London, UK: Day 1
Team Shadowboat landed at London Heathrow Airport outside London, UK, the morning of April 27, 2007, caught a black cab to King’s Cross Railway Station and then took a train Petersborough in the East of England.
Mongol Rally 2007
Team Shadowboat is Cory Strischek and Sara Cederberg.
We traveled from London, England, to Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia, the summer of 2007 in a 1-liter engine Daihatsu HiJet with the Adventurists' Mongol Rally in support of Hope and Homes for Children, Mercy Corps Mongolia, and the Mongolian government.
We took the "Southern Route"
Stamford, UK: Day 2
Our second day in England, we started the day by scoring car insurance with Val’s help from the comfort of the Norris’ living room and ended it by coming damn-near requiring insurance whilst familiarizing ourselves with the HiJet.
Stamford, UK: Day 3
We painted the car today (horribly) and I fitted it with a roof-rack. We’ll be picking up a couple spare wheels and jerry cans once we get out of this “twice-the-price” country. I will try to post a picture of it all suited up tomorrow because I probably won’t get another chance to upload photos EVER AGAIN.
Stamford, UK: Day 4
There is a place called “Halford’s” in England where you can buy bicycle and car junk. It’s like AutoZone except everything costs twice as much and nothing is in stock. We went there. And then we spray-painted the car some more.
London, UK: Day 5
London 2 Dover. The launch party was great fun, we met lots of teams & popped out 2 buy Harry Potter. Slept in car. Missed our 4:30 ferry, caught the 6:00pm instead w/ most other teams. Currently in French countryside-gorgeous! 1 country down, 17 more to go!
Aachen, Germany: Day 6
Kreuzing germany in slow lane. Van doing decent. Castles, cows, logical everything. Crossing czech line soon. Sara at the wheel. No showers since uk. Hotel 2nite!
Prague, Czech Republic: Day 7
Driving aroud Cologne, going 2 b a long day thru Germany. But that’s ok, there’s a shower & hotel awaiting us in Prague! Car’s well, driving slow doesn‘t seem 2 bother folks.
Budapest, Hungary: Day 8
Woke in Prague (car park) parking garage, meandered through town and drove past fields of fire to beautiful Budapest in Hungary, the country of my people.
Baia Mare, Romania: Day 9
Hungary continued to burn. Crossed into Romania and met with God’s own wind, cyclists, drop-offs, and the beauties of village gardens.
Transylvanian Mountain Pass: Day 10
Shown great hospitality by Hope and Homes for Children. Met with Romanian press. Night brought horrors — acres of fire in Raul Sebus, batty truckers careening atop the Transylvanian alps. Sought refuge in the parking lot of a crusty gypsy tavern.
Bulgaria: Day 11
Woke to the copulation of dogs against our hull. Bad traffic in Bucharesti. Bulgaria provided fine Soviet-era roads. Stumbled upon a dilapidated monastery bee colony. Enchanted by dinner and music at a roadside motel.
Istanbul, Turkey: Day 12
Sat at chaotic Turkish border for hours. They have architecture and engineering for a border in place but there is no human system. High winds from the sea swept the sunflower fields and roads. Istanbul welcomed for miles. Sara took the wheel. We met Linden and her friends for beers and a cab ride and stayed with Gorkem, an adventurer.
Bolu, Turkey: Day 13
Hot sun on the desert made for endless driving. Treated to tea by kind children at a village Internet cafe. Counted gas station mosques for hours and slept in the van in a farmer’s fields.
Samsun, Turkey: Day 14
Met up with Ralliers after long, hot summer day. Took in a Black Sea fish dinner and toasted vacation before camping on the beach.
Georgia: Day 15
Rose before the sun and followed the Black Sea shore to Georgia. Encountered standard mass confusion at the border and celebrated with Baltika beers and a dip in the briny deep alongside fellow Ralliers and beautiful Georgians. Drove amongst wilder, less beautiful Georgians for hours and paid $20 to park behind a house in a crumbling Soviet “beach resort.”
Azerbaijan: Day 16
Lada driver mayhem through Tblisi. Stinky cheese bread for lunch. Stuck at Red Bridge border with unruly teenage soldier guards for eight hours. Other Ralliers tormented but “Lady Sara Baltimore Miss America” charmed our captors and kept us in relative comfort. Official bribes paid = $5. Unofficial bribes paid = 0.
