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The story, as reported en route by the Wrinklies  . . .

20th April 2007
Wrinklies have been joined at the last minute by Barney, the school teddy from MONKTON CEP SCHOOL in Kent, UK. Barney's mission is to keep an eye on Jonathan and report back on his behaviour! Barney has his own hammock in the van and you can see him at the top of this page.

23rd April 2007 
Day 1 started quite eventfully. On the way to Dover Jonathan and Phil suffered a catastrophic electrical failure with their auxiliary power sockets. For some unknown reason they reduced some vital pieces of equipment to clouds of acrid smoke. Having contained the situation they continued on their way with the aid of backup facilities. Using on board communications, a request was sent ahead to Latvia where replacements will be waiting in a few days time. Not to be left out, Jeff and Tegwyn left their spare set of keys at the Prospect Filling Station in Minster after fueling up to get them to Belgium. Again the on board communications came in useful and the keys are now on their way to Moscow for collection some time next week.

First stop after leaving the ferry was near Veurne in Belgium where Ludo and Miriam supplied coffee, biscuits and home made cheese and jam sandwiches. All jerry cans and reserve tanks are now full and the next fuel stop will be somewhere near Russia.

24th April 2007 
No major dramas so far on day 2 with just a morning's drive to Berlin and an overnight camp about 20 miles from the Polish border. Sightseeing in Berlin included the Brandenburg Gate and Checkpoint Charlie. The vans were driven into a pedestrian area right by the gate for a photo opportunity, and a quick escape made just as the Polizei arrived.

Each day brings a new challenge and today's problem may last a while. Jonathan awoke from his pit to find he has no hair brush! Despite our best efforts to find Herr Cole a suitable hair device in Berlin, nothing of sufficient industrial quality could be found. We'll keep you updated with developments on this front.

25th April 2007
All's well on day 3. We had a bit of a scare when we awoke in our makeshift forest campsite and found we had parked next to a sign which said something like: ZONE MILITARIE - KAMPING IST VERBOTEN - EXPLOSIV VILL MAKEN POPENBANGEN UND FLASCHENSPARKEN. So we made an early start to the Polish border. 12 hours later we've stopped for the night at a truck stop not too far from the Lithuanian border. Tegwyn decided to order ham, egg and chips at the truck stop restaurant. The ham and chips appeared to be going well but the egg required a little more effort. Tegwyn produced a classic interpretation of a chicken laying an egg which had everyone laughing, but wasn't good enough as we ended up with chicken, chips and beef gravy!

26th April
Day 4. We left our campsite about 60 miles from the Lithuanian border for a relatively uneventful drive up to Latvia. We chose the longer route via Kaunas to avoid entering and leaving a small area of Russia which is landlocked by Lithuania. Although Poland, Lithuania and Latvia are in the EU, they still maintain a border checkpoint. For some reason the officials always look at our vans and laugh when we tell them where we're going.

27th April 2007

28th April 2007

Day 6. Up at 6.00 am for breakfast with Kaspars before leaving to meet up with Maruta and Vilis near a town called Madona, and then on to the Russian border. We arrived at the border about 11.00 am and completed formalities just after 7.00 pm. The other side of the border there was a queue of trucks nearly three and a half miles long waiting to go into the EU. Good job we arrived on Saturday when it's quiet. Now camped somewhere in Russia near a road. Goodnight.

29th April 2007

Day 7. Phil has relinquished the task of today's update to Tegwyn (me), so be ready for poor spelling - I'd blame the Cyrillic keyboard. Its quite a handful.  We are in the flat of John's Muscovite friends, and here is what happened since yesters...  We recovered from the 8 hour fandango at the Russian border, and awoke in vans at 2 degrees C below. Our sleeping arrangements were put to the test, and did pretty well. I was wearing the Santa Claus hat Jeff put in, and woke him up with the tinkling of the bell. Hey, why should I care, I was warm, and nobody was  watching.  Not the case though at 8am, when we'd bee rolling through  the empty forests towards Moscow. A traffic policeman (read bored youngster in a green cammo jacket 2 sizes too big) pulled us in for speeding. We were handicapped not only by lack of language, but also ignorance of the speed limit. Willis and I each emerged 200 roubles (4 GBP) lighter, and me a little wiser. Phil, the third wicked driver hid behind the door of the copcabin and escaped unscathed. Funny, we didn't get a receipt for the cash...

The road was the worst yet until we got near Moscow - plenty of potholes linked by tired tarmac in deep ruts. But the vans are standing up to it ok so far. Tomorrow our Russian friends will take us around Red Square etc - should be excellent. There's some loose talk of an Ice Hockey match (Latvia v Sweden) in the evening, but we will see how weary we all are.

30th April 2007 

Day 8.  After a short period of instruction we were let loose on the Moscow Metro.  Friends Victor, Svetlana and Natalia provided us with a very informative tour of a beautiful city, which included several hours inside the Kremlin.  At one point we lost Jonathan for a few minutes and were worried that he'd been arrested by the Hair Police.  We've found a temporary solution to the hair brush problem.  He puts his head out the van window at 50mph for a tidy up, but it greatly affects fuel consumption and takes ages to get the flies out.  Communications will now get difficult.  Thanks to everyone for the messages from the website.  We've had contact from America, Australia, France, Spain, Malta, Egypt and a few from England! Please keep them coming as they're our only contact with normality.  Now on our way to Volgograd, roads good and very bad.  Weather varying between snow and sunshine.

