39 replies to this topic

[CharlieBrown]

Day 1, Saturday 24th Jul 2010 – Goodwood, UK to Bruges, Belgium

Well after all the time spent getting the mini ready, getting the jabs and buying all the maps it was finally time to set off for the rally. One of my sponsors was GoPro, they had kindly loaned me a Hero HD motorsport video camera but it has only just arrived in Bristol. So before we could get to the start at Goodwood a quick detour to the parcel office and a short wait for it to open and the camera was collected. We were then able to start the trip in earnest. After a few hours we had arrived at the circuit and squeezed into a space amongst the other ralliers, including a gold Rolls Royce!

Arriving at Goodwood

Tmf logo

Jammy and Raz (fellow TMFers) had come to Goodwood to see us off. We only managed to chat to them for a short bit as we had to collect the Rally pack and documentation.

Chatting to Jammy and Raz before the off

I had just collected the last bit of paperwork when I heard an announcement over the PA system and discovered I had been awarded “Spirit of the Rally” trophy! So off I went to collect it and came back with this....

Spirit of the Rally award

Before I knew it cars were setting off for a trip round the circuit. It wasn’t long before it was our turn to go round the famous circuit. Most of the run round was a blur, not because I was going super fast, more that I was thinking of a million things at once.

On the track

We left the track and go onto the open road. We only went as far as the first roundabout as it happened to be the home of Rolls Royce cars so a photo op was too good to miss. A quick call to Jammy and Raz to say bye and a couple of photos and we were done. Although we did get laughed at for breaking down, misguided fools!

Leaving Goodwood, little low at the back

Dover, UK
Received by SMS at 24th July 2010 at 19:32
Made it on the ferry, only 10 mins late. Mini can do 70. Picked up some essential spares at the port. Cheers pinch!

We then headed to Dover and picked up a set of rear trumpets and cones from Pinch (TMF member) at the ferry terminal (I had been trying to get hold of a set just in case but as hard as I tried I couldn’t get any in time. But TMF came to the rescue in the form of Alburglar who tipped me off that Pinch might have a set and he was able to get to the ferry port in time, legend!). We got on the ferry without too long to spare, but we were on.

We had some time to relax on the ferry and think of the trip ahead, not scary at all. We were soon docked and onto French soil, a quick check to make sure we were on the right side of the road and we blasted through France.

We made it into Belgium and it was soon time to find somewhere to stay for the night. Tried to get a hotel in Bruges which turned out was fully booked and they informed that others would be as there was an event on in town.

As it got dark a slight issue came to light (so to speak) as I realised that the speedo light was not working so it was time for an A-team style fix.

The speedo fix – Glow sticks are awesome

We drove on to find an alternative place to stay and found a small camp site but it was full. So we drove back down the road and saw 2 lads walking towards us, I slowed down and it turned out they were fellow ralliers. They told us that there were a group of ralliers camped in the woods just of the road. We drove into the “camp site” to find 4 other rally teams all set up so we joined in and got our tent up. We were rather glad it was a pop up as it was late and pitch black.

Flemish Region, Belgium
Received by SMS at 25th July 2010 at 00:45
Only just got into bed. Hotels booked out or too expensive. Camp site full. More rally folk found us so camped in a random wood. Awesome!

Camping in the woods

We had a fairly sleepless night as the wilderness was rather loud (surprisingly). Twigs falling off trees, dogs barking and what sounded like parrots squawking. I was later informed by text the apparently there are parrots in Belgium, from a semi reliable source (Jev).

Brussels, Belgium
Received by SMS at 25th July 2010 at 10:03
Just got lost in Brussels on our way to Germany now. Never realised how noisy woods can be! Do they have parrots in Belgium?

[CharlieBrown]

Day 2, Sunday 25th Jul 2010 – Bruges, Belgium to Chemnitz, Germany

We woke up fairly early on the Sunday morning to find that our secluded camp site may not have been so quiet as dog walkers and joggers were going by. We noted that our wild camp site was close to what looked like an adventure play ground so we packed up rather quickly and got on our way.

On the road in Belgium

Belgium tunnel

As we carried along the motorways on some of the bumps in the roads I could hear the arches rubbing. A service station wasn’t far so I took the opportunity to fill up with fuel and increase the rear suspension. I jacked up the mini (with the Toyota MR2 jack the Jev – Second co-driver had donated for the trip). As I got on with the job it dawned on me that I would have to move fuel tank to get to the rear passenger shock. Doing this I completely failed to realise that as I had just filled up with fuel the tank was going to be heavy and as I moved it the tank slipped and fuel spilt out, woops. Luckily Luc came to my aid and supported the fuel tank so I get a better grip of the tank and moved it to a safe position while I carried on with the work. I quickly (well ish) increased the ride height on both sides. I then put on the driver’s side wheel and came to put on passenger side wheel and as I pushed it on the car moved away from me! I noticed that the jack was over at an odd angle. I quickly threw the tyre back under the car and tried to keep the car up but couldn’t hold it. The car dropped onto the tyre under the car and the wheel that was already on.

I then realised that unknown to me I had put the jack on the edge of a small divot in the tarmac. So I jacked it back up, not on a divot this time and put on rear wheel so we could carry on the trip.

Stopping at the service to raise the rear suspension

The arch rub (right at the bottom, dearest Luc didn’t quite spot what I meant, bless)

One side done, nearly there

Brussels, Belgium
Received by SMS at 25th July 2010 at 11:55
Just left services washed hair in toilets, fresh. Decided 2 increase rear ride height as low because of weight. Learnt 2 lessons; 1. It’s easier without a full fuel tank. 2. Don't put the jack in a divot. Whoops! All ok now. 2 Germany!

European scenery

On the way we saw 3 German old school beetles in convoy which was a cool sight. We then saw some fellow ralliers in a Skoda and overtook them! We then realised that they were 4 up in the car so perhaps it wasn’t such an impressive feat. Further down the road we stopped at services and happened to met up with the Skoda team. They let us know that a few other teams were heading for a campsite just near Colditz. It was a fair way to go so we kept a steady pace.

Old school German bug, nice

Skoda on the rally

As we started getting closer to Colditz the mini started overheating problems. I then discovered that the interior heater was only blowing cold. As most of you know when the mini starts overheating a handy little trick is to switch on the heater to get the engine temp down that little bit more. So with that out of the question and the realisation that water wasn’t getting to the heater it was time to pull over and get the tools out.

We pulled over round the back of a garage and it increasingly hotter weather set about bleeding the heater system. I also took the thermostat out to make sure that wasn’t causing an issue (on text advice from Jev back in the UK). All this took a couple hours but I got the heater working and the temperature seemed a little more stable. Whilst fixing the coolant issue I decided to clean up the temperature sensor connection and accidently snapped of the blade coming from the sensor (which in all fairness had seen better days). So I took a small piece of spare wire and cable tied/electrical taped it to the sensor and crimped a blade connector to the other end. Bodgetastic!

This extended break meant that Colditz would be pushing the mini a bit too hard after the days travel so we couldn’t make it. So we resorted to plan B, find a hotel. This took a while as we were out in the sticks. A few wrong turns later and we found a hotel in a town with parking right outside the hotel entrance. Knowing the mini was tucked up safe for the night we headed to bed.

Saxony, Germany
Received by SMS at 25th July 2010 at 21:27
Almost made it to Colditz where we heard other teams were but need sleep so found a hotel. Mini sounds a bit tired after a long drive. Some new squeaks have started. Will give it some attention tomorrow and a top up of oil. Will pop in to Colditz tomorrow just to make James jealous.

[CharlieBrown]

Day 2, Sunday 25th Jul 2010 – Bruges, Belgium to Chemnitz, Germany

We woke up fairly early on the Sunday morning to find that our secluded camp site may not have been so quiet as dog walkers and joggers were going by. We noted that our wild camp site was close to what looked like an adventure play ground so we packed up rather quickly and got on our way.

