Home – 17th August

With Gary on his way home, Tom and John headed north across the flat desert of Kazakhstan. Thanks to our friend Kostya we had got the vehicle’s suspension freshly repaired in Almaty (following the hammering the vehicle took in Tajikistan) so now we only had three more countries to go.

Kazakhstan is the richest and most developed of the Stans, but little of the country’s wealth is spent on the roads. We were advised to take a shortcut but this quickly proved to be a mistake. What started as a good bitumen road deteriorated into a very bumpy desert track and we were concerned about the suspension. The only options we had were to take a massive detour to the east or to continue on the remaining 100km to reach the good road. We pressed on but then there was a loud bang and we knew something had broken. In the 40 degree heat we looked under the vehicle and the rear right spring had snapped clean in two, as had the shock absorber. We had to push on, there was no one for miles around. We limped to an outback railway station where an engineer found us an old steel wheel that we wedged under half of the remaining spring to give us just enough clearance to reach the next city, Semey.

Just outside Semey is the Polygon, the main nuclear test of the old Soviet Union. The surrounding area still sees high cancer rates as a direct result of these tests. The Polygon is open to visitors, no radiation suit required! No, thanks. We stayed just long enough to get the vehicle fully repaired (many thanks to Kostya for hooking us up and Yevgeny for his warm hospitality) before we were off to the Russian border.

The Russian roads were first-rate and we were able to make up some good time - we were over a week behind schedule after everything that had happened. Everything was green and lush after Kazakhstan. We drove up through the stunning Altai region through little villages with quaint wooden houses. Only 100kms from the Mongolian border our engine started cutting out. Our fuel pump was starting to leak diesel into the engine and we had to get it fixed before we entered Mongolia. We were holed up in the rough border town of Kosh Agach for four days while John and the amazing local guy Geny worked on a solution. To get a new pump would have been impossible (the nearest Mitsubishi dealer was a 10 hour drive in the wrong direction) so Geny and John got a fuel tank from an old Russian vehicle which they mounted onto our roof rack. Gravity eased the work of the pump so at least it didn’t cut out now - we were able to continue to Mongolia. By the way: huge thanks to Denis for acting as fixer and interpreter during our stay in Kosh Agach, he solved a lot of problems for us.

We arrived at the Mongol border tired but relieved: we’d made it!! We really wanted to hand over the vehicle to the CDPF in the best possible condition. We decided to not risk breaking down in middle of Mongolia so handed the vehicle over to the charity in Olgi, the first major town in Mongolia. The CDPF would organise the replacement of the fuel pump by getting the part shipped in from Ulaanbaatar which would take several weeks. We hooked up with Colin (a broken-down rallier who’d driven from England ALONE) and some Israeli and Czech backpackers to hire a minibus for the 36 hour non-stop drive to UB. Colin’s awesome card tricks kept us amused throughout the journey.

Mongolia was a world away from Russia. Towns and villages had been replaced by nomadic herders living in Gers (round tents). The landscape was just as we imagined it - gentle rolling green grasslands. The “roads” were hilarious: imagine a mile wide valley where you follow one of ten different tracks, or you just make your own new track. We made it to UB with just hours to spare before our flights home.

So, it’s been an adventure. We’ve crossed some of the world’s most hostile terrain, broken down in the desert, visited ancient cities, crossed rivers and mountain ranges, narrowly avoided a war in Georgia and met some fantastic and incredibly hospitable people. Thanks to World Fuel Services for the sponsorship. Now it’s time to go back to our normal lives but this has definitely been a journey to remember.

Where will the next Road lead?



Tom with Kostya: our new found friend who really helped us out


Big trouble - broken suspension, Kazakhstan


Heading up to the Altai Mountains, Russia


Russian village


John fits the new fuel tank, Russia


We made it to Mongolia!!


Typical ger - half of all Mongolians live in gers


Pick a road, any road


Handing the keys to Meruert of the CDPF

Almaty, Kazakhstan - 3rd August

It’s been a gruelling week but we’ve made it out of the mountains and we’re now in the leafy city of Almaty. Since our last update we’ve had very few luxuries and our stereo’s broken but we’re still heading east!