1st  May 2007
Day 9. Time to say farewell to our friends in Moscow who looked after us and showed us the highlights of the city. Many thanks to Victor, Svetlana and Natalia for their wonderful hospitality. Our visit wouldn't have been anywhere near as interesting without them. "I hope this isn't the last town where we can get sticky buns" says Jeff.

The next destination, Volgograd, is 600 miles South East of Moscow via the M6. The road is long, straight and quite often very rough. The countryside is flat, open and featureless. The journey is broken only by the frequent Police check points where we quite often get stopped and interrogated out of curiosity. The Police are quite friendly and polite (we think!) and usually release us after a look at our paperwork. Day 9 also saw the first real breakdown when Vilis and Maruta's Mercedes van stopped with electrical problems. The problem was diagnosed as a broken alternator terminal and a temporary repair was improvised, which has since become permanent. Our overnight camp was made on a village sports centre car park, and we had a very enjoyable meal of lamb kebabs (Russian style) and chips under a flickering electric light in a nearby roadside Mandy's Munch Box style cafe.

2nd May 2007
Day 10. On to Volgograd via the M6 (don't confuse it with the UK M6 as there is no resemblance whatsoever) where we arrived mid afternoon. The main attraction here is the statue of Mother Russia which stands 72 metres tall on a hill overlooking the city. Volgograd, previously known as Stalingrad, suffered a German siege in the winter of 1942/3 and paid a terrible price, but probably saved the country (and perhaps the war). The statue is a peace memorial built on a hill top which witnessed one of the bloodiest battles of the siege. One and a half million, many of them civilians, lost their lives in six months. They are still digging up their bones now. Soviet soldiers are remembered by an eternal flame in the very moving hall of remembrance on the hill below the statue. Modern Volgograd has very little of interest, so after some refreshments we headed South out of town and made a detour through a pretty wooden village to find the bank of the mighty river Volga for an overnight stop just as darkness fell. "Is very good" said Meruta. She was right too. We have enjoyed the text messages from home coming in on the satellite phone - an important link with home.

3rd May 2007
Day 11. A short 270 mile drive to Astrakhan through more featureless countryside running alongside the River Volga. We encountered more Police checks which are becoming a bit routine. Nobody else has been "done" for speeding so far and condition of the vehicles doesn't appear to be an issue. Phil seems disappointed. "We should make things a little more interesting by swapping documents around and presenting someone else's papers." It had very little effect on the procedure so he'll have to think of something else for a bit of excitement.

Jonathan, too, was evidently getting a little bored, so after a lunch stop he seemed to take a wrong turn and ran the van up an inspection ramp that the authorities thoughtfully provide at regular intervals at the roadside. Unfortunately it was a bit steep for the van's overhang and the tow bar dug deep in the tarmac. We spent a happy half hour snapping a towrope and learning how to pull vans out of trouble. "Good weld job" he said afterwards, looking at the untroubled bar.On arrival at Astrakhan we had a quick look around the Kremlin and made for a campsite south of town which promised hot showers, cafe etc. etc. In reality this turned out to be a dilapidated soviet style holiday camp consisting of dormitories and little wooden huts for glowing factory workers to enjoy. As expected, the place was empty, the facilities were basic to say the least and the hot shower promised for eight o'clock in the morning didn't materialize. We're now hoping for a 7 pm shower but hear that the water has gone off. No problem for the toilets, where 8 open fronted stalls of rotten wood welcome the brave. We have pictures for the curious.

On arrival at Astrakhan we had a quick look around the Kremlin and made for a campsite south of town which promised hot showers, cafe etc. etc. In reality this turned out to be a dilapidated soviet style holiday camp consisting of dormitories and little wooden huts for glowing factory workers to enjoy. As expected, the place was empty, the facilities were basic to say the least and the hot shower promised for eight o'clock in the morning didn't materialize. We're now hoping for a 7 pm shower but hear that the water has gone off. No problem for the toilets, where 8 open fronted stalls of rotten wood welcome the brave.

The vans are still running quite well with only some minor problems. Wrinkly 1 (Jonathan & Phil) have a knock from the engine, and the best cure so far is to turn the radio up. Wrinkly 2 (Jeff and Tegwyn) have very little oil pressure and quite often have to wait awhile for the needle to register over zero before moving off. As predicted, the original lace chassis around the rear springs has parted company with the rest of the vehicle, leaving Jeff's ingenious bracing mechanism to keep it all together. Wrinkly 3 (Vilis & Maruta) appear to have got over their electrical problems, and are running well. "Is good" says Meruta.

There's much fun and laughter all the way as even the simplest of tasks turns into chaos. Not knowing the system or the language makes refueling an experience not to be forgotten. Producing a plastic card for payment causes even more confusion, but somehow it all ends up well, with everyone having a laugh.

We're now only a day away from Kazakhstan where we have no idea what to expect. Currently we're three hours ahead of UK time, but don't know if we move on another hour in Kazakhstan. Eighteen months in the planning and we don't know what time it is!