On the road in Belgium

Belgium tunnel

As we carried along the motorways on some of the bumps in the roads I could hear the arches rubbing. A service station wasn’t far so I took the opportunity to fill up with fuel and increase the rear suspension. I jacked up the mini (with the Toyota MR2 jack the Jev – Second co-driver had donated for the trip). As I got on with the job it dawned on me that I would have to move fuel tank to get to the rear passenger shock. Doing this I completely failed to realise that as I had just filled up with fuel the tank was going to be heavy and as I moved it the tank slipped and fuel spilt out, woops. Luckily Luc came to my aid and supported the fuel tank so I get a better grip of the tank and moved it to a safe position while I carried on with the work. I quickly (well ish) increased the ride height on both sides. I then put on the driver’s side wheel and came to put on passenger side wheel and as I pushed it on the car moved away from me! I noticed that the jack was over at an odd angle. I quickly threw the tyre back under the car and tried to keep the car up but couldn’t hold it. The car dropped onto the tyre under the car and the wheel that was already on.

I then realised that unknown to me I had put the jack on the edge of a small divot in the tarmac. So I jacked it back up, not on a divot this time and put on rear wheel so we could carry on the trip.

Stopping at the service to raise the rear suspension

The arch rub (right at the bottom, dearest Luc didn’t quite spot what I meant, bless)

One side done, nearly there

Brussels, Belgium
Received by SMS at 25th July 2010 at 11:55
Just left services washed hair in toilets, fresh. Decided 2 increase rear ride height as low because of weight. Learnt 2 lessons; 1. It’s easier without a full fuel tank. 2. Don't put the jack in a divot. Whoops! All ok now. 2 Germany!

European scenery

On the way we saw 3 German old school beetles in convoy which was a cool sight. We then saw some fellow ralliers in a Skoda and overtook them! We then realised that they were 4 up in the car so perhaps it wasn’t such an impressive feat. Further down the road we stopped at services and happened to met up with the Skoda team. They let us know that a few other teams were heading for a campsite just near Colditz. It was a fair way to go so we kept a steady pace.

Old school German bug, nice

Skoda on the rally

As we started getting closer to Colditz the mini started overheating problems. I then discovered that the interior heater was only blowing cold. As most of you know when the mini starts overheating a handy little trick is to switch on the heater to get the engine temp down that little bit more. So with that out of the question and the realisation that water wasn’t getting to the heater it was time to pull over and get the tools out.

We pulled over round the back of a garage and it increasingly hotter weather set about bleeding the heater system. I also took the thermostat out to make sure that wasn’t causing an issue (on text advice from Jev back in the UK). All this took a couple hours but I got the heater working and the temperature seemed a little more stable. Whilst fixing the coolant issue I decided to clean up the temperature sensor connection and accidently snapped of the blade coming from the sensor (which in all fairness had seen better days). So I took a small piece of spare wire and cable tied/electrical taped it to the sensor and crimped a blade connector to the other end. Bodgetastic!

This extended break meant that Colditz would be pushing the mini a bit too hard after the days travel so we couldn’t make it. So we resorted to plan B, find a hotel. This took a while as we were out in the sticks. A few wrong turns later and we found a hotel in a town with parking right outside the hotel entrance. Knowing the mini was tucked up safe for the night we headed to bed.

Saxony, Germany
Received by SMS at 25th July 2010 at 21:27
Almost made it to Colditz where we heard other teams were but need sleep so found a hotel. Mini sounds a bit tired after a long drive. Some new squeaks have started. Will give it some attention tomorrow and a top up of oil. Will pop in to Colditz tomorrow just to make James jealous.

[CharlieBrown]

Day 3, Monday 26th Jul 2010 Chemnit, Germany to Czech Out Party (Prague), Czech Republic

Still determined to get to Colditz we got up early and took at bit of a detour to get there as there seemed to be road works everywhere. With the car having overheating issues I did question the sense in taking such a big detour to see it (I must have forgotten to mention this to Lucy) but it seemed a shame not to.

Saxony, Germany
Received by SMS at 26th July 2010 at 11:07
Car overheated even though not hot on gauge. Just waiting for it to cool. Bit of a hot one today. May have to run with the heater on, joy.

On the road again

We finally made it to the famous Colditz a place I had seen in War films and more recently Top Gear. I was well worth making the effort to get there. We took a few pics to celebrate.

Finally at Colditz

Outside Colditz

Colditz photo

On the road again minding our own business and we came across a massive combine harvester. Just thought everyone would like to know.

Massive Combine Harvesters

It was then time to head to the Czech out party. As we got within a few miles of Prague I spotted a police car up ahead and police standing in the road, we were waved over to the roadside. It was at this point I realised that the officer waving us over had a machine piston in the other had and the second officer was sporting an AK! Nice welcoming committee. A quick look in the car and they were happy for us to carry on. Phew. [Note to self: Luc doesn’t find guns as cool as me]

The mini was still getting a bit hot again so in another effort to keep things cool I thought it best to take off the sump guard. The sump guard does a great job of protecting the sump but we had not yet got to the point where it was needed and the downside of the sump guard is that it blocks some of the airflow to the sump cooling fins. So in another garage I set about crawling under the car to remove it. In the entrance to the garage was a fruit stall, as I was working on the mini the fruit seller came over and gave Luc a bag of plums and gave us a big grin with his set of all black teeth (it seems he was rather partial to blackberries!). Rather nice of him. So I was happy as the sump guard was off and Luc was happy with her fruit.

The closer we got to the Party the more difficult it became to figure out where it was as our maps were not that detailed. We pulled over in a small town to check the maps and then heard a beep and looked up to see a Wallace and Gromit Mongol Rally car (Austin A35)! And I thought we were in an old car! So I set of in hot pursuit (well that may be a slight exaggeration. Lucky for us they had a better idea of where the castle was so we ended up driving into the castle camps site in convoy, nice. By the time we arrived it was rather late so we got the tent up as soon as we could and headed into the castle.

We were a bit late for the free drink but lucky bumped into one of the Adventurists, a chap called Andy that took a mini to Mongolia on a previous Mongol Rally (legend) and he had a bit of spare wine for us, things were looking up. We then joined the queue for a frankfurter and some bread, yum!

Czech out party

We met a couple in some amazing jelly fish costumes (the night was Jules Vern themed) that even include glow sticks. We chatted to them and other ralliers for a bit. As we were a little late getting to the party we didn’t have chance to get any local currency so drinks were off the agenda until I discovered that the accepted Euros, result! So some nice Czech beer later and we saw the band play a few tunes and watched the fire dancers. All in all a rather cool night.

One of the bands on stage

Pilsen, Czech Republic
Received by SMS at 26th July 2010 at 22:34
Made it to the party at the castle. What a day. Stopped twice to sort the mini. Overheating. Got the car heater on full. Warm! Also took the sump guard off to help. Will check it out tomorrow. We had trouble finding the castle until an Austin a35 on the rally drove past. Followed them in. Oh and got stopped by armed police at check point. Luc was a touch put out. Oh and speedo light out so using glow sticks to see it. Fun fun

[CharlieBrown]

Day 4, Tuesday 27th Jul 2010 Czech Out Party (Prague), Czech Republic to Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic

The next day we woke up at a reasonable time, it seems we weren’t the only ones.

Morning after the party

Just a few Ralliers in a field, chilling

We then had a ration pack cup of tea, wow, strong is an understatement! We wandered over and chatted to the other team in a mini (A bright yellow mini clubman estate). I got some advice about putting the thermostat back in the mini but with some drilled holes in the flange part as to not change the flow so dramatically. So then all I had to do was find someone with a drill in a field near Prague?? We had camped next to a Fire Engine so that was my first though and as it turned out they had an air compressor and an air drill, awesome. So with scant regard for health and safety the thermostat was held in place by me standing on it and a very helpful rallier drilling a few holes. So I fitted the modified thermostat and thanked them for their assistance.

The chaps from yellow mini team came down to have a look at the mini as I had asked them for their advice as it wasn’t quite running at its best. After a bit of discussion it was decided that the timing may be out a bit, so a little turn of the dizzy and it sounded much better straight already. As you can imagine I was well chuffed. They also spotted that the exhaust was leaking a little from the y piece so that when on the list of things to sort when I could. Thanks guys!

We set of and the mini felt a lot better to drive and pulled nicely.

