11/09/2019
7th September 2019 we arrived at the finish line in Ulan Ude!
There is lots to say and we have been travelling to the Philippines which is why this post is slightly behind us.
Well, that’s it. We have officially completed the
We covered 12,158 miles, visited 20 countries and encountered almost every type of terrain.
Many of our fellow rally-ers have broken down a number of times, crashed and even had to wave the white flag on their trip.
We feel extremely lucky to have got to the end in one piece, had the chance to honour everyone's very generous donations and fulfil our life-long dream.
But don’t be mistaken, it hasn't been an easy ride easy, it's involved a lot of work and we are looking forward to winding down for a bit.
We have seen a lot of things - good and bad - for which we are extremely thankful for and will remember for the rest of our lives.
We can now confirm our rather early midlife crisis’ have been been satisfied with a stark realisation that we do actually love Leicestershire and want future holidays no further than skeggy (or perhaps Benidorm).
We can’t write this post without mentioning out almighty waggon. We purchased it for just £100 and it has been brilliant. No punctures (which is a miracle considering the road conditions) only 1 new alternator on route, and just a few dings underneath from bad roads and big rocks. Luckily we have a sump guard that's taken a lot of punishment
We did kill the car once by crossing a river which was deeper than we had thought (Bond always makes it look cool!) but after taking a few parts off and drying out - oh and some wd40 - it saw life once again. One tough little VW polo!
As for some highlights, there are MANY! Far too many to fit in one post but our favourite place was Iran due to the kind nature of the people and beauty of the place. The media has a way of distorting realities and we would recommend the country to everyone.
The Most interesting place was Turkmenistan for the way it's run and the feel of Ashgabat’s extreme inequality.
Most beautiful place was Kyrgyzstan with its nomadic lifestyle and abundance of golden eagles.
We would however not visit Kazakhstan again. There is a lot of corrupt police which we experienced numerous times when we were pulled over because (many times) just because we were in a European car.
Finally, we absolutely cannot thank our sponsors and supporters. We could not have made it out of the UK, let alone all the way to Mongolia without you.
You helped us exceed our target for our chosen charities and raise more than £3000 for and Tilinanu Orphanage.
So, a BIG shout out to:
AR Signs
Lestercast
Bomag UK
Acorn Recyclers
Janine Edwards Wealth Management
Longstone Tyres
Parkers
RAB
ERF
Essex Abel
Cropston Contracts
Raynsway
BHC
Kendor
ENSYGN
SB Building Supplies
RGT
J Harding
Dogleby
Andy King
And of course for the fantastic artwork & logo!