4th May 2007

Day 12. Wrinklies stayed extra day in the same place, because some of Kazakhstan visas will only be valid from May 5. The camp site is on Volga river bank, Volga is huge here, and those places are very famous for angling. Pikes of 30 kgs, and cat fish of 50 kgs are nothing extraordinary! Unfortunately now is spawning time, and officially angling is prohibited.
Tomorrow Wrinklies will proceed to Kazakhstan border, not far from Caspian sea. They hope border formalities will take less time than previously! (Information thanks to Kaspars, son of Wrinkly 3 van occupants Vilis and Maruta).

5th May 2007

Day 13. After an unintentional tour of Astrakhan (it is difficult to leave town when there are no direction signs - we use native guile and a compass), we eventually found our way out for the relatively short drive to the Kazakhstan border. Cyrillic road signs take some getting used to and obviously we haven't. Leaving Russia was easier than expected, taking about an hour. We were issued with tokens and continued for another 13 kilometres and surrendered the tokens to a lonely guard in a tin shed before taking a river ferry across to Kazakhstan. Several old trucks were blocking the ferry, as they hadn't the money to pay for the crossing. After much haggling a compromise was found (as it always is) and they were taken across a second time before it was our turn. At the the other side the entry process took almost six hours of waiting, form filling, rubber stamping etc. before we were finally in Kazkhstan. Whilst waiting for the ferry, we took advice from a truck driver who strongly advised against taking the direct route to the Aral Sea. "The road extremely bad. Take new road north to Oral then south to Baikonur". Sound advice. We made the 300 mile detour through Oral. At the Caspian Sea a 5 mile detour on sand roads took us to a fishing village on the shoreline. Wild horses were dancing in the waves (if there had been waves). A Transit type vehicle was up to its axles in the water, bringing in the catch. There was little sign of oil drilling activity in the area although the Chevron oil company contributes about a third of Kazakhstan's total tax revenue from this area. We continued towards Oral on first good, then bad roads. We stopped in a field on the road to Oral.

6th May 2007
Day 14. On through Oral where we had a cafe lunch. JC said "This looks like kebabs on the menu". But it definitely wasn't. We took on a few supplies and headed South towards Aral. Police checks were becoming less frequent which was a shame as we had developed a new approach to them. Jonathan had recently discovered the moisturizer he had been using on his face was in fact anti-bacterial hand wash which had the opposite effect to moisturizer. With a bright red face, peeling nose, and the ongoing hair problem he looks like Medusa in a very bad mood, and we made him our first point of contact with the police. This reduced the processing time quite considerably. The further away from Oral we traveled the worse the roads became. We had road work detours through sand which the vans could only just pull through, and to make matters worse we had strong wind and heavy rain. As night began to fall we pulled up on a piece of high ground by the roadside so we would at least be able to get back on the road if the rain worsened. Strong winds continued through the night but the rain had eased by morning.

7th May 2007
Day 15. The wind's dropped and the sun's shining, but the cold overnight temperature took it's told on Vilis and Maruta's van which had to be tow started. "Is better" said Meruta. The Silver Bullet eventually found enough oil pressure and we set off towards Aral. It wasn't long before the road deteriorated again, and remained bad to terrible for the rest of the day. Bored with the 2nd gear progress and lack of police checks, Phil invented a new sport of "extreme toast making" over the rough roads so that Jonathan could have his marmalade. Phil said "It's quite difficult keeping everything together whilst airborne. The runny marmalade proved a bit tricky, but it tasted good". Unlikely to become an Olympic sport, then.

This area is extremely remote and we saw very few houses today. Diesel was difficult to find and in 10 hours hard driving we've only covered 300 miles. The night camp in a sandy lay-by was very welcome. We sat around the cooker and feasted on goodies from home. Messages on the satellite phone from friends all over the world helped to maintain our good spirits.

8th May 2007
Day 16. We set out again thinking the roads must get better. They didn't. We crossed into another county where the tarmac looked good to start with but soon finished leaving just dirt roads. The rain over the previous few days has taken its toll and the road looked almost impassable. Huge lorries had made ruts so deep that the underside of the vans were scraping and crashing most of the time. Pot holes were more like crates, some as much as five feet deep. China Blue grounded out so hard on the back end that the tow bar bent up, which jammed the bumper against the rear doors preventing them from opening. Whilst adjusting the bumper with an axe Jonathan remarked "Good old weld job on the tow bar". The Silver Bullet got stuck in deep mud pots a couple of times, and had to be towed out. China Blue was punctured on the front, Vilis and Maruta had a split heater hose and lost a lot of water. Apart from all this, Diesel was low, even though we'd put in our emergency tanks. But humour was not in short supply. Unnamed hands poured water strategically on JC when he was underneath Vilis' van. When he got up he thought he'd wet himself in all the excitement. Vilis said "Is funny." We found filling stations cruelly without diesel and tragic filling stations with diesel but no electric to pump it. 