Baku, Azerbaijan: Day 17
Drove through the night. Met Rally folks and camped out with truckers at the docks, waited for Caspian Sea ferry.
Caspian Sea: Days 18 and 19
Boat ride from Hell featured breezeless, trash-filled Caspian Sea, a broken-down ferry engine, bureaucratic, filching crew of boy soldiers, the “carbon monoxide room,” mosquitoes, dehydration, gracious spam dinner, and an amazing 12 hours rest on a blood-stained cot.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan: Day 20
After 18-hour post-Soviet dictatorship border bureaucracy nightmare, Ralliers formed a caravan with tour guide. Ashgabat (though essentially a political disaster) is a lost city of gold and white marble and neon.
Ancient Merv: Day 21
08-05-07 at 23:37 – SMS Post
Today we leave Ashgabat & head 2 Mary & Ancient Merv. Feeling well rested tho still very hot!
Bukhara, Uzbekistan: Day 22
A wild ride through 135-degree Turkmen desert quenched with Fanta and calf’s tongue as we said goodbye to Jafar. Uzbekis welcome us with wilder whistling and night falls to the sound of cows lowing and crickets chirping. The melon festival continues.
Toshkent, Uzbekistan: Day 23
Cruising Uzbekistan proved considerably easier than expected. Not a land of sand and religion but fields and ice cream vendors. Toshkent radio towers welcomed us to a vast tree-filled college town. Sickness begins and we force ourselves to pay for another hotel.
Shymkent, Kazakhstan: Day 24
Mechanic sucked, drove all night. Met some nice truckers at the Uzbek-Kazakh border.
Kazakh drivers are like Georgian drivers if Georgians could afford Mercedes.
Almaty, Kazakhstan: Day 25
Caught up with other teams including Jack Ozbourne and his friends (and associates). We were burned out. Found an (expensive) Almaty dinner and (even more expensive (and crappy)) hotel.
Sarkand, Kazakhstan: Day 26
Followed new teams North through windy Kazakh wasteland. Circled the wagons, literally, and slept in a sketchy parking lot.
Ayaguz, Kazakhstan: Day 27
Continued to caravan. Met some more friendly kids, stopped for dinner at a “pizza” joint, and stumbled upon a field of hemp during a pee break. Slept under the stars after a long night of crawling through thunder and lightning storms.
Barnaul, Russia: Day 28
Passed up a stay in Semey at the border to trek on into Russia where we met a sudden and dramatic change of landscape from desert to evergreen forest and greatly improved roads.
Gorno-Altaysk, Russia: Day 29
Stayed the night in a beautiful hotel-strip-club-disco-sushi-parlor-grocery-store. Woke up to find one tire completely flat. Changed it and wheeled to a huddle of serious, bug-eyed mechanics with questions about the nasty sounds clattering from our engine. Putting one end of a stick to his ear and the other to the engine, he diagnosed, “No problem! You go now!”
Olgij, Mongolia: Day 30
Met up with many teams (including Team Quo Vadimus) and smashed cars to pieces against the roadless, bone-strewn Mongolian countryside. Invited in to a yurt (or gher) for cheese and tea by some Kazakh nomads. Found shelter in a six-dollar-per-night inn and vodka tavern.
Almost Hovd, Mongolia: Day 31
Went to a mechanic for genius engine repairs and bought a suspiciously filthy plastic drum after our gasoline tanks were stolen from the roof of the HiJet in the night. The day yielded bad roads, worse roads, confused convoys, endless pit stops, and sublime scenery and ended with a broken bridge.
Altay, Mongolia: Day 32
Woke up with the camels. Crossed many bridges, mountain streams and hills. Roads devolved from worse to GODDAMN. Followed sun and compass for direction. Found other teams in Hovd and choogled on into the weary night with Snickers, Fanta, and Chinggis Khan Vodka our only comfort.
Bayan Hongor, Mongolia: Day 33
Madness ensues as we dip a toe into the Gobi, cross a raging river, lose our way, lose Team Quo Vadimus, and meet up and separate with scads of other deranged teams. No sleep tonight.
Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia: Day 34
Two hours of sleep aided the Shadowboat through mud pits, broken roads, and tumbling traffic to our final destination — over 18 hours of utter mayhem. Missed the party in Ulaan Baatar by two hours and turned away from multiple hotels, we slept in the hull one last time. No cheeseburgers at Dave’s place. The craziest day of my life.