So, last you heard we were about to head into the Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan. Well, we nearly made it but then our brake lines failed and we had to drive back to Dushanbe for 200km with no brakes. After using a part from a Nissan and some Aussie ingenuity we were back on the road.

Finally we reached the Pamirs – the locals call them “the roof of the world” which is apt indeed. Bordered by Afghanistan to the south and China to the east the Pamirs seem like another world. In the middle of the mountains is a huge high altitude plateau with a lunar landscape. The plateau is crossed by the Pamir Highway, an unforgettable road trip to rival any other.

We left behind the hot valleys as we gained altitude. The vegetation became sparser and we could see snow on the peaks in the distance. The people started to look different, more Asian now than Persian. 40 degrees became 30 then 20. There were virtually no birds and the sun became blindingly bright.

As we climbed up towards the plateau we knew it would be a struggle with the vehicle. We kept losing water and overheating. At altitude water boils at a lower temperature and all the water was just steaming out from the cooling system! We drove slowly but every time the needle went into the red we had to stop, release pressure then refill the radiator from the water that we collected from the mountain streams along the way. Every climb was like this - and there were a lot of climbs.

Eventually we reached the Pamir plateau at 4000m (12,000 ft) as the bumpy road passed between two snowy peaks. The plateau was ringed by mountains and it was desolate but this added to the beauty. We saw a few yurts (round tents) belonging to nomadic herders with their goats nearby. There’s no way of farming up here (no soil or water) so it was virtually deserted. The air was very thin and every time we walked we got breathless but the scenery so spectacular we didn’t care.

As we left the region we came across several collapsed bridges so we engaged 4 wheel drive and forded the rivers instead. At the border with Kyrgyzstan a Tajik border guard tried to extort money from us. We stayed cool but after much negotiation we threatened to get the British Embassy involved, flashing the Consul’s business card at the guard. The mood changed and the boss was called in. He realised we had a satphone and were serious about making the call so he let us go. We had a fantastic time in Tajikistan but it suffers from the same illness as the rest of the region.

Into Kyrgyzstan and immediately the land was green. There were loads more yurts and nomadic people. The roads were fantastic after the potholed tracks in Tajikistan. After all our hold-ups we’re around a week behind schedule so we just drove through Kyrgyzstan in two days flat - and no trouble with the police!

Now we’re in the modern city of Almaty in the eighteenth country on our journey. Sadly Gary has to fly home due to time issues so it's just John and Tom from here on in. We just checked into a nice hotel after several nights camping. One evening to relax then we’ll head north to Russia, then finally east to Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia. Bring it on!


Heading up to the Pamirs


Pamir plateau


Friendly local


Breakfast at a homestay - nice break from camping in the desert


Fording rivers is always hair-raising, but fun


Looking back


One of the few cars on the Pamir Highway


Another high altitude climb, another bloody overheating issue


Typical yurt on the plateau

Dushanbe, Tajikistan – 26th July

Now it’s got tough. We managed to get the ferry from Azerbaijan to Turkmenistan – eventually. First we were scammed out of $100 by the ferry salesman. Then the Azeris wouldn’t let us leave Azerbaijan for 12 hours so we missed our ferry. Then we set sail across the Caspian Sea. Then the Turkmans wouldn’t let the ferry dock for 12 hours. After we docked our vehicle was trapped on the ferry for a whole day. Then we were scammed by the Turkmen police during the five hour immigration procedure. Welcome to Central Asia!

OK, it’s not all bad but it hasn’t been a smooth week. Now we’re in “The Stans”, those far away countries that not many Westerners visit. The first was Turkmenistan. This country is about 90% desert. We followed the main road along the southern border with Iran, there are only about three roads in this country. It was flat, dry and in the mid 40s. Camels crossed the road and we stopped at little tea houses beside the road now and then. The people are poor but the country has huge gas fields which the President treats as his own private property. He provides cheap petrol and bread and free gas to his people to keep them sweet but they live in poverty. Then we arrived in the capital Ashgabat which is a homage to white marble. Gold statues of the president and opulent government buildings just seem wrong after our drive through the country. We’re pulled over at many police roadblocks by coppers looking for a bribe. We play dumb and scrape by. We want to get out of here fast.