Prague, Czech Republic
Received by SMS at 27th July 2010 at 15:24
Just past Prague. Had some help from the yellow mini team this morning. Timing altered. Runs better. Hot day so temp at half. Still got car heater on. Tiny bit wet so just put rubber glove on dizzy. On to Poland maybe

Another on the road pic

After driving for most of the afternoon it was time to look for a place to sleep for the night. As we were near a city we looked for a cheap motel. Now it was at this point I have a slight confession. Looking for a motel I must confess I was a little distracted and as I came up to a level crossing I mistakenly thought that the flashing lights we just letting me know that the crossing was there (in all fairness we had seen a few that flashed constantly even when a train wasn’t coming....can you see where this is going?). It was at this point Luc mentioned something about “Stop” or something like that, but at that point I was already committed. Now I believe I did actually get through before the barriers started to come down. Unfortunately as I drove through the crossing I looked up and saw a rather unfortunate sign, the car that had just stopped on the other side of the crossing was a police car.

I got through the crossing and heard the squeal of tyres and the wail of a siren. I have no idea why I asked Luc if that was for me as I was pulling over to the side of the road but she was pretty sure it was. So the police car pulled up behind me as a train rattled past in the back ground. Now I have not quite experienced a furious foreign Police Officer up close and personal before and don’t ever want to again. No the officer was quite clear about his feeling for me and I had to agree with him that I was in fact an idiot. He then relieved me of my driving licence and passport and went back to his police car and I contemplated my 120 Euro fine (Lesson certainly learnt: When in doubt, play it safe!)

As I was, I presume, being checked out on the Police system I happened to watch a gentle man on a bike cycle up to a t-junction just a bit further down the road. He rode up the crossing and promptly wobbled a bit then keeled right over. I glanced back at the Police officer to see if he had spotted this but he was still looking at my documents. I glanced back to see him try his best to remount his bicycle whilst wobbling all over the place and I realised he was completely wasted! This time as I looked back the Officer has also seen the chap and I saw him quickly speak into his radio. He then got out the car and informed me that I was a very lucky man as I had no previous run ins with the police I could get on my way. It seems the drunk cyclist had saved me from a fine. So I decided to get well away from it all and find a motel and call it a night.

We drove a bit further on and came to a town that looked nice. We found a cheap hotel on the outskirts chucked our stuff in the room and headed out for dinner. We found a restaurant just off the main square and had a slightly more relaxed end to the day.

Just finished dinner in the lovely city of Hradec Kralove

Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
Received by SMS at 27th July 2010 at 19:00
Nice shorter drive today. Not without drama though. I've just been stopped by the police for running a level crossing that I thought like others was just flashing to say it was there. No such luck, and right in front of a police car. He was not happy. Licence and passport got taken and a 2500 fine was going to be given until he spotted a drunk on a bike and let me off. Close! Luc so unimpressed. In a cheap hotel now to make up for it. Good nights sleep and a longer drive tomorrow. Mini running much better. Temp was on a quarter for last bit of day. Food then sleep.

[CharlieBrown]

Day 5, Wednesday 28th Jul 2010 Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic to Krakow, Poland

As we left the hotel we ended up crawling through the city traffic. The stop and start driving saw the temperature climb to just under the red and stay there until we left the city. Once out on the open road we could get a bit of speed up and cool the engine back down.

The really morning started with a lovely set of hair pin bends, perfect mini roads but I had to take it nice and easy, it was after all only the beginning of the trip.

Lovely roads for a mini

Nice

As we drove along things seemed to be going fairly well but then we started to hear a knocking/scraping noise coming from the front of the car. The sound was fairly faint to begin with but soon seemed to get worse, especially over bumps. We pulled over to check and after a bit of investigation I discovered that the disc guard was loose. One of the guard mounting points had snapped, allowing the guard to bounce around making the noise. So after a few minutes of work I had removed the guard and off we went with one less noise coming from the mini.

It was soon time for lunch and upon spotting the golden arches of McDonalds. I didn’t take much persuasion to pull in for a quick bite to eat. Just to check if it tasted any different, a cultural experience of course.

Silesia, Poland
Received by SMS at 28th July 2010 at 14:39
Early start today now sees us in Poland. Removed one of the disc guards this morning as one of the mounts had snapped. had to be a bit careful this morning as the engine temp was hot. Nearly in the red. Above 2k on revs cooled it though. Once out of the city it was fine. Just above cold now. We haven't just stopped at a mcdonalds just for your info.

Some rather wet road conditions resulted in the mini spluttering a bit, I had forgotten to fit the rain guard over the engine before the trip started. So a quick stop when we could and it was time for more fixing. Out came the latex gloves and some tape and in a jiffy the dizzy was safe from the wet.

Some more driving in the rain and another minor issue became evident in the form of a pool of water in my foot well. After a quick bit of bailing out and problem solved.

Footwell a bit damp

A bit later in the day and I noticed that a squeal was coming from the front of the car. It seemed to be coming from the passenger side. This was a little bit worrying as it sounded rather bad. I pulled over to check out the problem and then realised that the fan belt was on that side. So a quick check revealed that the fan belt had become somewhat loose so I ended up fixing it in a service station alongside a guy fixing his lorry, nice contrast.

Roadside fixing

Keeping an eye on the oil

Lesser Poland, Poland
Received by SMS at 28th July 2010 at 18:20
Just got to Krakow. Had to stop on the way though as terrifying squeak from passenger front wheel! Then I realised it was just a loose fan belt. phew. Found a cheap etap hotel just outside city so going for a wander. See if it's like I remember. Oh been raining and the glove on the dizzy is doing its job and car is running cool. Good afternoon's driving. Oh again, footwell is now a pond. Had to do a bit of bailing out. All good fun.

We made it to Krakow, found a cheap Hotel outside the city and wandered in to the centre. I had been to Krakow when I was younger with the Scouts in 1996 so knew there was a Castle near the centre so that was our first stop. We saw the Castle but it was closed so we carried on into the town. As we walked to the centre a Mongol Rally car drove past, then made a u turn and came back towards us. I gave them a wave and they pulled over. I ran over to say hello and they were desperately trying to find the airport as their team member had a flight back that evening. All I could do was tear them off a bit of my city map so they could get their bearings. We then carried on with our tourist trip.

Krakow Castle, last seen in 1996

Rather nice church

As we walked around the centre we saw two other rally cars parked up.

Ralliers in Krakow

A rally ambulance in Krakow

Lesser Poland, Poland
Received by SMS at 28th July 2010 at 20:46
Been wandering round the city and spotted a Mongolia rally car. Ran after them and caught up as they did a u turn. found out they needed to got the airport quick so ripped out half my city map. Hope we don't need that bit tomorrow. And saw an Italian team's car parked up in centre.

We then stopped for a bit to eat and had filled pancakes, yum. We headed back to the hotel and as we got nearer the hotel and 3 UK minis went past, random. We got back into the hotel room and Luc spotted the 3 minis coming into the Hotel car park. I couldn’t help myself so I ran down and said hello to them. It turned out that they were just on a bit of a road trip to Poland for their holidays. One of the guys had a rear bearing on its way out so asked if I had the correct socket for them to replace it. As it turned out with my packed tool bag I did. So we set a time to get up the next morning and do some mini repairing.

Lesser Poland, Poland
Received by SMS at 28th July 2010 at 22:21
Wandering back from hotel and saw 3 uk minis drive past. Got back to hotel room and looked outside and they were just parking up. How random! Went down to say hi and they are from just near Bristol. More randomness. Great end to a day.

Random mini meeting

View from the room

[CharlieBrown]

Day 6, Thursday 29th Jul 2010 Krakow, Poland to L’Viv, Ukraine

No better start to the morning than mini fixing with new friends. I drove the mini up onto a curb in the car park and jacked the back up to get the mini as high as I could to sort the exhaust (this time I used some axle stands). I removed the exhaust, cleaned it up and then refitted it with some exhaust paste that I happened to have brought with me, it made the job of getting the pipes on a lot easier.

Fixing the exhaust

Exhaust done

Lesser Poland, Poland
Received by SMS at 29th July 2010 at 09:12
Just removed and re-fitted the exhaust as it was blowing a bit. With the help of mini people who were doing a wheel bearing at the same time. On to the Ukraine now.

All the ducks in a row

With the mini fixed and goodbyes said to the guys on their own trip we headed off. Back on the road again.

Waiting in a queue

My lovely navigator

Patchy roads

Subcarpathia, Poland
Received by SMS at 29th July 2010 at 16:57
Just stopped for fuel and oil before entering Ukraine. And a bite to eat. Crisps turned out to be cheese and onion, bonus! Onward.

