This week we’re joined by Scott, host of the Far From Home podcast, to hear about his crazy road trip participating in the Mongol Rally from the UK to Mongolia, and back again.
Travel Story - Mongol Rally Road Trip
- 7 weeks, 52 days road trip, 11,000 miles
- Same start point in UK and same endpoint Ulan Ude Siberia (N of Mongolia)
- Each team takes different/unique routes
- Tuva - throat singing
- Chernobyl
- Creepiest place he’s ever been
- The rally makes you take a tiny car that isn’t suited for a cross country road trip
- Steering wheel on the right
- Also first time driving stick
- Romania & Bulgaria
- This is where it felt like driving through the “Old world”
- Transfagarashian highway (Transylvania part of Romania)
- Turkey
- Entered 6 days after a coup (2016)
- Cappadocia
- Ancient cave dwellings with weird geologic formations
- Iran
- Must have a tour guide to enter the country (as an american or brit)
- Friendliest people he’s ever met in is travels
- Persian hospitality
- Invited them into their home for tea or dinner
- Tehran, Mashhad
- Stayed in a caravan sari
- Karakum Desert (one of the driest places in the world)
- Tip - use a microfiber cooling towel
- Turkmenistan
- Takes hours to go through the border crossing...with the power out
- It was like a drive-thru safari with flora & fauna, but couldn’t take pictures because it was a military base
- Being pulled over and then all of a sudden cars show up (there weren’t any before)
- They were the only ones in the hotel (nice 5 star hotel)
- Darvaza gas crater (“the gates of hell”)
- Weren’t supposed to drive there, technically, because they were supposed to drive in a straight line through the contry...which they didn’t do
- Had to get car towed to the border of Uzbekistan because their visa was going to expire
- The American Embassy is really important & he’s really thankful for them!
- US State Department App
- Lists travel info for all countries
- Lists consulate/embassy numbers
- “Smart Traveler” app
- Had to wait a week for a new head gasket to ship from Dubai
- Tim Cahill “An adventure is simply physical and emotional discomfort recalled in tranquility”
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