Days - 28 / Countries crossed - 20 / Miles from Goodwood - 9015 

Breakdowns - 4 / Traffic Violations - 2 / Car Temp - 26oC

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9015 Miles - Ulaan Bataar

I can proudly tell you that after 28 days on the road and countless game-over scenarios, Lauren and I rolled into UlaanBataar at 2pm yesterday with 4 hours to spare before the finish line party.

After leaving Richard in Almaty, we dashed north to the Russian border and somehow managed to get through 5 checks with false documents and a car that didn't belong to us. It was a very nervy afternoon! We crossed Russia and arrived at the Mongolian border 2 days later. Once again, we managed to get the car though customs after only an 11 hour wait. Some teams were there a number of days.

No amount of off-road driving could have prepared us for what we faced in the last 5 days. There really are no roads in Mongolia. Just hundreds of dirt paths that criss-cross each other, weaving across valleys and mountains, through deserts and rivers. During the first full day on these paths we shredded a tyre and mangled the rim. We were also one of the few teams without a sump guard, which we finally acquired after 8,000 miles when a helpful garage bolted a rusty lid from an oil drum to the underside of the car. The back of this was torn off within a few hundred miles, forcing us to complete the trip with a trail of sparks in our wake as it trailed on the ground.

On the third day in Mongolia we stopped to check our wheels and couldn't get the car started again. Despite the best efforts of other teams, the convoy we were in had to press on without us. A local man appeared and began fiddling under the bonnet. Within an hour he had it going and we continued into the wilderness. Within 10 minutes the car lost power and this time we were completely stranded. Our lack of mechanical knowledge left us with no option but to call the emergency number to officially dispose of the car and hitch a lift to the finish line. We were told we faced a 24 hour wait for a tow truck, so sat under the hot sun, in a swarm of sand flies, mosquitos and ants for 7 or 8 hours. Vehicles would pass around once an hour. In the late afternoon a truck driver stopped for absolutely no reason and despite our reluctance, insisted on looking under the bonnet. He immediately noticed that the fuel line had not been properly replaced by the local who had helped us out earlier and whom we had repaid with all our beer and vodka. Once again, our journey could continue, having been convinced it was all over.

On Friday we managed to get lost on a tangle of dirt tracks in the Gobi region of the country. After 5 hours doubling back on ourselves and arriving at the same spot, we stumbled across a convoy of three other teams and managed to direct ourselves back onto the main track after driving through a waist-deep river.

Finally, after scraping frost of our windscreen on Friday morning, tarmac emerged like a mirage and led us the final few hundred km to Ulaanbattar, all be it with a few interruptions.

So that's a very brief outline of our trip. It is impossible to convey a full impression of the challenge, but hopefully a few photos will help to give you a rough idea. We are taking the tran-siberian train to Moscow on Tuesday. A mere 107 hours. We'll be back in the UK on Tuesday 25th evening with plenty more stories.

If you have been at all impressed by our feat of automotive adventuring, we are still trying to reach our target of 1000 pounds for the Christina Noble Children's Foundation. We will be visiting their project tomorrow, so will be able to reiterate just what a good job they do.

SMS Update

Cancelld the tow. Pulled back from jaws of defeat once more. Fixed car then got lost in gobi desert. Shredded wheel & crumpled sump, we plough on...

SMS Update

Broken down on a vast plain. Cant see anything in any direction. No-one has passed in the last 4 hrs. Called ahead for a tow...tomorrw. Got supplies

SMS Update

After 11 hours at the border we are finally in mongolia! What a comeback! All that stands between us and the finish line is 1000 miles of dirt.

SMS Update

Car document checked by 5 diffrnt people - the verdict: we're in russia! Most agonising 4 hours ever. Exhaust is fixed & the journey continues...

SMS Update

Exhaust just fell off 30km from semey. Tied it on with tin foil and wire. Hope it holds. Need to get it welded tonight for assault on border tomorrw

SMS Update

Last 24 hours were hell. Now 2 of us are heading to border with letter from the british consul. Let operation last gasp commence!

The End of the Road? - 6150 miles

Sorry for the lack of updates. It has been one problem after another since the epic crossing of the Caspian sea. We spent almost 2 days crossing it and were held in the port for 17 hours through the night, filling out paper work and paying taxes. After crossing Turkmenistan rapidly, we reached Uzbekistan which we found far more intersting and welcoming. We tried to cross into Kazakstan but after being stamped out of Uzbekistan, the Kazakhs decided to close their border for the night, leaving us in no man's land. We camped at the gates of Kazakhstan in the middle of the road in front of a padlock and a 'Stop' sign. Yesterday we reached Almaty.

And here we seem to have met our demise:

Richard discovered he had lost his passport. The last time we saw it was when we got pulled over by the police in a random check. We could have sworn we got all the passports back, but it is nowhere to be found. After visiting the Consulate and chatting with other teams, it looks like we will have to leave the car here. Richard is the named driver and it is on his customs declaration, so there is no way of the car leaving the country without him in it. He cannot get into Russia or Mongolia without his pasport and visas. He is going to have to fly straight home, tail between legs. Lauren and I are trying to catch the train to Semey tonight and hopefully hitch a lift to the Russian border with another team. Once in Russia we will try and hitch to the Mongolian border and then get a train to UlaanBataar. We need to be there by the 18th to get the transiberian express to Moscow. The problem is that all the trains to Semey are fully booked for the next week, so we will have to go to the station and hopefully get a cancellation. No-one there speaks English, of course. Flights to Ulanbatar go via Moscow and are hugely expensive. We've tried everything, but it looks like a small piece of paper has been our downfall. This is obviously disappointing, but me and Lauren are going to try everything to finish the trip and get to Ulaanbataar. There is a severe lack of internet, so the next update might be in another week or so. Wish us luck!

SMS Update

Wanted: two lifts to the russian border from almaty for matt and lauren. Driver richard has lost passport. 07763467649.

SMS Update

Amongst 27 other teams being bled dry in no man's land by turkmen immigration. Ferry saga from hell began 34 hrs ago. No end in sight. It's 2.30am

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