As the day went on it soon became time to cross the Ukrainian boarder. As we were queuing we spotted another rally car in the next border section. This struck us as slightly odd as they seemed to be in the commercial vehicle queue. It turned out it was two teams travelling together. As we were queuing we managed to chat to them and they had already been at the border for a couple of hours and they were having a bit of trouble. Firstly as the cars they were in were small vans it seemed that the border guards had decided that they were commercial vehicles!?! And secondly one of the teams didn’t have the second page of the V5, this then lead to some lengthy discussions with the guards.

While all that was going on Luc and I started the process of getting through the border. The guard asked us where the car was heading so we told him Russia. He then started filling out passports and when we handed over our immigration forms he realised that Luc was flying out from Kiev. Unbeknown to us the Guard had written in both our passports that we were exiting into Russian. Now this turned out to be a big problem for the Guards and he promptly told us this several time. A lot of head shaking and tuting was going on and it was then suggested that I would either have to take Luc to Russia with me or she would have to not enter the Ukraine. This seemed somewhat ridiculous to me so I waited for another option. At this point Luc got a little upset, he saw and suddenly seemed a lot more willing to help. The answer then came to him and he crossed out what he had written and added a little note underneath. A much better solution. Oh the fun of playing the border crossing game.

I then had to get insurance for the car, luckily the guys in the other team told me what I had to do. All I had to do was walk through the border compound, show my passport, walk to a petrol station and in a tiny hut there was the insurance lady so $7 and some form filling and I had the insurance, easy! I did all this then walked all the way back through the compound and the other rally guys were still there with Luc. We showed this to the border guard and we then finally got through the border crossing and parked up.

The two other teams soon joined us. It turned out that they ended up having to pay a $50 fine. They even had the full good cop/bad cop routine as well. While we were recovering one of the guys from the other team had a look at the engine to offer some advice. There looked like there was some oil coming from the head gasket so we tightened that up and off we set in convoy with them to find a hotel. We came to our first Ukrainian town and encountered speed bumps the size of Everest. Unfortunately I only realised this as I heard the unpleasant noise of a scrapped sump. The guys behind us told us later they then got their cameras out and waited for me to get to the next one but I took that one a lot more gingerly (diagonally) so no spark show for them.

We drove on a bit further and I noticed that the mini engine temp was just below the red. Thankfully the other guys stopped a little further down the road to check my engine. The oil leak seemed to have stopped at least from the head gasket so that was one good think. The stop allowed the engine to cool but we couldn’t hang around for too long as the local midges had come out in force to greet us. Further on we found a hotel with secure parking that looked promising. We all went in to get a room but it turned out that only the expensive rooms left (Even thought the car park was half empty). So we carried on to look for another hotel.

Whilst driving through a nearby town we collected another Mongol rally car. A team of 3 girls that were doing the rally, so the convoy became 4. We managed to find another hotel but it turned out to be even more. So we turned around to go back to the first hotel. Luc and I just wanted to call it a night as the mini was now sitting on the red and it was now rather late after a long days driving. We got back to the first hotel paid the rather expensive £30 for a room. We dumped our stuff in the room and went to the hotel restaurant for some well deserved Pizza and cold beer. We spent the time chatting with the 3 girls swapping tales of adventures.

Fancy Hotel room

L'viv, Ukraine
Received by SMS at 30th July 2010 at 00:09
Another epic day. Got to the border to be shouted at that we needed a green card. Turned out it was insurance. Say another 2 teams there together so got chatting to them. They had just got the insurance so told us what to do. Involved a long lonely walk through the border to get a for signed for 7 dollars. Got back and the other team were still there. They had more trouble than we did. Got through after a couple of hours. Just after the 2 other teams. Looked at the mini as it was over heating. Got advice from other team and tightened the head on a bit more as looked like it was leaking from the head a bit. Kept with the teams on the apparent roads! Scraped sump on massive speed bump. Stopped again and looked at the oil leak, may be the rocker gasket. Finally got into town and bumped into another team so all stayed in the same hotel. Spent the night chatting so only just in bed. Great end to a tough day.

[CharlieBrown]

Day 7, Friday 30th Jul 2010 L’Viv, Ukraine to Kiev, Ukraine

We woke up and said our goodbyes to the other teams as they headed off. I took the opportunity to do a bit more sorting of the mini while we were in the hotel car park. I removed the rocker cover and torque down the remaining head bolts, put some sealant on the rocker cover gasket and tightened it all down. Fingers crossed this would stop the oil leak.

We then carried on with our journey and made our way out of the city through a fair bit of traffic. The warm day and the stop start traffic soon saw the engine temperature climb into the red until I had to pull over and check the engine. The engine and radiator itself didn’t seem that hot. A quick fiddle with the temperature sensor and the temperature gauge dropped down to medium. So it seemed the issue was the gauge not the engine!! Aghghghgh! Well hopefully that was that issue sorted.

Straight roads ahead

We carried on through more of the Ukraine and came across some road works. Now it seems in the Ukraine to make drivers aware of road works not only do the put down cones but also several branches from nearby trees, different.

Roadwork branches

We carried on driving along and saw the girls from the night before stopped at a lay-by. So we pulled into the parking area the wrong entrance. Had a chat and caught up on each other’s morning experiences. It was at this point we noticed that we had unfortunately ended the life of a rather large bumble bee as it was stuck on the roof rack.

Stopped for a chat

Giant bee road kill

Ternopil's'ka oblast, Ukraine
Received by SMS at 30th July 2010 at 13:32
Got up this morning removed rocker cover, tightened rear head bolt, put sealant on rocker cover gasket in t hope that will solve t oil leak. Drove out t city engine was red hot pulled over at garage radiator not steaming. Checked repaired temp sensor and temp went down 2 medium. Been running just above cold t rest of t day. Seems ok. Spotted team we met last night in lay-by so went and said a quick hi. Checked oil level and seems better. Will know more 2moro. On 2 Kiev.

We drove on heading to the capital. We got into the city and began the hunt for a reasonably priced hotel, although even finding one proved to be a little difficult as we were still trying to work out what Ukrainian for hotel was. We then spotted a building that looked like a rather fancy hotel. We went in an unsurprisingly it was a little bit more than we wanted to spend. So off we set to find somewhere cheaper. The weather was now baking hot and it had been a long days driving, our focus was not quite at its best and we ended up getting somewhat lost right in the centre of the city. Our mood had turned a little less happy especially as it meant going over Belgium paving for a second time! So when we finally spotted another hotel with a secure car park with another Mongol Rally car parked up we took it as a sign to stay there, even thought it turned out to be slightly more than the previous hotel, but at least the mini would be safe.

By the time we had got everything into the hotel room and set off to see a bit of the city it was getting rather late and dark so we had a quick wander and finished the night in a cafe in the square.

Kyiv, Ukraine
Received by SMS at 30th July 2010 at 19:42
Just got into the hotel. Tried one and it was too expensive drove to find another and spent 45 mins getting lost. Finally found another that was even more. Ah well it is right next door to mcdonalds. A Spanish team are also in the car park. Staying in Kiev now until Sunday when second co-driver Jev arriving. car ran well today nice and cool even though is baking hot outside. Will check oil tomorrow once engine cool.

[CharlieBrown]

Day 8, Saturday 31th Jul 2010 Kiev, Ukraine

We woke up to another very hot day but decided to make the most of our time in Kiev so went out sightseeing.

View from the Hotel room

We walked to the main Cathedral which wasn’t far from the hotel. We had a quick look round then wandered into the park just behind the Cathedral. We took the opportunity to get some ice cream but as it was so hot it seemed the fridges weren’t able to keep them that cold so we had a partial melted Cornetto type thing, tasty. After a few more minutes of wandering Luc discovered that flip flops may not be the best footwear for wandering so we quickly nipped back to the hotel to change them and head back out. Whilst doing this we thought we would just have a quick rest as it was so hot.....2 hours later and we woke up to find we has missed a bit of the day so headed out to see the city in the evening.

Kiev cathedral, fancy

Statue in the park

View from the park

We headed out to find a restaurant where we could try the famous Chicken Kiev a bit as all the menus were not in English was fail miserably and ended up in a German restaurant eating pasta...close.

