Day 40 Tosontsengel to Tsagaan Uul

High point : After 8 days in Mongolia we’ve all become very accustomed mechanics striving to fix Martha’s wounds each morning after the battering she has taken on the awful Mongolian roads the previous day. Yesterday morning was satisfyingly dirty as Ben and I fixed the oil leaking from the back locker while Steve, Ross and David managed to answer the eternal question “how many men does it take to change a lightbulb?” as the 3 of them scratched their heads and drank coffee while repairing the flood lights that fell off the roof the night before (after some suspect driving ).Low point: Our backs . . . they are hurting from the vigorous driving conditions and although we seem to be comfortable in standing around each other with sparse clothing on (or in Ross’ case no clothes on) we are not yet comfortable enough to massage our aches and pains away.  Now where is that massage parlour!?

No point: Back seat space has become the hot topic recently.  We’ve worked out . . . Dave orders takes up WAY to much space for a man his size, Steve’s child bearing hips are never comfortable to sit next to, while Ross can’t sit in the back unless his legs are in a position so wide that it would make most men cry.  It should be noted that Ben and myself take up just the regulation 1 seat and so often get crushed by the Wimbledon wide boys (insert sympathy here please!)

Dish of the day: Lunchtimes mixture of 2 different flavours of soup (chicken and beef) to save on washing up, worked surprisingly well!

Thanks of the day: A big shout to Power Traveller for enabling us to use the lap top and iPod speakers in the most remote parts of Mongolia! David Gray under the stars always is a winner!

Mongolian word of the day: “Bi emegtei emcheer uzuulmeer Bain” . . . I would like to be examined by a female doctor.

Mongolian fact of the day: Did you know that there are 13 horses to 1 person in Mongolia.

Authors comments

The discovery of Martha’s broken floodlights left us slightly down as we went to sleep on day 39. However we woke up full of determination to fix the lights and the other little issues that have sprung up since we hit Mongolia’s tracks.

After a few hours of mucky repairs and a bit of genius work from the boys with hammers and bunjees to secure the flood lights back on the roof we were ready for another mesmerising day on the open fields of Mongolia.

For every amazing vista we’ve have had in this country (and there have been plenty) we’ve had a tough, sometimes painful journey to get there. However it’s always been worth it, and the experience of being in this great land has always proved to be the best painkiller for any sore backs or aching limbs.

Yesterdays drive was, as Steve put it, “a back breaker” and also a long one at that! But the the music was good (stage 2 are warming to Frank Turner!) and the chat random enough to keep us entertained as Martha managed her way over 150 kms of bumpy, hole infested roads. Everyday it still surprises me at how she keeps chugging along smiling as we throw her around something akin to an SAS assault course.

After a few days here I was concerned that we might not make it to Ulaanbaatar with Martha in one piece. Now with just 5 days before we reach the capital I feel super confidant she will not only make it there but also all the way back to London in 8 months time! Truly awesome!

It probably doesn’t help matters that over the past few days we have made Martha drive further than necessary thanks to some navigational “issues”. However the crew have given Ross and Ben the benefit of the doubt because the job of the navigator has become increasingly difficult in Mongolia without any road signs and sometimes 5 different tracks leading off in all directions. For me it really has become fun using just a compass, the sun and a map to work our way from West to East and South to North across this vast expanse of land. As I’ve said before its like being a kid again, just with a few more expletives spoken each day!

As night fell we found a perfect camping spot with great views in every direction (stop me if I’ve said that before!) and while dinner was cooking we engaged in the increasingly competitive game of “Dessert extreme” football. Unfortunately I seem to always be bridesmaid here as Dave beat me in the final thanks in no part to some cheap heckling from Mr Moore! Like my beloved Crystal Palace I will be champion soon!

James 🙂

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