High Point : Finally Getting out of Omsk after a 2 hours drive around the town!!
Low Point : Realising it was “slightly” my fault that we were driving around Omsk for 2 hours…
No Point : Why does Steve ALWAYS leave one sock around on the floor when he leaves anywhere.
Russian Word of the day : Imodium…. Thank God its pronounced the same !!
High point: THE BORDER CROSSING without doubt, 3 hours 55 mins (Ben won the FTFE crew bet…again). The Kazakhs were so friendly on the border, and Martha got her usual fan club, and to be fair, as it was such a quiet border even the Russians were really nice and chatty. The usual problem of the carnet (Martha’s passport) wasn’t an issue as we were duly informed that it was still open for Russia. One could look at this as an error, I think it was a lucky bonus. Everyone was a winner!
High point: The remoteness of the route. Bumping along down a dirt track that looks like she was made only for Martha. This is what she was made for and boy does it show. Boooo motorways, rejoice dirt tracks.
High point: After several hours on the open road the boys were probing the land for the real Kazakhstan. Captain Steve took the wheel and also the initiative and randomly pulled a left at the only village we’d seen in the last 50 clicks. It turned out to be a beautiful decision. I think he’d had a few too many coffees and the chat and enthusiasm was coming on thick so the crew were quickly motioned into action. The locals, I think, were scared having never seen a European before, ever. We were greeted with trepidation but the cricket set was pulled from the back of Martha and quickly set up to include the village kids (Adults were coming back from a day’s farming to ensure we weren’t going to steal them). For the cricket, It’s safe to say it wasn’t your classic field setting, but I’m pretty sure the next Kazakhstan version of Brian Lara has been scouted. Hand eye co-ordination was incredible! By this stage the most incredible thing had happened. We found a young lad who had spoken English. There were seriously less than 100 people in this village. After explaining our story we were given a personal tour to the lake that was about 2km off the main trucking route. It was the most amazing campsite yet there were no other campers. The sun set on one side of the lake and rose the next morning on the other. Complete unobstructed by any building or man-made structure. Incredible.
High point: Upon arrival at our first hotel in Kazakhstan, all seemed pretty standard. Yeah, the fluorescent green paint in the rooms was pretty bright, and reminiscent of an episode of Only Fools and Horses. But, late on, after our hotel transformed into the local banging nightclub playing all types of Kazakhi-Ruski hardcore, and Dave was apprehended by the gang of local hoodlums (average age 11) we knew we’d stumbled across a real gem. Very funny. He’s still not recovered.
The expedition was only 4 days old when news came back from somewhere in Switzerland that a leak had been spotted in Martha’s fuel tank, and as Steve so eloquently put it they were “in a bit of a pickle”.
This was supposed to be the easy part and they were only 500km in, on smooth roads. Whilst most of us cursed our misfortune and held our breath for the latest news on how bad it was, there was one man in Bognor Regis that on reading the news rocked back into his chair a very proud man.
High Point – Can I have 3? Hearing the first stamp on our Carnet from the Russians, finally realising that the Kazak customs official didn’t want an actual souvenir from me and, of course, our first sunset drive in Kazakhstan!! Read more →
High point: By far the highlight of today was the drive into the foothills of the Urals. The Ural mountains are traditionally seen as the division between Europe and Asia; they stretch nearly 200km from the Arctic in the North to Kazakhstan in the South. Although this was quite a long section with roughly 420km to cover and each of us doing two lots of one hour stints at the wheel, the scenery more than made up for the long drive. Long gone were the barren featureless landscapes of central western Russia and we welcomed the beautiful birch and pine forests of the Urals, punctuated with inviting lakes and rocky outcrops. Oh fresh air finally, I think we all took a huge gulp and it surprised me how long the conversation about our surroundings lasted; I think twenty days without a little TLC from our girlfriends and our feminine sides are blossoming. Read more →
High point: Today was exactly what the doctor ordered. After 18 days the agony was increasing exponentially. The constant view of gravestones and freshly crashed trucks by the side of the road, and near fatal accidents every 5 minutes was beginning to weigh heavy. Then today, out of nowhere, the roads stopped looking bombed, the skies cleared of smoke, and our fellow truck drivers almost started behaving themselves. Don’t get me wrong, we still have 40 tonne trucks coming at us head on, it just doesn’t happen as often. Awesome views, sweeping roads and big chat. Now this is what we signed up for. Love it !!!!
High point: Lots. It was an incredible day. We set off early and arrived in Kazan before lunchtime at the Mercedes garage. They were massively welcoming and loved what we were doing. Using a lot of body language and finger pointing we eventually manage to explain the problem. The chief then rallied the troops within 10 minutes and they started work. In the meantime he let us know, if we wanted, the lovely Veronica would show us around Kazan. Wow! She was a definite 10 for her knowledge of the town, friendliness and her legs. Beautiful. The guys at Kazan Mercedes garage were amazing throughout. We all can’t thank them enough for helping us in our time of need and if they’re ever in London and need a helping hand we’ll happily oblige (we’re good with guided tours of tower bridge, trading strategies, bean counting or golf lessons)