As we walked back towards the centre of town we spotted the several water features in the square. One being a set of steps that had water running down them so I felt compelled to go for a paddle, it would have been rude not to. We then walked down the main street and realised that the main road was closed and people were walking along it. We thought it was quite a nice idea to pedestrianise the main street at night, it made the city feel much more relaxed. Just as we stepped off the road to look at the high street shops we realised the main road had not been closed for pedestrians. The hint was a police car driving straight down the road followed by a lorry spraying the road surface. As soon as this was done the road was re-opened. No idea what it was about though? The night ended with us wandering back to the hotel as a whole load of Chinese lanterns were released near the square.

The city at night

Enjoying the sights

One has to paddle when one can

Chinese lanterns

[CharlieBrown]

Day 9, Sunday 1st Aug 2010 Kiev, Ukraine to Poltava, Ukraine

It was time for Lucy’s adventure to come to an end and the start of co-driver no. 2’s rally. We set off from our hotel and made our way out of the City centre to the airport. It was another warm day but the mini was running well. We arrived at the airport with plenty of time and I said good bye to my slightly relieved girlfriend (I don’t think she has ever been so happy to see an airport). Off she headed back to the UK.

Boryspil, Ukraine
Received by SMS at 1st August 2010 at 10:28
arrived at the airport. Only a 4 hour wait for Jev. On the way here it's 32 C, road temp 47 C. Mini running cool though. Bonus.

Jev was due to arrive a bit later in the day so I sat on a park bench next to the mini and tried to relax. However not being entirely sure if I was allowed to park where I was I had to keep a bit of an eye out. All was ok though and the time has soon past and it was time to look out for Jev. After a few minutes I spotted an English looking fellow with a large bag on his back wandering out of the airport, Jev had arrived!

Co-driver number 2

The boys

On the road

Jev was keen to get the trip firmly underway and get some miles under his belt so off we set back on the open road. After a fair few hours of driving it was time to find somewhere to stay for the night with a decent area to do some work on the mini. We began the search for somewhere that resembled a cheap hotel. We came across a Castle looking building by the side of the road that resembled a motel. We wandered in to find a restaurant area that was dark but it turns out they were open (they just turn off the lights if no one is in). We were in luck as it turned out to be a motel as well as a restaurant. We were shown a room and given a price that seemed reasonable so we were happy. Well that was until we came to pay and their card machine seemed not to be working. We both tried but it just wasn’t having it. So we I got out what cash I had left but it was just under the cost of the room, thankfully it was ok so we got the room at an even better price. We settled into the room and realised that out of the window we could see a weird cellar area in the back yard area, the kind you seen in certain horror movies, not scary at all.

Poltava, Ukraine
Received by SMS at 1st August 2010 at 19:07
just arrived at roadside motel not quite in Poltava. Card machine not working so we got it for what I had left in wallet. Lucy co-driver left, Jev co-driver arrived at 5. Got a good bit of driving in. Still very hot but room has a big fan. Posh.

[CharlieBrown]

Day 10, Monday 2nd Aug 2010 Poltava, Ukraine to Novoshank, Ukraine

We got up early to get some work done on the mini. Jev had bought a few more tools at my request (he is handy like that) so we removed the rocker cover and torqued the head bolts down to the correct setting and resealed the rocker cover. Job done.

View from the room

Now that’s what I call a Motel

It wasn’t long before Jev saw his first Lada and promptly took a photo to mark the occasion.

Lada style

Straight road

As we were driving along we ended up coming up behind another Mongol Rally team, this was quite exciting. A bit of light flashing and some waving and they had seen us as well. They even stuck the camera out of the sun roof to take a picture of us, which Jev and I found a bit odd as they had tyres on the roof blocking the view. My, how we laughed when the camera got taken back down and we could imagine the realisation that he had just got a great close up of tyre tread

Wedding crashers

More straight road

Russian church

Arrived at a village to get some cash out, couldn’t quite find a cash point so we pulled over to try to get some directions to one. As we were discussing who to ask, a car pulled up beside us and this extremely tall chap got out of the car and came over to chat to us. He was into classic cars and had one himself so was interested in the mini so we let him have a look around, although I am not sure he could have fitted into it. He then offered to drive one of us to the cash point. This seemed a bit of a dubious offer but he seemed genuine enough. So Jev headed off with him and I waited with the mini. While I waited another Mongol Rally team turned up, the Wedding crashers (the guys we had seen before). A quite amazing couple that were on the rally for their honeymoon! Jev soon came back with our tall local helper and thankfully some local currency. It turned out that while Jev was chatting to our helper he disclosed that he was a professional basketball player, made sense. We took a few photos and headed off on the road again.

Cutove, Ukraine
Received by SMS at 2nd August 2010 at 09:27
just stopped in village to get cash. Jev been taken to bank by large local that liked the mini. Hope he comes back. Making good time today. Hoping to get near the Russian border by dark. Fingers crossed. Still baking hot. Jev got hotel to freeze water, Still cool, just.

Kharkivs'ka oblast, Ukraine
Received by SMS at 2nd August 2010 at 11:00
bank trip went very well. Jev returned safe with local who was massive and a pro basketball player. Team wedding crashers stopped for cash as well and photos were taken for the giant man. It's got hotter. Like driving in an oven. Nearly in charkiv.

Along the road, every so often we began to see little stalls with people selling fruit and jars of something golden. We realised that his was honey...well when in Rome. We pulled over to an old gent selling some honey on the boot of his Lada. He let us have a taste and when we said we would like some he gave us a nice golden toothed smile. Yum!

Izium, Ukraine
Received by SMS at 2nd August 2010 at 14:32
got some Ukraine honey off a old chap with gold teeth, yum! Met up with the wedding crashers again. Pushing on towards Russia.

After some more miles Jev was happily driving along when we spotted a police car on the hard shoulder ahead. As we approached we got waved at to stop. Not quite sure what they wanted we pulled over. I got out of the mini and was beckoned over to the police car. I was then given the pleasure of seeing a lovely little picture of the mini and a speed gun next to the numbers 84kph. I did think it a little odd considering we were in a 90??? Limit until I realised that they were trying to tell us that we were in a 60 limit, by drawing in the roadside dust. Now neither Jev nor I had seen one of the city signs (that denoted a lower limit) but we couldn’t really argue the point. Out came a little police handbook and we were pointed out the appropriate fine, something along the line of £25. Ah well.

Later in the day Jev thought the transmission sounded a bit loud so we pulled into a garage opened the bonnet to add some more oil. While sorting this the heater hose above the rocker cover started spraying out a tiny jet of hot water, the hose had split. We let the engine cool until the leak had stopped. Luckily we were able trim off the pipe at the split and reconnect the pipe, sorted. It was at this point that Jev realised that the oil leak that I had thought was coming from the head was actually dripping from the high pressure oil feed! It turned out that the union bolt was not even finger tight! That would do it. So we tightened that up nice and tight. As you can imagine I was rather pleased with Jev for spotting that one. It was a relief to think it was nothing major. Phew.

Another police checkpoint loomed into the distance and as we were travelling downhill we were rather easy to see. There were two officers on our side of the road and two for the oncoming traffic. As we got closer to the front the police on our side became interested in a car in front and got distracted just in time for us to get past. Sadly the same couldn’t be said for the officers on the other side of the road. The spotted us and as we drove past I just caught them spotting us and the signalled for us to stop and blew a whistle. We carried on pretending we hadn’t spotted them signalling us and we checking the mirrors to see if we were about to be followed. It seemed ok so we carried on and shortly after pulled into a petrol station to fill up. As we got on with our usual filling routine we saw a police car pull into the petrol station and slowly crawl through eyeing us up, obviously we had sparked some interest from earlier. As we were stopped and presumably they couldn’t think of a reason to come and question us so the crawled off. Phew! Although we did forget which way they went as they left. This resulted in us leaving the petrol station and driving slowly off just in case they were round the corner lying in wait. Fortunately they had gone back to the checkpoint, we assume.

Sloviansk, Luhans'ka oblast, Ukraine
Received by SMS at 2nd August 2010 at 16:17
Munching up the miles today, Jev got fined for speeding, but redeemed himself by fixing an oil leak and a water leak (both Charlie’s fault). Getting very rural now, lots of Kamaz trucks and pot holes to lose the mini in!

