Thursday 31st May - to Altai

Midday: We were on the road again by 7:15am, with only 100 miles to Altai. Now stopped for lunch - not hungry but will try. On Schedule, and car going well.

Later: We have arrived in Altai. Seb did a heroic 9 hour drive through a featureless desert. Now looking for somewhere to wash up and internet access.

Later still: I've got some great pics to post, but after a frustrating half hour or so I've given up on the technology here. They'll have to wait.

Text just received from Kip and Carmen: " We just spent 2 hours to get out of Mongolia and 6 hours to get into Russia. Then still drove 230 km to big town. Arrived 9.30 pm (30th May). Had yet another fright as car made terrible noise but suddenly it stopped."

Meanwhile, more on the route: Effectively we're driving Mongolia's M4 - the only road west from the capital, and yet we've hardly seen any other traffic - today I think it was 3 or 4 jeeps/minivans and a couple of motorcycles- one of which was ridden by a herdsman who was showing us onto the right road after we had followed the wrong one for eight miles - it turned out to end at an oasis, with some very scenic camels. Even with GPS and the best maps UB could supply (1:500,000) it's a challenge to stay on route. The correct route is usually a braided lattice of tracks which fan out over several miles. The 'main' one is usually so corrugated that the side ones are kinder on the car, but there is always the risk of inadvertently taking a fork as we did today.

The desert is bleak and beautiful, but there's a lot of it. I think we're ready for a change, even if it does mean fording rivers of meltwater. The flora mostly consists of miserable scrubby bushes hanging on to a grim existence, but there are patches of colour with purple irises and a pinky gorse-type flower. Sometimes there is something very fragrant underfoot and we drive through a beautiful scent. The hundreds of gerbils that scattered in front of us a couple of days ago have disappeared, to be replaced by much less frequent marmots, who seem to choose to build their burrows in the middle of the road. Otherwise there are domestic animals; bactrian camels, horses, sheep, goats and occasional cows. These seem to roam freely, but sometimes you'll see a lone herder riding a horse, camel or motorbike- no sign of any gers or anyone else for miles. The birdlife is sparse - one small brown bird with a white rump is ubiquitous, and there are large numbers of eagles - a majestic sight.

We've been following the progress of other drivers bringing up the rear and, if we can make good time for the next few days, there is a good chance that we'll be in Novosibirsk to share a beer with them on their rest day. It sounds as if many of them have had greater problems than us. The Austin 7 engine hasn't objected to the low octane fuel we're feeding it and, having lightened the load a lot in UB, and taken an angle grinder to the bodywork at the rear where it was bottoming out, the suspension seems to be fine. We've got a rigorous schedule of daily greasing to try to prevent the desert sand (which gets everywhere) from causing too many problems.

Must go now - beer calling.


Further update from Kip & Carmen from the road north(via daughter Danica)
They had to drive 90 miles back as they forgot their passports!!
They visited main Buddhist monastery in Siberia for morning service. Had lots of mobile photos taken by passing motorists then they stopped further on and tried to waive folks down to take more pictures. Some huge potholes appeared which were difficult to see. Could break axle or tear wheel. Very steep up and down.