News about the Mongolian Border.
There seem to be some bizarre rumours and a bit of panic running around about the Mongolian border crossing so to help clear this all up here is a bit more info. There have been small delays for Rally teams this year crossing the border (as every year) because it is a huge affair to import these vehicles permanently and a considerable undertaking for the authorities who are working very hard with us.
- The teams are getting through the border as planned with delays. We are having to process some extra paperwork for the teams as they arrive which is causing the delay. Please remember delays and getting stuck is the WHOLE POINT OF THE MONGOL RALLY and delays at the Mongolian border are a perfectly normal thing, even for a weekend.
- We have a huge team of people working on speeding up the process, including some very important Mongolian politicians. We are working 20 hrs a day getting the cars through and on speeding things up.
- We have been working with the Ministry of Finance for many years and for the 2009 rally throughout the year. We have a full time presence in Mongolia who have been and continue to liaise closely with them. All the relevant paperwork has been done in perfectly good time as planned. The initial delay was caused by an extended meeting between the Minister of Finance and the Secretary General of the UN. These are busy people running a country and the Mongol Rally is not always (quite correctly) at the top of their agenda.
- All the teams have been sent several email updates explaining the situation. If you are a team and want further info, check you emails for the latest news.
- The Mongolian border always takes a long time to cross. At it's fastest it takes around 8 to 12 hours.
- Every year it is perfectly normal to stay overnight, often over the weekend at the western border. This is part of being on the Mongol Rally.
- The border is closed from 5pm every day (and at weekends in the west of Mongolia (however the border officials have very kindly been putting in a lot of overtime for us)).
- Once teams get into Mongolia a customs guarantee has been made for the vehicle and it must be donated to charity. There are drop off points across the country and a contact phone number in Mongolia is available to all the teams should they be unable to carry on. Vehicles need to be dropped off at one of these official points. A couple of teams have tried to sell the vehicle but this will make them liable for the full customs tax (around $2500) which will need to be paid before they exit Mongolia or face problems leaving the country.
- There is a strange rumour that you need a text message from us when you get to the border. This is not the case.
- We are in daily contact with the borders so we know how many teams are at waiting to cross and managing all the paperwork in the background.
Hopefully this clears up a few confusions.
The Adventurists