As we were driving along another police check point came into view. As usual we tried to look as inconspicuous as you can in a rally style mini in the Ukraine. Our usual tactic of hiding behind a bigger car wasn’t possible and looking innocent and busy looking for directions hadn’t worked either. The police spotted us and it soon became evident that we were going to be pulled again. So we tried plan C. As the police officer came up to the car I gave him a nice big grin and asked if he could help with directions (pointing at the map and shrugging), whatever we had been pulled for seemed to disappear and he soon became quite pleased to help us. Our cunning distraction had worked. So after some helpful pointing and nodding we were off without incident.

As night came near we wanted to camp near the border but as things were getting a little more desolate we weren’t really sure if we could just camp anywhere. We decided the best thing to do was to drive off the road behind some trees just so we wouldn’t get spotted. As well began unloading the mini and getting the tent sorted I realised with every step I took 3 or 4 large crickets were diving out of the way. It seemed we were making camp in cricket central. The things were even diving in the car and bouncing off the tent. We left the crickets to it and Jev cooked up a mean ration pack curry. It brought the evening to a nice close.

Novoshank, Ukraine
Received by SMS at 2nd August 2010 at 19:24
just near the Russian boarder parked in fields out of sight of the road. Surrounded by an army of crickets. We were going to cover the car in leaves but that would be a bit much. Just had some yum ration pack food. Tikka and rice. Almost got pulled by police but carried on as we were all legal. Still very hot. Was 38 degrees today. Night

[CharlieBrown]

Day 11, Tuesday 3rd Aug 2010 Novoshank, Ukraine to Volgograd, Russia

Campsite for the night

We woke up early and Jev discovered that some local wildlife has taken a liking to his flesh and he had massive bites on his arm. We then got the tent packed away and the car ready to go. As we were doing this a chap on a motorbike ambled past us and gave us a nod. We thought we were well out the way and there seemed nothing for miles in the direction the motorbike was heading. We finished getting ready and were on the road by 5:50am.

We began to get closer to the border and in the distance we spotted a police car, taking no chances I crawled along only to get pulled anyway! I got out of the car to be greeted by two police officers, one old and one young. The older officer then proceeded to wander rounder the mini, I was a little bemused until he announced why I had been stopped. It turned out it was for the most heinous of crimes.....I had got too many lights. Now I know my Ukrainian was sketchy at times but too many lights....really? So some hand gesture from the older officer to inform me that 2 were ok but 6 was not I responded with my own hand signals (no not that one) as I signalled that I had seen lorries with lots of lights but it was to no avail. He was determined that I was in fact a criminal so the licence was requested and handed over. I then recalled the previous run in with the police and (I thought) cleverly asked for so see where it stated it in the police handbook. So I ended up sat in the police car (which was a bit of a shed) with a huffing police man showing me that the pictures in his book all had two lights on then....no?..really. I then spotted another picture in the book that looked remarkably like a diagram showing how to correctly mount additional front light! Ha, I’d got him. Well that was until he explained it was ok to have 4 front lights but still not 6! Brilliant! At this point I realised that no matter what happened I was going to have to pay a fine. So after him getting some form out and asking me to fill them in (which I clearly couldn’t understand as they were in Ukrainian) and me refusing he threatened to arrest me. Great, just what I needed. His next offer was for me to just pay a $50 fine! I kindly refused his offer to which he responded with more threats of arrest. I gestured that I had no Ukrainian cash and I was going to get some Russian currency at the border as I just had a card (I wasn’t about to let him see that I had $150 stuffed in belt), so he came back with an offer of prison again. Well thankfully my secondary school drama lessons had not been a complete waste as I rummaged through my wallet and produced a crumpled 10 Euro note like it was the last bit of cash I possessed. Thankfully he went for this option and funnily enough the paperwork disappeared and I was allowed my licence back.

It was at this point I realised that whilst I was ‘dealt with’ Jev had been requested by the young officer to show him the mini’s engine, stereo and interior. Brilliant. So as we set off the young officer wanted me to rev it whilst the older guy looked on disapprovingly. I just chose to drive off like I’d been ripped off by a crooked cop.

We soon got to the border and as in the Ukraine we had to buy car insurance before entering Russia, now considering it was only about $7 for the insurance at the Ukraine border I was a little surprised when they wanted nearly $150!! for the Russian insurance. They were trying to say that you could only get insurance that lasted a month not shorter term insurance. I didn’t quite buy this so walk out to see if there was another insurance booth, turned out that was the only one. I had a quick chat with Jev and headed back in for another round of discussions. After a bit of negotiating I think I got away with only paying $80 but still think thought it was a little high. Ah well at least we had it.

Novoshakhtinsk, Russian Federation
Received by SMS at 3rd August 2010 at 07:33
Just got through the boarder after 2 hours. Got stopped by Ukraine police just before boarder and fined for having too many lights! Managed to get from 50 dollars to 10 euro. Thieves. Then Russian insurance wanted $150 got them down to 80. We got done but couldn't do much else.

We arrived at the border and got in the usual queue. After a bit we got into the compound and for some reason we were directed over to the side instead of the usual queue. This got the alarm bells ringing. An officer came straight over to us and asked for our passports and documents. We sat waiting without a clue as to what was going on and prepared for the worst. The queue for the passport and car booths were getting ever bigger, not ideal. Then out of the blue the officer came back to use with our passports stamped and car documents complete! How chuffed were we. So all that was left to do was the visual check of the car, so all the bits open and they poked around and were happy for us to go our way.
So rather chuffed with their helpfulness we pulled away then a solider waved us over and started looking through the car again. He started routing in the glove box which seemed a bit through. He soon found my Leatherman and asked if it was a present, so I replied yes it was from my cousin at this point he looked at me a bit puzzled and put it back. I later realised he wasn’t asking if it was a present from someone but if he could have it as a present! Luckily I unwittingly put him off. He then had a good look in the passenger glove box, nothing of interest, then the dash where he found our playing cards which he proceeded to open and go through. He seemed rather disappointed there were boring translation cards. All of a sudden we heard an order barked in Russian and our new friend looked up saw it was an officer shouting at him and quickly beetled off. A lucky escape. We didn’t hang around to get caught again so off we set.

Not long after crossing the border we came across a fairly cool sign, 999km to Moscow. Although not on our itinerary it was tempting, if only we had more time.

Sign to Moscow

Russian blue roofed house

The open (slightly rutted) road

It was then time to find to get some Rubles. So we searched for a bank. [Jev: Was this the time where we went into a town and they said there was no bank when there was?]. We couldn’t see an obvious bank so stopped and asked a local who seemed to be telling us that there was no bank in the town. Now considering the size of the town we asked another local who was a bit more helpful and drew us a little map to the back. We eventually found it so in I went; I was then greeted by an armed security guard that let me in. I then went to get some cash out and queued for what seemed like an hour.

Province of Rostov, Russian Federation
Received by SMS at 3rd August 2010 at 11:12
Charles has just visited the slowest bank is the world, back on the road making good progress. I want to buy a Lada when I get back to the uk! Not much to see just endless service stations... Love to friends and family, Jevon

As the day wore on it soon was time to eat. We spotted a roadside cafe and decided to give it a go so went in to order. It was at this point we realised that we couldn’t understand a word of the menu and there were no helpful pictures. So Jev and I resorted to doing animal impressions (which I thought were fairly accurate) but the waitresses just seemed to laugh at us. We weren’t getting anywhere. Luckily a local spotted our plight and came to our aid with his English skills. So we were able to have some sort of lamb dish. As we were tucking in another rally team strolled into the cafe. So we ended up having a decent meal and some good company chatting about our exploits so far.

We got back on the road and hadn’t gone far until a gang of ralliers in two Ambulances caught up with us. We pulled over and all said hello and had a quick chat but with lots of miles still to go we headed on.
While we were cruising on the road we were soon overtaking by the ambulances beeping away. They soon disappeared in the distance and we carried on at our slightly slower pace. We then spotted some locals swimming in a river, it was extremely tempting but we knew we had to get a lot of miles done. This evidently wasn’t an issue for the ambulance teams as all of a sudden we spotted them coming the other way and heading for the river.

Province of Volgograd, Russian Federation
Received by SMS at 3rd August 2010 at 14:53
stopped for lunch and had a chap help us order. Top guy. Although we didn't get our rice. Still lamb was ok. As we were eating the flaming hedgehogs joined us. Splendid. Left and bumped into a Dutch and English ambulance teams. Couldn't chat for too long so cracking on east.

Russian Cowboys

Old farming building

People wandering in the road

The road!

