| More live updates from the Mongol Rally teams are piling in to the official tracking page and range from reports of strip searches to driving over pot-holed mountain passes. Teams to the South are entering Iran and Azerbaijan and further north heading into the Kazakh desert and for all the temperatures are taking a steep turn towards really rather hot! We're on to Day 12 of the rally now and having long said goodbye to Europe the theme is borders in all their glory. The brave teams are becoming accustomed to waiting up to 10 hours to cross a single border and several are currently stuck in no man's lands for a variety of reasons. Perhaps the most impressive item used so far for the purposes of an unofficial 'special fine' is a pair of goggles. Here are some of the highlights from the team's latest updates from the road. To find the teams and follow them, head to the teams list and search for their names.
"we're in Iran! Took 2and half hours to get through border... Now, if only we could read arabic we'd b able to see were we are going..." "And so the rally begins...the most fun day of driving so far, 7000ft up to the peak of a mountain on a pot holed single track with trucks coming the other way. It was brilliant fun apart from the hair pin turns which were indeed hairy! Berta was awesome going up but there was smoke pouring from her brakes on the way down, overheated with overwork! ... We're now in a campsite near the Iranian border and were invited to a wedding! Early start tomorrow - I've got a feeling we'll be at the border for a looooonng time." "if border was already funny enuf... We arrived at the only hotel in donneck which hapned 2 b above a club. The decor loked very cold war esk. Frm a few drunk kids takin photos 2 the whole 15-21 population of russia surroundin us. Soon got police escort 2 a secure car park + were curfewed in the hotel. told not 2 leave, not safe outside we cudnt resist sneakin out + payin a visit 2 this nightclub." Closing on on Erzincan. Took a scenic route through the hills and had chai with a man who once had a moustache to his knees. He gave us a dishcloth. Duncan x "not really awake after a night with 30 degrees and hundreds of insects... But we are nearly in kazakhstan!" "Stuck in no man's land between Russia and Kazakhstan until border reopens in the morning!" Met an English team at the border who were waiting for 6 hours, strip search, fingerprinting, the lot. We passed through in less than 2 without all that. Oh boy i love being Scottish! Pol x "Now on the road South to Aral. The Kazakhs seem to love Dennis, so much so in fact that we have already been stopped 3 times by the police. They have no interest in seeing any paperwork and instead prefer to do a lot of stroking and laughing before letting us go on our way!"
For more follow all the teams on the Live Updates page. |
Mongol Rally Day 12: Police curfews, entering Iran and scorching heat
By Andy Place