Eventually we found a station with diesel and a hand pump which pushed it through the metering mechanism of an electric pump before discharging through a piece of bent pipe. We only had to wake the owner to work the contraption. In ten hours we covered 140 miles. At this rate, even Aral seems like an impossible dream. However, as evening approached the road improved. The last 60 miles were a pleasant drive to the town of Aral, passing through wonderful scenery decorated with camels, horses, fox, buzzards and eagles. A lovely ending to a difficult day. As a reward we booked into the only hotel in Aral. Rooms were Ј14 a night, but Phil and Jonathan opted for the Lux room for an extra couple of pounds. As it turned out, the Lux room was the only one without hot water. The evening meal was taken in a nearby restaurant. We have no idea what we ate, but we all survived it.                                             

Aral was once the main fishing port for the Aral Sea, but is now famous for having a fishing fleet without any sea. This is not really the case as there are only a handful of boats left as a reminder of what was once a prosperous fishing town, and what man can do to nature. The sea drained away because feed rivers were diverted to irrigate cotton fields elsewhere.

9th May 2007 
Day 17. We awoke for another 7am start to find that Villis and Maruta's Mercedes had been broken into whilst parked outside the hotel. A rear window had been removed and a compressor and some clothing had been stolen. The window was refitted but the loss of the compressor was a nuisance as the Mercedes had a slow puncture. 

May 9th is a National day of celebration throughout the former Soviet Union. There was a big party brewing in the main square of Aral, with lots of young people in uniform marching about. But we had to move on to make up time on the bad roads, and we didn't know what was ahead. Vilis & Maruta discovered they had a problem with their Russian visas which expired a few days before we were due to arrive back in Russia in transit to Mongolia. They decided to stay with us for the remainder of the day, but would continue on to Almaty at a quicker pace, and make their own way to Mongolia where we would meet up a few days after they arrived. After an uneventful day's driving out of the wilderness we camped just off the road in a secluded sand pit. We gave Vilis and Maruta a good map and a GPS system which, provided they could get a message out, would enable us to locate them if they had problems.  After some fond farewells we settled for the night and they set off towards Almaty.

10th May 2007
Day 18.  Now heading South. The weather's getting hotter, and towns more frequent, as are the police checks. We pulled in to a town called Turkistan for supplies and looked at the Mausoleum, one of Kazakhstan's most important buildings and a site of pilgrimage dating from the 12th century. The impressive building is a Unesco site of world importance and restoration is well under way. 

Later in the day the Silver Bullet's rear exhaust box decided to part company with the rest of the system. A smiling welder took about two hours (£4) and we were off again towards Almaty, traveling alongside the spectacular Tien Shan mountain range that separates Kazakhstan from Kyrgystan. Our overnight stop was off the main road behind a village where we had a wonderful uninterrupted view of snow of the mountains across about 15 miles of open pasture land. This must be one of the best campsites in the world.

11th May 2007
Day 19. The 280 mile drive on good roads to Almaty took us around the border with Krygystan. According to the map we actually crossed into Krygystan at one point, but the only border control was where a side road turned off. No dramas on the way, and we managed to avoid all police checks. Our technique of hiding behind trucks and buses must be improving. Arrival at Almaty was the usual city disaster with horrendous traffic chaos, freestyle driving, pot holes and cyrillic road signs. After quite a struggle we found our way to the centre and booked into a hotel for some well earned comforts. Within minutes we had showered and the bathroom was like a chinese laundry as we caught up with the washing in the bath. While this was drying we enjoyed a lovely meal at a nearby Thai restaurant.

12th May 2007
Day 20: Suitably refreshed from the hotel breakfast we set out on foot to find the Internet Cafe which, according to the hotel staff was "One block. Just up the road." After a couple of laps around the district we abandoned the internet cafe until later, and took a taxi to the Panfilov Park to see the Zenkov Catherdral. We found two taxis, a newish BMW and a very tired Fiat 124. Keeping to the spirit of our adventure, it had to be the Fiat. The driver was a real character. He understood perfectly where we wanted to go, agreed a fair price and we set off with the radio getting louder each time he had a chance to take his hands off the wheel and turn the volume up. He was on a high and soon started break dancing in his seat and clapping his hands until Jonathan firmly put his hands back on the wheel. This only served to encourage him more. Lane changing was executed with a big handful of steering wheel followed be a brief glance to his side in that order. Jonathan's hair was beginning to stand on end - an amusing sight from the back seat. Jonathan's stern lecture about road safety fell on the cabbie's deaf ears, and he was singing, dancing and clapping his hands to provoke more reaction. It was almost a disappointment (but also a relief) to arrived at out destination intact. We paid the madman off and he disappeared at high speed to look for some more unsuspecting customers. We paid our entry fee and went into the park only to discover we were at the wrong place - Gorky Park, which is a children's theme park. Our intended destination was about a mile away and we decided to walk there rather than risk another taxi.  

JEFF
"Good trip. Great company. Amazing van."

JONATHAN
"Missing work - I've got to keep my feet on the ground. New friends found on the way"

PHIL
"Puts life in the UK into context. Every minute is a high point."

TEGWYN
"Just as I'd imagined. A good wrinkly experience that will stay with me until my mind finally goes"

13th May 2007
Day 21. We think it's Sunday the 13th but we're not quite sure. After breakfast the Silver Bullet was started but failed to pick up pressure. It was decided to tow the van to turn the engine over with the ignition turned off and when the oil pressure came up switch it on. This worked perfectly, but obviously didn't cure the problem. The van was driven to a roadside ramp facility where the engine oil was changed with a dramatic and positive effect. The Silver Bullet is almost back to the condition it was at the start of the adventure. Relief all round as it looked at one stage as if it was the end of the line for Jeff and Tegwyn.  