The setting sun

Industry around Volgograd

Pipe bridge

Border crossing.
Moscow sign, 999km.
Went to Petrol station to ask for directions, cashier got local to let us follow him to hotel. Gave him some ration pack sweets.

We carried on driving well into the evening and it was soon time to try to find a hotel. However we found they weren’t quite as obvious as we hoped. So armed with a couple of Russian phrases and our pack of helpful translation picture playing cards I headed into a local petrol station. The cashier was most helpful but after a series of sketches and gestures I began to get rather confused. The cashier noticed this and as it turned out managed to persuade a shopper to let us follow him home. So I jumped back in the mini and yelled to Jev “follow that car” (yes, I had always wanted to do that). We followed the Russian chap and his family in their car further into the small town we had stopped by. We were rather chuffed with their assistance so rewarded their kindness with the little we had, ration pack sweets, to which they seemed rather happy with.

We entered what appeared to be more of a restaurant that a hotel and were pointed up the stairs. As we walked all the way up the stairs we past a mirrored door thinking it looked rather odd but on reaching the top of the stairs and finding an empty corridor we realised that it was the entrance to the hotel. We then found the rather imposing hotel lady who seemed most displeased when we requested to see what the rooms were like. She especially seemed slightly put out that we went for the cheaper double bed room option, cosy.

After a quick and almost enjoyable ration pack meal we called it a night as we planned an early start the next day so we could do some work on the mini in the comfort of the hotel compound.

[CharlieBrown]

Day 12, Wednesday 4th Aug 2010 Volgograd, Russia to Astrakhan, Russia

Jev enjoying some breakfast

We woke up and were soon working on the mini before the temperature started to rise and make the job less pleasant (44 degrees). The main aim of the morning was to increase the height of the front suspension as we had noticed the roads getting slightly poor in some places so wanted to ensure the sump a little more safety.

Working on the mini

First we increased the height of the passenger rear that has seemed to have dropped a little. As we were now quite familiar with this it was a quick job. We then raised the front and I discovered that it was fairly easy to increase the ride height on the front so that was finished.
As we worked away we also did the usual pre journey checks but as I went to pump up the tyres I noticed that the pump had met a friend in the form of a small praying mantis, not exactly something you usually come across when pumping up tyres.

A higher mini and a happy Charlie

More pipe work over the road

We soon finished the job and headed out of the town and just as we left the out skirts we spotted the usual police checkpoint at the cross roads but with the addition we had not seen before, a foot thick pill box! A touch overkill we thought for such a small town but Russians don’t tend to do things by halves.

Police Pillbox

Cernyj Jar, Russia
Received by SMS at 4th August 2010 at 09:55
south east of Volgograd. Raised the front of the car this morning in preparation for Kazakhstan, looks good! Not much to report on, got some really good shots of russian cowboys moving cattle. Onwards...

We set off and got a fair few miles in driving past a Lada hurtling across a dusty dirt track by the side of the road with the boot wide open....?? No idea what that was about so took a picture. Further on we spotted Russian cowboys herding cattle on the roadside, things were getting much less European.

Off-road, boot open, no idea...

Sheeps

House in the desert

As we continued east we couldn’t help our journey would take us very close to the mighty Volga River. This soon came upon us and we took a small detour off the road to check it out. We parked up at a viewing/truck stop and then noticed there were cars parked right next to the water. However we realised that the only way to get down was a rather steep and sandy slope. We didn’t fancy our chances at making it back up the slope so left the mini to go for a quick paddle.

The Volga River

It’s this big!

As we turned back to head back to the mini we spotted a local car heading up another less steep sandy slope. We thought maybe we had a chance of getting down to the river. This idea was soon dismissed as we realised the track was even more sandy and that bog standard Ladas had a much higher ride height that our poor fully laden mini (even though we had just increased the height). After all we did have a long way still to go.

The track down to the riverside

Province of Astrakhan, Russian Federation
Recieved by SMS at 4th August 2010 at 13:04
south east of Volgograd, dipped our toes in the mighty Volga river! Woopee!

Shouldn’t have left Jev with the Camera

With a lot of miles done we were soon getting closer to the border so began looking for the best place to stop for the night. We picked a village and sorted the route when we came up to what looked like a toll booth that wasn’t on the map. As we rounded the corner to the booth we suddenly realised what it was for, a big stretch of river was in front of us with a massive pontoon bridge! We paid the small charge to cross and tentatively drove the mini across the bridge avoiding the massive connecting pins that jutted up. It was quite an experience.

Pontoon bridge

We had soon arrived at the village near the border where we were to stay the night. Once again we asked for directions to a hotel and as the village was so small it was only a short drive to a small restaurant/hotel. We parked up outside the front of the hotel and soon had a small crowd of kids came to look at the mini. We popped up to the hotel and we were greeted by a rather attractive receptionist (a cross between Avril Lavigne and Jennifer Love Hewitt), a very nice change from looking at Jev all day.

Outside the hotel

We chucked our stuff in the room and went to the bar for a well earned cold beer. Which actually turned out to be lime flavoured beer and once of the nicest beers I have had. So we chilled out drinking our nice beer and doing a video blog. We then took the opportunity to look at our route for the next day as we would soon be into Kazakhstan.

A well deserved beer

While we were planning we had another guest of the hotel come over to chat to us, a Russian lawyer called Zim. The hotel owners soon joined us and before we knew it the hotel owner’s father and another local had joined us as well. They spoke a bit of English so we were able to explain what we were up to. As soon as they found out they wanted to see the mini then insisted that we moved the car from the front of the hotel to the secure compound round the back.

Mini in the hotel compound (with rag to collect oil drips)

With the mini safely tucked away we then all sat back down together and it wasn’t long before we experienced some Russian hospitality. 4 vodkas later and I was explaining something that had happened during our trip with a little too much enthusiasm and plonked my head down on the table a little too hard and ended up snapping one of the arms off my glasses, ops. I then decided it might be better for me to retire for the night as I was feeling a little wobbly. There definition of a shot was somewhat bigger than I was used to. Jev stayed up for a little longer but as I was in my clever state I had locked our room door so Jev had to wake me up to let him in. It was at this point I was a little bit ill and had to go back to bed to sleep it off.

The gang

[CharlieBrown]

Day 13, Thursday 5th Aug 2010 Astrakhan, Russia to Middle of dessert near Atyrau

The next morning I woke up with a rather sore head. Jev of course took great delight in this. As I was having a little bit of trouble concentrating on anything but sitting still Jev kindly drove. So we set off for the Kaz border.

It wasn’t long before we got to the border. As we waited in the queue (and with me still feeling a little delicate) a few of the other drivers came over to have a look at the mini. One of the lorry drivers wandered over and gave us a massive bunch of grapes. This was a godsend for me as it was about all I felt I could stomach. So Jev and I thanked him as much and gestures and smiles could allow. I stuffed a few in my mouth and soon felt the horrible texture of seeds, egh. So Jev and I then sat there happily picking out grape seeds and eating our bunch of lovely grapes.
As we were waiting to cross the border we had some locals come over to chat to us and find out what we were up to. We told them we were driving to Mongolia and their response was “ahh sex tourism....yes?”. Jev and I laughed and tried to explain what we were actually doing but they were adamant that they knew why we were really going. Brilliant.

When we stopped to get the obligatory insurance we gained a rather unwanted gang of pestering kids insisting that we buy water from them. As I was in the office collecting the insurance Jev had figured that the only way to get rid of them was to give them some grapes.
With the insurance obtained we got into the border point and began the usual routine. To make the process a bit smoother Jev gave the remaining grapes to a guard that seemed to keen on getting something from us. This was devastating news for me as I was desperate for more juicy grapes. I made him pay by moaning at him for the next five miles or so. Only seemed fair.

We got through the border and headed into Kazakhstan.

Kamaz truck

Wild horses

Cemetery

Mud hut

The road into town

We then realised that we needed some fuel but on inspection of the first petrol station it seemed it was cash only. Luckily a taxi driver who was also filling up let us follow him into town to go to the bank. We drove down a rather shabby road into the centre and the taxi driver got out and led us to a bank that had a cash point outside. I got in the queue and put my card in and typed in how much I wanted and nothing happened. I tried again but still nothing. I then realised that I had typed in the equivalent of 1,000 pounds! Most likely due to the fact I was still a little out of it. I tried once more with the correct amount but still nothing. I then panicked as my card hadn’t come out. I tried to get some help from someone in the queue but they didn’t seem to understand the issue. I then checked my wallet and my bank card was in there, woops. I really wasn’t on top form. Thankfully at this point a woman arrived at the bank and asked us in perfect English if we needed any help. We explained we couldn’t get money out from the bank and she informed us that there was a bigger international bank just round the corner. So we followed her to the back, still with our taxi driver friend in tow. We changed some dollars for Kaz cash and headed back to the car.

