAIN and for the same reason – LOI needed.

Why did Enrique get his visa without any problems but I couldn’t? No idea. After trying to reason with the embassy and with the MFA, I decided to try a different route: send my passport to the Kyrgyz Embassy in London. That seemed to work, although the process will take 3 weeks, with my passport finally being released on June 14th, just 9 days before the launch in London.

Kazakhstan
Single Entry Visas for Kazakhstan have been received by the three of us!

Russia
Single Entry Visas for Russia have been received by the three of us!

Mongolia
Single Entry Visas for Mongolia have been received by the three of us!

These are the things I think we should buy/have:

– Duck Tape
– Rescue Tape
– Tire Iron
– Jack
– Foot pump
– Socket Set
– Gun Gum Paste
– Cable Ties (Zip Ties)
– Screwdriver Set
– Big Hammer (in case we need to hammer those wheels back to shape)
– Wrench Set
– Jubilee Clips
– arc welding components
– Axle Stands
– Shovel
– Swiss Army Knife
– Hacksaw
– Allan key set
– Tap and Die set
– Spare battery
– First Aid Kit
– Insect Repellant
– Vaccines
– Snorkel Kit for the car
– Spare Shocks and Springs
– Spare Wheels and Tires
– Spare Bulbs/Fuses
– 2 way radios
– maps
– compass
– torch
– lanterns
– pen knife
– camping stove
– small tent
– bedding/sleeping bags/etc
– thermals
– 12v fridge (???)
– collapsable water containers
– Jerrycans
– survival bag
– rope
– jumper cables
– highvis ves
– warning triangle/lights
– calculator
– ipod cables
– lots and lots of music and maybe even playlists
– enough money for bribes and travel on remote regions
– 2 way radios
– 1st Aid Kit
– Fake Wallets with expired credit cards

Can you think of anything else we should get?!