We drove six miles down a dirt track to the most picturesque park of the Sharin Canyon which is best described as the Grand Canyon in miniature. After some walking and some lunch we then set out for the 1000 mile journey North back into Russia, passing through some spectacular mountain scenery on the way. The road took us close to the Chinese border (about half an inch on our map), but we're forbidden to enter without a mountain of bureaucracy. Night camp was up a dirt track somewhere in Kazakhstan.

Up the road to Semey, the countryside changes from wide, flat steppes, and there are low hills to climb. The scenery is more interesting. We see 3 more camels, and lots of buzzards, or eagles. This is the place for big birds. We camp off the road, and the sun sets over the horizon in a blaze of colour.  

14th May 2007
Day 22.   We are getting very used to police stops. There are many posts along the roads here where police lie in wait for the motorist. They look out for anything odd, or different. So we are pulled up by 9 out of 10 policemen. This is about 3 or 4 times a day. We have a patter down that seems to work. Big smile . Shake hands. "English Tourist " we say, as we offer the AA International driving license, which - if lost is no problem. "$^%%*!!?" says the policeman. Sorry, only English" we smile apologetically. A brief pause, while the policeman buys time by examining the document for forgery. He's never had this problem before. Returns document, big smiles all round we are on our way.

But today is different.

First, we meet a policeman who offers us a way out of a "problem" with a $100 "fine". We have a pantomime ready for this, and prepare to take his details, while demonstrating symptoms of righteous indignation. We rapidly are sent on our way, with smiles about misunderstanding all round.

Then we fall foul of another speed trap (75kph in a 60kph zone). Lots of misunderstanding, then a slapped wrist, no "fine" and on our way.

15th May 2007
Day 23.   But this was the best one. We made good time yesterday, although we were on the road for 12 hours again. We made an early start, and were pulled by the police within half an hour at a checkpoint. An earnest young policeman spotted a lack of authenticating stamp in our visas. (We were told by the London embassy that they were not required since Jan 1 2007). Big problem. Official. We had to wait for HQ in nearby Amytoz to open up, and were taken there under police escort, where we waited like naughty schoolboys in the corridor outside the Immigration Officer's office for a further hour.

Then a palaver while we heard the dull thump of the stamp on the visas. Is it over? No - we have to go under escort to another official building. Is this to pay a fine? (Oh how we wish we could speak Russian). It's a secondary school, and a small, precise, English teacher comes into the headmistress's office with 4 policemen, and us. It's cosy. Assorted others drop in to look at us. "The police are very sorry" says the English teacher, "They want to help you out of the problem. What are your names, and what do you do here?" We too are very sorry and won't make the mistake again. The policeman writes the reports - on on each of us. We sign, gladly. It could say anything.

We gave the schools some English books brought from home for the purpose (Tower Bridge, Horses). "It is my dream to visit England," says the teacher. "Do I need an official invitation?".  Pictures are taken of us all in the library, and we are given some yellow hats with slogans supporting the regime. It's all getting to be fun. A police escort out of town, and the return of our passports. The policeman smiles, as relieved as us that the chapter is over, 4 hours after we met him.

The road deteriorates, and we bounce up and down across more steppes. We are traveling north to the Russian border. We camp in a field where the deafening sound of lark song nearly keeps us awake.  

16th May 2007
Day 24.  The border formalities, we are told, will take 8 hours here. We did very well by getting through in 3. And one hour of that was getting the necessary insurance forms completed. We are patient. We are after all, Wrinklies, and apart from frequent wee stops, cups of tea, sticky buns, naps in the passenger seat, there is much to recommend the more, say, mature, traveller.

A couple of police checks after the border, Phil was concerned that his extreme "cooking" as he likes to call it was compromised. He did not have time to make marmite on toast between police checks.

Roads are smoother here and, for the first time, the wonky wheel bearing is clearly audible in China Blue. A stop confirms it. It will have to be changed if the van is to continue safely.  We limp to Barnaul, a pleasant city in Siberia, and park off the road. The bearing must be changed. "There's a part back in the yard." bemoans Jonathan. "We brought all the spares we thought we'd need, but not this ******* one."  Though it's 6pm, the Silver Bullet forages in town for help. Meanwhile, a babushka with a remarkable resemblance to Ronnie Corbett comes around the camp and chats pleasantly about her family and ours. Her name is Nina. She has a dacha nearby where she likes to spend a few days each week tending her vegetables. She surveys the oily mess that is Jonathan and the axle, and offers some help. She scuttles off with her wheelbarrow, and we are bemused, as we - regrettably - have no common language.

Just as the Silver Bullet returns from town with news of a helpful Mitsubishi Main Dealer who can fix it in the morning, Nina returns with her neighbour and her mechanic husband. He confirms the problem, and makes a number of recommendations. We nod sagely. Ok, we say, we go in the morning to Mitsubishi. Nina then explains in some helpful detail how to get there.  We wave her goodbye, smiles all round. More new friends.  