After the Karakum Desert we arrive in Uzbekistan. Corruption is still rife but the infrastructure is better. More irrigation means more farming and the people have a better standard of living. We arrive in Sarmakand, a stunning city with a long history and a proud people. We visit the incredible Registan complex and ornate mausoleums. We want to stay longer but need to push on. We’re all ill.

We arrive at the Tajikistan border where things start to look up. The Tajiks border guards are nice folk. Tajikistan is a very mountainous country that’s the poorest in Central Asia. They had a long civil war after the Russians left that’s set them back about twenty years and they were poor even before the war. Now they’re looking to the future with optimism. We head up into the Fan Mountains where the Chinese government are rebuilding the horrendous main road. We lose eight hours in the roadworks and to kill time are taken up to a mountain village by a local man, Abdrahim. The mountains are as dry as the desert but on the little flat land there is the people irrigate the land from the mountain rivers and can farm. The Tajik people are surrounded by Persians, Chinese and Turks but the mountain folk look almost European. They are also some of the most hospitable people we’ve met so far.

Now we’re in the capital Dushanbe trying to extend our visas and permits due to the delays we’ve had. We got the British Embassy involved to oil the wheels and they went above and beyond the call of duty to help us. Many thanks to David Baugh and his staff.

No one said this journey would be easy. If all goes well at the Tajik government today we’ll head for the Pamir Mountains this afternoon. Wish us luck.


Indignant camel


Desert camp site sheltering from the wind behind the vehicle - Turkmenistan


Turkmen policemen checking out the map on our vehicle - a lighter encounter with the authorities


The remains of the ancient city of Merv, Turkmenistan


The Registan, Sarmakand, Uzbekistan


Inside the dome of the Registan


Local girls in Sarmakand, Uzbekistan


Typical Tajik valley


Tajik girls


One wrong move and we'll end up in that river - Tajikistan

Baku, Azerbaijan – 18th July 2008

So, we reached Istanbul without a hitch. Driving ten hour days for a week takes its toll so we took a day off to check out this amazing city. There is so much history, so much culture and so much amazing architecture we could have stayed for a few weeks! Istanbul has been occupied and settled by so many cultures and people who have all left their mark. In short the highlights are the Blue Mosque, the Aiya Sofia and Topkapi Palace.

On day 9 we hit the road heading for Turkey’s capital, Ankara. We visited the tomb of Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey. His vision was one of a Turkey looking more West than East, creating a secular (non-religious) state that most Turks are very proud of. The idea was to shun Sharia law and modernize the country. Today Turkey is miles ahead of their neighbours in terms of infrastructure, wealth, education and health. Ataturk would be proud.

We headed North to the stunning Black Sea coast which took us 2 days to cross. Then we arrived in the amazing country of Georgia. We chose to take a small pass over the Lesser Caucasus mountains instead of the main highway around the mountains and it proved to be a good choice. We drove up through lush alpine scenery full of flowers and vineyards, there were churches instead of mosques, lots of fast flowing rivers, the people waved as we drove by and we really knew that this was a very different country to Turkey. The road started well enough but when we got to 4500 ft the road had deteriorated into a horrendously bumpy track. We engaged four wheel drive as we had to drive across waterfalls running across the road and really steep gradients. It got dark before we hit the top of the pass and when we asked for directions we were taken in by a very kind man who fed us, gave us a bed for the night then breakfast and wouldn’t take a penny from us.

We made it to Tbilisi the following night after making it down the other side of the mountains. Still recovering from the Soviet era, the young people are very optomisitc about the future, even though the Russians are trying to take back two provinces. Russian Migs had been in Georgian airspace only a few days before we arrived.