To show our appreciation for the help of the woman and the taxi driver we gave them a ration pack bottle of Tabasco sauce. The taxi driver looked very bemused until the woman explained to him what it was then he seemed very happy. She explained to us that she worked for an American oil company and knew what it was, handy as Jev and I would have struggled to use sign language to explain Tabasco sauce. Our helpers wandered off and before we headed off to the petrol station I decided to drink a lot of water, unfortunately after 30 seconds of doing this I threw it straight back up. I then realised that I had got so dehydrated that my body couldn’t take too much water. This was a warning I wasn’t about to take lightly so off we set and for the rest of the day I made sure I drank little and often.

The scenery soon changed and things began to get more open and less green.

Russian signs

Camel

More Camels

It wasn’t long before we saw something I had only seen in films before and the main wealth of the country, oil.

Oil – nodding donkey

We also stopped in one service station and as we were paying we notice a small kitten just sleeping in the corner.

Service station kitten

We soon found ourselves in miles and miles of open dessert with nothing around as far as we could see.

Nothing but desert

Town

We also came across railway lines running by the road and saw the biggest train I have ever seen.

Mammoth train

The trip seemed to be going really well and we were enjoying our experience of being in somewhere so different. It was about this time when we heard a muffled bang from the back of the car and smelt burning rubber. Jev quickly pulled over to the side of the road. I got out to see what had happened and I spotted that the rear driver side suspension had collapsed. I got under the car and looked at the issue expecting to see a collapsed cone or a stripped hi-low. The sight that greeted me made my heart sink.

Ops!

The rear radius arm had snapped in two! The radius arm! Now this was somewhat inconvenient as I had spare cones, spare trumpets but no spare radius arm.

As we began to contemplate our situation 3 rally teams arrived and stopped to offer their assistance, talk about good timing. The teams helped us get the mini away from the road a little more (as we had noticed it rocking as the big lorries went past). One of the teams kindly agreed to take Jev into the city of Atyrau, 30 minutes away to get the arm welded.
As we were sorting all of this a Kazakh truck with some windows on the back pulled up and asked us if we needed any help. But as we had a plan we thanked them and said all was ok, so off they set.

The cavalry

Hatching a plan

Getting the mini off the road a bit more

As the teams left I set up the tent and got in and tried to get some sleep while I waited for Jev. This was a little difficult as I could hear a rustling outside the tent and something that sounded a like dogs howling in the distance.

Atyrau, Kazakhstan
Received by SMS at 5th August 2010 at 18:56
ops indeed. Got into kaz early afternoon and at about 6pm the radius arm has snapped in two. Jev gone into town with another rally team to get arm welded. Me in tent by car. Ended up with 4 other rally teams helping us out. What it's all about in a way. Jev and I ok.

Jev came back later that night with a welded radius arm but he was not impressed with the weld and showed me that the arm failed as it had rusted through. Things were looking even more doubtful. As we considered what to do the same truck that pulled over to ask if we needed help had returned. They were surprised to still see us stuck there and asked if they could help. We explained the situation and they said that they knew a welder. With the hope that there may be some way of making a better fix Jev took the arm back into town to get it sorted.
So once again I was back in the tent on my own trying not to imagine all sorts of wild animals running around outside the tent.
Jev came back a few hours later with a big grin on his face but with the news that they couldn’t find an awake/sober welder at midnight. He was grinning as our two rescuers, Salamat and Tabys (who turned out to be brothers that had their own double glazing business) had, after looking for a welder, taken him to a burger restaurant where he had “An amazing burger” and a beer. As you can imagine I was so pleased for him. Jev informed me that the brothers had arranged for a flat bed to pick us up so a plan B was hatched. We would get taken back to their house where we could wait to find a welder the next day.

[CharlieBrown]

Day 14, Friday 6th Aug 2010 Middle of desert near Atyrau to Atyrau, Kazakhstan

After a fairly bad night’s sleep (if you could call it sleep) we woke to find that thankfully it wasn’t yet baking hot. We packed up as much as we could ready for the flatbed. We left the tent up to give us at least some shade. We the set to getting the ‘repaired’ radius arm on so that the mini could be back on all four wheels to get it on the flatbed. As I moved the tyre that we had left under the car I nearly had a heart attack as I saw two scorpions scuttle out from underneath it, inches from my hands. As I just managed to not scream like a girl we got the arm and wheel back on and held our breath as we lowered the mini back onto the ground. Luckily it held good.

We then waited and waited with the boredom only being broken by the humorous sight of Jev walking for what seemed like miles to find a bush big enough for him to hide behind to answer the call of nature. We all so took the time to discuss our situation and the condition of our rusty radius arm. On closer inspection of the arm we could see that at some point the arm must have been cracked, allowing water to get into the cast hollow of the arm. The bottom surface resembled a crunchy bar and the chances of being able to successfully repair it to be able to carry one were slim to say the least. The danger of us trying the repair and finding ourselves stranded in an even more remote place was too high. That left one option, getting in touch with my friend at Mini Spares and seeing if there was any chance of getting a radius arm out to us as soon as possible.

The lonely mini

Desert sun

Lonley road

Where we spent the night

Keeping hydrated

Atyrau, Kazakhstan
Received by SMS at 6th August 2010 at 08:09
Jev got arm welded and got back late last night. Welding machine not great so only temp fix. Waiting for flatbed to take us to town and will order replacement arm to be shipped in. Then will have to figure out what to do. Carry on or head back. Will know more later today.

Finally our helpers from the night before arrived with the flatbed not far behind. We loaded the mini onto the flatbed and climbed into our rescuers air conditioned car, pure bliss. We drove the 30 minutes to their house in comfort that I certainly had not experienced in a while. We drove through miles of similar looking desert and then found ourselves in the outskirts of the city with the building getting bigger and bigger. My first sight of the city made me realise just how modern and massive it was. We weaved our way through the streets until we arrived in the neighbourhood of their home. For all the modern houses the side street leading to the houses were dirt tracks as we had seen in the desert villages. However the houses turned out to be somewhat more modern. We parked up outside and the large gates were opened to a long driveway where the mini could wait until it’s new arm arrived.

We were welcomed into our rescuers home and met the members of their families. Salamat introduced us to his wife and two small children. Tabys then introduced us to his wife and two small children. Their parents also lived with them so we got to meet them as well.
No sooner than we had got there than we were being treated to a lovely traditional Kazakh meal of meat stew. As I had not been feeling great for the past few days I’d not eaten much for a few days this meal was brilliant. I think I may have even had thirds! We couldn’t have been welcomed more warmly.

Atyrau, Kazakhstan
Received by SMS at 6th August 2010 at 12:09
well mini now recovered to the amazing kaz family's house where we have just been fed. Spare radius arm almost on order, looks like mini spares are going to sort postage, legends! Fingers crossed it's quick. Thanks to all the teams we saw yesterday and today!

As we were chatting we found out that they were more than happy to have us stay with them in return for teaching them some English. Now Jev and I may not have been the best choice for English teachers but we did what we could.

Atyrau, Kazakhstan
Received by SMS at 6th August 2010 at 13:27
well things are looking up. The family are letting us stay in their house in exchange for teaching them English. One lesson done already in between them fitting windows in town. Part has been ordered and will be sent out 4 uk time. We just hope it gets here quick.

We were then driven to another part of the city to their sister, Saltanat’s house to meet her and her family. We soon arrived at a large house and were greeted by another big family. The sister and husband owned a nearby cafe and recording studio. They also had a son Asylbek who was learning to be an English translator so when he arrived home we were able to have a basic conversation with everyone which was great.

Rescued!

Atyrau, Kazakhstan
Received by SMS at 6th August 2010 at 19:11
had 3 meals this afternoon. Lunch here. Followed by local beer and cheese. Then dinner. Then round to sisters big house for supper and tea. Now seen the wedding album as well. We have been really treated brilliantly. Off to sleep now.