Monday 29th July 2013<\/p>\n
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Sorting cars<\/p>\n
Long email from Catherine. Great to catch up. We will be in touch soon.<\/p>\n
Arrive at garage, cars outside security fence so we can work on them straight away. The garage has had the outside and engine cleaned. We empty everything out. Want to work quickly, as rain forecast. The Swiss couple arrive and present us with Mongolian car stickers. Their converted Landy was mended on Friday, and they have been camping at the Oasis site over the weekend. They will not move on today, as they want to catch up with their blog, and the Internet is very slow.<\/p>\n
Atle and Tim syphon off as much fuel as they can, and the Swiss man fills his tanks. I tackle the fridge and freezer. Why didn’t we empty them on Friday? Gross job. All food stuffs are thrown away. Other belongings are given to the Swiss, or to the garage staff. Tim tries to burn off the gas from the large bottle. We repack the car, and take a few things out that we will need with us. Such a strange sensation. Say geed bye to Swiss and garage staff. Thank them for all their help.<\/p>\n
We drive away under our own steam. Find shipping company. Tim and Atle go in to register. Hilde and I sit in a covered area on a children’s playground, eating a lolly. There are several blocks of flats. People come and go in the hour we are there. Primary aged children allowed to play on their own. Some have footballs, others are riding bikes. Parents and grandparents with younger children and babies. Several Spidermen are spotted. Older teenagers meet up, buy lunch at the local shop and sit around in groups. A Buddhist Monk is dropped off by a friend and goes into the nearest flat. A dog drinks rainwater from a puddle. A little girl goes up to our car and plays with the winch, a young man preens his hair in the mirror, both unaware they are being watched. Everyone is polite, their clothes are trendy, sparkling white shirts. Although there is some litter, including broken beer bottles, in the gazebo we are sitting in, the teenagers all put their rubbish in the bins.<\/p>\n
After an hour Tim and Atle join us. They have been told to come back after lunch. We wander down towards the main road, and find a lovely restaurant, Essence. Tim and I have a bowl of spicy chowder soup. Atle and Hilde have chicken pasta. We share some garlic bread.<\/p>\n
Once back, Atle has difficulty locating his engine number. We have to drive the cars into the container ourselves, then we won’t see them for about two months. First need import permission to China, then they travel by train and finally shipped home. As they arrive in Felixstowe, Tim has put his name and contact details for both cars. We may be able to fly tomorrow, or more likely Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Back to the hotel, under our own steam, so sort out flights. Sky turns black. We can see pelting rain further up Peace Avenue. Finding our way around without sat nav, know the area better now and looking out for known landmarks. Can’t us CB, as makeshift aerial was dumped at garage. They didn’t even charge for cleaning the cars.<\/p>\n
Scary thunder and lightning. Someone is carrying a new settee on the top of their car. It is wrapped in plastic, but hope they get it home dry. Mum carrying baby, wrapped in an orange plastic bag. As any car is a taxi, she soon gets a lift from another parent with young child. Many children travelling without seat belts. Know to turn left when we reach the Nations Wrestling Arena. Man carrying dog on his shoulders, so it’s paws don’t get wet.<\/p>\n
All emotionally drained. I have a snooze, whilst Tim down loads more photos. We eat in hotel restaurant. Averagely poor. The octopus starter never arrives. Jeanette emails Hilde, offering a free stay at her ger. So kind, but not sure either Landy would make it there and back. Astrid phoned. They were sitting in Moscow, over looking the Kremlin. They had driven very long days, the roads very bumpy and the travelling very boring. Their advice – don’t do it!!! Well, as it happens, we won’t. Rob, the Mongol Rally bloke, said to travel North of the usual route in Russia. We will do this on our return trip in 2017. Meet more people. He said the Siberians were the nicest people he had ever met.<\/p>\n
Tim and Atle go out to the cars. Our sat nav battery is flat, so it will be put to charge overnight. The night watchman asks them to move the cars, so they will be caught on the CCTV. After several beers and three bottles of red wine, they are in no fit state to drive, even the required 20m. The cars stay put.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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