17th May 2007 
Day 25.  Artem Alexandrov, and the manager Alexsey Larin at the garage turn out to be fantastic. Lev and Serge, the mechanics get in the right parts, and fix the bearing by 3pm. Artem speaks good English, and takes us to a botanic gardens nearby where he was a student studying ecology. There is a huge range of horticultural hybrids, mosquitoes, trees, eagles and falcons, two vultures, and mosquitoes. Did I mention the mosquitoes? They could be mistaken for small vultures. Even the vultures were sick of them.  

We had a look around Barnaul, and picked up the Van. It was beautifully done. We chat to Artem and Lev. They are much amused by the vans and our plan. They say they saw an English customer last year, as well.

After collecting our refurbished van we headed out of Barnaul towards Mongolia but soon found that now the "throb" of the damaged front wheel bearing had gone we could hear the "growling" of what we thought was the rear wheel bearing. A roadside stop to jack the van up and check confirmed our suspicions, rear nearside wheel bearings needed replacing. It was decided that it would be too risky to carry on as we were leaving the last major town before starting the most arduous part of the journey through Mongolia. We returned to our Mitsubishi friends Lev and Serge who work until 8.00 pm, and made arrangements for the repair to be carried out the next day.

18th May 2007
Day 26. We delivered the van to the garage at 8.00 am and went into town to kill time. We had a leisurely coffee in a cafe overlooking the market and then made our way to the river front where Jonathan and Tegwyn spent a princely 34 pence on a three hour round trip on a ferry to riverside villages upstream of Barnaul. Jeff chilled out on the riverside and Phil went grubbing around the back street of Barnaul. By 3.00 pm we were back at the garage where it transpired the staff had great difficulty in finding the right bearings, but they had been located and were on their way to the garage. At around 6.00 pm the bearings arrived and Lev immediately began fitting them. Lev is a great character and loves extremes, so our adventure appealed to him. He is also a devout member of a Russian Orthodox Christian community who isolate themselves from the less pleasant aspects of modern life, which makes us wonder why he helped us! He was due to leave work at 5.00 pm and travel 150 kilometers to his village to help with the communal planting of a potato crop of special religious significance. We are eternally grateful to him for helping us, especially as we found that the work was carried out in his own time and apart from the cost of the bearings we had nothing to pay the dealer. Details of Lev's community can be found at www.kistine.newmail.ru. Thank you Lev, an honest and sincere man!! We left town again, this time completely free of worrying mechanical noises and around 9.00 pm camped behind some trees, near the road in a mosquito infested field.

19th May 2007 
Day 27. Made good progress into the Altai Region of Central Southern Russia, traveling on excellent roads through beautiful mountain scenery. "It looks just like the Alps," said Tegwyn, "Even down to the wooden houses with pointy roofs." Only one problem today, another puncture on Chyna Blue which was discovered after collecting supplies in town. Jonathan managed to negotiate directions to a repairer with the aid of a cardboard box and felt tip pen whilst kneeling in the road. We had an early stop for the night in the mountains by a river, leaving a short drive to the Mongolian border in the morning. Jeff and Tegwyn donned boots and went walkabout. They found acres of high pastures covered with alpine flowers, bursting out after the snowmelt. Tomorrow, Mongolia. Our intelligence is that the border's open from 9.00 am to 4.00 pm.

20th May 2007
Day 28. We were all up and about early. Phil had managed to kick the clock sideways in the night and rose quickly thinking it was 6.30 am. In fact it was 5.30 am, but everyone else was awake, so after brief morning rituals in confined spaces (amazingly, nobody has rowed yet), we made haste towards the border where we arrived at about 9.30 am. Things were strangely quiet, and all gates were shut. Eventually a guard appeared and mimed that the border wasn't open on Sundays, but would be open at 9.00 am on Monday. Tomorrow. Our intelligence was nearly right! The rest of the day was spent about a mile off the road just outside the border town of Tasanta where we found a lovely campsite next to the river. We were on a plateau of around 10 miles by 20 miles, at 6800 feet surrounded by mountains, in bright sunshine and an increasingly bracing wind. 

An excellent opportunity for more washing, tidying etc. and a very peaceful day. Our only visitor was the local shepherd who came into camp and enjoyed a cup of tea and a Marmite sandwich (reaction to be announced) before rushing off in his Volga car to round up his straying sheep. Today was also a good opportunity for photos of the Wrinklies in their Borat style Mankinis. Unfortunately, out of respect for friends and family it's been decided that the photos are too revealing to be published. However, Phil is a reasonable man and is always open to offers on his return to the UK.

21st May 2007
Day 29.  After we got up early to go to the border we found we were number five in the queue. We arrived at 7.30 am for the 9.00 am opening. By 10.30 am we were allowed through for processing which took about 45 minutes. A stony faced Russian border guard barked "Purpose?" We said "Tourism." "Extreme tourism," was his unexpected (and unsmiling) reply. He's been watching too much MTV in his lonely posting. We drove the 13 miles through no man's land to the Mongolian border, arriving at midday. We sat for an hour eagerly waiting to be called forward when the gate was locked for lunch break at 1.00 pm. At 2.30 we were required to pay a £1 fee to have our wheels sprayed with disinfectant and by 3.30 pm we were called forward for processing. By 5.30 pm we were officially in Mongolia and on our way to the first town of Cagaannuur. The road was rough and after about ten miles disaster stuck Chyna Blue when the rear hub retaining nuts came undone and the nearside rear half shaft complete with wheels and hub came out. A startling sight for those following in the Silver Bullet. 