Then we headed for Azerbaijan. We don’t have anything bad to say about Azerbaijan, but at the same time there’s not much good to say either! It’s a flat, hot, empty land. There’s oil out in the Caspian sea and the Azeris are making a fortune out of that. The capital, Baku, is groaning under the weight of fast-paced development. New roads and buildings are going up everywhere.

So here we are waiting for the ferry across the Caspian Sea to Turkmenistan. Hopefully the ship will arrive tomorrow and we can continue into the depths of Central Asia. We heard that there’re very few internet cafes across the sea so if you don’t hear from us for a while that’s why!


Istanbul skyline


Topkapi Palace, Istanbul


Greek castle in Turkey


Georgian valley


Kazim - the kind man who took us in


Car on the road to Baku

Istanbul, Turkey 11th July

It’s been a long week in the car, so we haven’t had any time to update the site – apologies if you’ve kept checking the website and found nothing. Our plan has been to drive through Europe quickly to make the most of the fast roads and get to Asia where we can slow down and take it easy.

So, we just arrived in Istanbul, Turkey on day seven. We left London on the 5th July from the rally launch at Highbury Fields where there was a big Mongolian Nadaam festival. We got the Channel Tunnel over to France that night and spent the night in Maastricht, Holland.

Next morning we headed down the German autobahns and reached the town of Altdorf in Bavaria where we visited some of Tom’s friends. Next day we needed to get our vehicles aircon fixed and we found a garage where a man called Franz Bauer spent four hours working on our vehicle to fix it then didn’t charge us a penny as he knew we were doing the trip for charity.

We crossed Austria and that night stayed in Bratislava, Slovakia - then to the amazing city of Budapest, Hungary by noon on day four. We only had a quick look round but it’s somewhere we all agreed we’d like to come back to. That night we crossed the Romanian border at sunset and stayed in Oradea.

Next morning we really knew we were in an ex-Soviet country. There were abandoned factories and power stations¬ – huge rusting hulks of metal that looked like they could be used for the set of an apocalyptic film. Many of the houses seemed ramshackle and half-built.

We saw plenty of horses and carts, stray dogs, women wearing head scarfs and the “major” roads had turned into bumpy roads with one lane each way. The people seemed to think that life was cheap as the drivers were reckless in their overtaking maneuvers. We crossed the Apuseni Mountains into Transylvania, all rolling hills and little towns and villages with people selling local crafts.

We saw plenty of old ex-Soviet vehicles like Ladas, Dacias and IFA trucks. We saw quite a lot of new Audis and Mercedes, too. There is obviously an emerging upper class here but it’s odd to see this when there’s so much poverty, too.

Heading for Bucharest we entered a stunning valley through which flowed the River Olt. As we stopped at the road works Romany Gypsies walked down the line the cars begging for food and money. One old lady holding a young child noticed the packet of Cornflakes on our back seat and wouldn’t stop tapping our window even though we ignored her persistent pleas.

Staying in Bucharest that night we crossed into Bulgaria where we stopped in the stunning town of Veliko Turnovo which is built on a ridge jutting out into a river canyon. We visited the castle out on the end of the ridge, we could have spent hours there but wanted to get to Istanbul.

Crossing into Turkey last night was a bureaucratic nightmare of five checkpoints and it took a few hours but we made it! Now we’ve just arrived in the fascinating city of Istanbul – more updates to come!


Budapest Parliament


Romainian "traffic"


Romainian Church


Getting there....

Brighton, England, 27th May

Thanks to the funding from WFS we've got ourselves a vehicle worthy of the trip. We've bought a Mitsubishi Pajero 2.5L Turbo Diesel. Next on the To Do List is to get the remaining visas, get all our kit together and get some off-road practice. Only 38 days to go - and counting...

Brighton, England, 25th May

This project has been six months in the making and it's finally coming together. We have the route chosen, the website up, the maps bought, the kit list finalised.

We've secured a major corporate sponsor (World Fuel Services - details on the sponsors page) who have enabled us to make the project a reality.

What's left? We need to raise lots of money. We need a vehicle. We need eight visas.

More updates shortly....