Mongol Rally

One of the good things about being single is that you get more time to do stuff. One of the bad things about being single (apart from the obvious!) is that you get more time to do stuff.

Anyway, as I like to travel and go on holiday, this year I have 'holiday envy'. I may be off to Ukraine, Latvia and Lithuania this year, but a couple of guys from work have teams in this year's Mongol Rally. I have the chance to go as a co-driver, but as anyone who knows me will know, I am a shite driver and haven't driven in about 10 years. It would be the experience of a life time though (but possibly not fun).

Here are the facts and figures on the 2005 rally....

43 cars left London... 27 reached Mongolia...14 reached the finish in Ulaanbaatar. What else happened?

• 43 cars left London.
• 27 cars reached Mongolia.
• 14 cars reached the finish in Ulaanbaatar.
• 2 teams were robbed at knife point.
• 1 car snapped in half.
• 3 engines fell completely out of the cars.
• 1 team were held for 5 days in no-mans land.
• 1 team cycled 200km to get to the finish when their car gave in.
• 100's of tyres were blown.
• 1 team got engaged.
• 1 team found a 10ft deep pot hole.
• 1 team found a 25 tonne crane that had rolled due to a pot hole.
• 3 teams attended weddings
• 1 team had to reverse up a mountain after losing all bar one forward gear
• 1 person spent 24 hours in a Kazakh jail charged with 5 crimes against the state.
• 1 person was stoned by a mongolian nomad (who he then shot at with a gun).
• 1 team rammed off the road after an arguement over water melons.
• 1 person spent a day in a Turkish hospital.
• 3 people were banned from Turkmenistan for a year.
• 1 person was detained by police in Azerbaijan and threated with a beating from a dwarf. This followed an incident with a cow.
• 2 cars flipped over in Mongolia.
• 3 teams were chased by armed bandits.
• 0 teams died.
• every team had a very memorable trip.

I reckon the highlight from that list are...

• 1 person was detained by police in Azerbaijan and threated with a beating from a dwarf. This followed an incident with a cow.
• 2 teams were robbed at knife point.
• 1 person was stoned by a mongolian nomad (who he then shot at with a gun).
• 3 teams were chased by armed bandits.

On the plus side, 0 teams died.

Alex is also threatening to enter the rally next year and as it's his 40th, I said I'd go along (unless I can talk him into the Trans-Siberian Express instead!).

So, it's either the Mongol Rally or going to Cuba for three weeks....