For a while we thought the adventure was over for Jonathan and Phil, but on closer inspection we thought there was a small chance to salvage the situation. To cut a long story short, a thread on the axle casing was partially re-cut with a hacksaw and flat file, the splines on the half shaft were filed into shape, and the hub nut locking washer was reformed before the hub was carefully re-assembled. The work took about two hours in sometimes blizzard conditions at about 7400 feet. This wasn't a job you'd like to undertake in workshop conditions, let alone stuck in the dust and ice of a Mongolian mountain side. The successful fix enabled us to continue to Cagaannuur where we camped at 6900 feet by a lake just below a pass.

22nd May 2007
Day 30. Up at dawn to check for any movement on Chyna Blue's hub assembly, but all seemed well. We set of into the mountains following the only available track. Mongolia has 48,000 km of highway, but only 1800 of them are tarmac paved. Roads marked on maps as major highways vary from deep rutted tracks to massive open plains where you choose your own route. To add to the confusion there are no road signs which makes GPS navigation essential if you don't speak the language, which we don't. The road today was rough but easy to drive and the scenery spectacular. We came out of the mountains onto a plain and headed along a suitable track towards the next mountains. Unfortunately we had to cross a river which was just too deep for our vans. Chyna Blue tried first but lost clutch drive because of the water and had to be pulled backwards out of the water to dry off. Water came out of the doors when Phil opened them. 

We searched unsuccessfully for an easier crossing, and Tegwyn waded the freezing river several times in search of water that was less than knee deep. Finally, we drove to the nearest nest of Gurts (traditional round nomad dwellings made of felt from their animals) and negotiated a tow across by a large Russian Uaz truck. "The best $20 I've spent for a while." said Jonathan. This became a social gathering. All the villagers came out to meet us, and were thrilled to present some nice photo opportunities. Seeing their picture in the camera was a source of great hilarity. "They are so much like the Nepalese," said Tegwyn, "Always ready to see the funny side. Always helpful if you are in a jam." It's great being amongst them.

Safely across the other side we promptly lost the track we were following and, trusting in the GPS, we delicately crossed a trackless plain of sharp stones in search of the yellow line on the map. To our surprise this worked and we found the track into the mountains. To start with everything was OK but as we drove further up there was snow, which made following the track increasingly difficult. The road became rougher, the snow deeper, the weather started closing in and Chyna Blue had a puncture and burst another tyre on the rocks. A quick change was made and we were on our way again. At times it looked like we wouldn't get through as the vans were sliding all over the place, and grounding on the sump guard when the wheels dropped into the deep ruts formed by the UAZ jeeps which are the nomad's workhorse. "A pretty impressive bit of kit" says Jonathan. 

At last we emerged out the other side of the pass on to a flat plain in front of a beautiful blue lake, famed (in the Lonely Planet guide, at least) for its birdlife. We did see some graceful cranes and colourful ducks.. Crossing the plain was easy after the mountain pass, but we had another mountain range to tackle before reaching civilization, as represented by Ulaangom. By now the poor weather had abated and although it was late afternoon we decided to make the crossing. As it turned out this pass was a delight, the scenery was breathtaking, the tracks were good, the sun was shining and we were escorted in convoy by a UAZ jeep. When we first stopped them to discuss the approach, it had stopped to help us. We were amazed to see no less than twelve Mongolians get out of the 4 seater. They were fascinated by the vans, and pressed their faces to the windows to see in.

We descended the other side of the mountains towards Ulaangom and to our surprise found a tarmac road which started about 20 miles from the town and was in reasonable repair. We waved goodbye to our new friends in the UAZ as we arrived in town. At a bank we changed money just before it shut at 8.00 pm and headed for the Chengis Steak House we'd spotted for a blowout. We celebrated our arrival in Mongolia with steak(ish) and chips etc for around £2 a head including starters and beer. The meal was very good, let's hope it stays that way for tomorrow! Camped just outside town near the end of the airport runway. We don't expect too many flights overnight as there are no runway lights.

23rd May 2007

Day 31.  After a leisurely breakfast we ventured back into town for supplies, internet cafe and vehicle repairs. Chyna Blue had two flat tyres to be sorted and the Silver Bullet had part of the exhaust to be welded back on. One of Chyna Blue's tyres had a three inch split in the side wall after hitting a rock in the mountain pass. Jonathan & Phil had decided to scrap it but the Mongolians waste nothing, and the tyre fitter set about making a patch from what appeared to be an old rubber conveyor belt. Successfully completed the tyre was refitted with a new inner tube and now serves as a "reserve spare". All work completed, the Winklies reassembled at the market for a quick look around. Choice of food is very limited in Mongolia, and fresh fruit and vegetables are almost non existent. At the market you can buy lovely boots, traditional saddles, horse shoes and a wealth of other items essential for survival rather than adornment. After the market we headed off on the road to Mooron but soon realized we were going South instead of East towards the Northern route. After another look at the map we realized that the Northern route had a number of river crossings which, although great fun, presented potential time consuming problems as bridges are very few and far between. A vote was taken and we agreed to set off on the Southerly route. The rest of the day was spent driving across plateau and plains through more wonderful scenery. A driving experience like no other. As nighttime approached we were still at 5800 feet but decided to stop and enjoy the sunset over the mountains. The night temperature was surprisingly warm.

24th May 2007
Day 32.  Soon after setting off from night camp we were crossing endless stony plains which were littered with deep tracks. The washboard effect of these tracks combined with the lack of ground clearance on the vans made driving very slow and difficult. We pressed on hoping for a better surface but it wasn't long before the Silver Bullet had grounded out and bent the gearbox cross member. The only immediate effect of this was a knock when the exhaust hit the re-positioned cross member. We arrived at a town called Hovd where Jeff and Tegwyn had a slow puncture repaired while Jonathan and Phil soaked up the atmosphere in the town square and paid a quick visit to a Buddhist Temple for a quick spin of the prayer wheels. 

After about an hour the vans were fueled up and the journey continued until Silver Bullet punctured another tyre. A spare was fitted and we continued. Jeff and Tegwyn were feeling a little "miffed" that their oil pressure problem was no longer giving too much cause for concern and that Jonathan and Phil had stolen the limelight with their wheels falling off. Not to be outdone they set about contriving another disaster and after about ten minutes they stole the show. Having found that traveling across the washboard corrugations at 40 mph was quite smooth, Silver Bullet took off at speed and made a bad landing, ending up with two more punctured tyres and a burst shock absorber. With only one spare left the Bullet was stranded in the middle of the main supply route across Mongolia. There were long faces all round for a while until a plan was formulated. Jonathan and Phil in Chyna Blue back tracked with Jeff and the wheels to a small village they passed about 15 miles back. Tegwyn stood guard over the stranded Silver Bullet.

After much negotiation, disappointment, miss-information an attempt was made to remove a tyre for repair. This proved impossible as even driving over the punctured tyre failed to break the seal around the wheel rim. Plan B was formulated with the help of a pupil at the village school. Eventually two young men with a Hyundai car were hired to take Jeff and the flat tyres back to Khovd, about two hours back down the road. By now it was 6.00 pm and the plan was expected to take about 5 hours to execute. A rendezvous was arranged for 11.00 pm near the village and Jeff was dispatched with a bottle of water and some army ration biscuits, while Jonathan and Phil returned to Tegwyn for an evening feast of "Macquereau aux Nouilles", or "Fish on Spaghetti" as Jonathan calls it, followed by "Prunes and Custard a la Tegwyn" which was eagerly consumed in the dust, sitting in the middle of the main highway. This wasn't as bad as it may seem as the "road" was about two miles wide and only around 20 vehicles pass each day. During the four hour wait for Chyna Blue to return, Tegwyn saw four other vehicles and two sand lizards pass by.

Jeff returned just before 11.00 pm after an interesting evening. The trip to Khovd was good in the car and a repairer was found who had the necessary equipment in his lounge in front of the TV. Unfortunately a new tube was needed and the repairer didn't have one. After a phone call the tube was located in a market stall, but the market was shut. Eventually, after climbing over the fence into the market a tube was acquired and the repairs completed. The journey back to the rendezvous point was not so good as the driver had consumed some Vodka while "in town". A good night's sleep was had by all in the middle of the highway.  

25th May 2007
Day 33.  With the repaired tyre fitted we set off towards our next destination of Altay, about two days drive away. The roads continued rough and stony, and with only one spare tyre on Silver Bullet the pace was moderated to an average of 15 mph. The landscape slowly changed from rocky plain to desert like terrain and the speed increased a little before strong winds and dust storms set in. Regrettably, the wind was from behind and traveling at slow speeds we were unable to get any air flow through the radiators, causing the engines to overheat. Chyna Blue was worst affected and the only cure was to frequently turn the van into wind for a few minutes allowing everything to cool down. Night camp was made early by a small oasis type water hole with lots of bird life. We were visited by a local shepherd who took great interest in our books on Mongolia, but we had no idea what he though of the aliens that had landed on his patch.

26th May 2007
Day 34.  On again through more badly corrugated tracks and more dust on the seemingly endless plain. There were occasional flocks of sheep, goats and horses that are tended by shepherds who live in isolated Gers. What the animals find to graze on is a mystery, but they seem to survive and provide for the shepherd. Many gers now have a solar panel providing power for light and satellite TV. We stopped for a "Chai" at a roadside Ger where we were made very welcome by the owner and her daughter. Jonathan played the Mongolian version of Jacks using sheep's vertibrae. These roadside "service areas" are the modern day equivalent of the ancient caravanserai that serviced the famous "Silk Road" trade route. Usually they consist of a few Gers offering refreshments and conveniences to passers by. The camel trains have now been replaced by Russian built UAZ trucks which carry just about everything required to keep Mongolia functioning. People are transported in small four wheel drive minibuses which link the towns with journey times of up to 24 hours. There are no trains across Mongolia, and only a few major towns have an airport.