Having made it to Mongolia Dave and I are both back in London via a tour of Western Europe's stag-weekend hotspots, so that pretty much counts as a win.
This is just a quick note to say cheers to everyone who donated. As of today we've raised £1625.81 which possibly may not be enough to bring about a digital revolution, but it will a long way in Mongolia (converted it's 3,809,543.98 Mongolian tugriks). World Vision UK will shortly be transferring the funds to WV NZ who run WV's programs in Mongolia.
It was a real eye-opener to visit the Orphanage in Ulan Bataar; I can give you my 32 carat personal guarantee your money will be going to a great cause. If you'd like get involved or know more please visit: http://www.worldvisionmongolia.org
Cheers!
John
Thursday 17 September 2009
Thursday 3 September 2009
Forgot about J?
Just went to the urchin collection centre run by the Mongol police and World Vision with WV's Tansagmaa. When the police pick up street kids they're kept here until there parents are found (when they want them back) or they're placed in an orphanage. The kids apparently get pretty maltreated on the street, their carer told us one of the 9 year old's was a heroin addict. Dave beatboxed with a couple which was embarrasing for all concerned, while a few of the bigger boys wanted to go toe-to-toe and arm wrestle NZ's Artillery Regiment.
Ulan Bator's a bit of a shitbox, but the rest of the country's pretty sweet. Dave's travelsick, but is still allowed to roll with the big dog.
Back to the USSR now.
John
Ulan Bator's a bit of a shitbox, but the rest of the country's pretty sweet. Dave's travelsick, but is still allowed to roll with the big dog.
Back to the USSR now.
John
Thursday 27 August 2009
Ruskia
52" 17' N, 104" 18' E.
Went to Chernobyl, Moscow. Kicked out of Lenin's Tomb for wearing flood pants. Travelled vast distances. Eurasian Interior. Siberia. Russian capitalism inferior. Russian potassium inferior. Visa issues getting car in to Mongolia. Like Facebooker with 'where I have travelled' map, filled with worldly ennui at having seen all there is to see etc.
Dave says to say hi. Dave says a lot of things.
John
Went to Chernobyl, Moscow. Kicked out of Lenin's Tomb for wearing flood pants. Travelled vast distances. Eurasian Interior. Siberia. Russian capitalism inferior. Russian potassium inferior. Visa issues getting car in to Mongolia. Like Facebooker with 'where I have travelled' map, filled with worldly ennui at having seen all there is to see etc.
Dave says to say hi. Dave says a lot of things.
John
Wednesday 19 August 2009
2 girls, 1 cab
After Milan, we did the short hop across the top of das boot to Venice. Went out with some backpacker types to some beach party they knew about. Was good times for me but Fraundorfer got lost on the wrong side of the canal and had to sleep on the street. Burn.
Post Venice we were both pretty hungover so we had another small day's tripping to Jubjub [spelling], Slovakia, then a monster day through Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary and in to Poland. Did various tourist gubbins and saw the red bull stunt planes over the Danube in Budapest.
The next day we had planned to get to Kiev, Ukraine to organise the Chernobyl tour but we were waylaid by Louis Luyts older and fatter brother, who works as a customs official on the Ukraine border. After 3 hours of interviews because in one of my travel docs it says "John Eley" and another says "John Phillip Eley", we got down to the bribe negotiations. Everything was not illuminated. After rummaging through our equipment like it was a churchyard jumble sale, first he wanted my ipod (he would get my firstborn son before that) then all 4 of our phones, we counted with all our cash: 50 Polish zloty and 10 euro. He wasnt happy with that, and finally settled on our hydraulic jack. Fortunately then his boss came over to see what was taking so long, so we put the jack back in the car and bolted.
Turns out we needed that 50 zloty and 10 euro as this is the exact fine for doing 81km/h in a 90km/h zone.
Cab watch: radiator leak was "fixed" by us realising it was just the overflow from the expansion tank, and one re-wiring of the 12v charger.
Beard watch: full and lustrous, like Ernest Hemingway to the power of Carrottop.
John
p.s. I do have mastery over possessive apostrophes, but not on Ukranian keyboards.
Post Venice we were both pretty hungover so we had another small day's tripping to Jubjub [spelling], Slovakia, then a monster day through Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary and in to Poland. Did various tourist gubbins and saw the red bull stunt planes over the Danube in Budapest.
The next day we had planned to get to Kiev, Ukraine to organise the Chernobyl tour but we were waylaid by Louis Luyts older and fatter brother, who works as a customs official on the Ukraine border. After 3 hours of interviews because in one of my travel docs it says "John Eley" and another says "John Phillip Eley", we got down to the bribe negotiations. Everything was not illuminated. After rummaging through our equipment like it was a churchyard jumble sale, first he wanted my ipod (he would get my firstborn son before that) then all 4 of our phones, we counted with all our cash: 50 Polish zloty and 10 euro. He wasnt happy with that, and finally settled on our hydraulic jack. Fortunately then his boss came over to see what was taking so long, so we put the jack back in the car and bolted.
Turns out we needed that 50 zloty and 10 euro as this is the exact fine for doing 81km/h in a 90km/h zone.
Cab watch: radiator leak was "fixed" by us realising it was just the overflow from the expansion tank, and one re-wiring of the 12v charger.
Beard watch: full and lustrous, like Ernest Hemingway to the power of Carrottop.
John
p.s. I do have mastery over possessive apostrophes, but not on Ukranian keyboards.
Friday 14 August 2009
I'm just going outside, I may be 5 weeks
Day 6, in Milan. I have just discovered watching Hulk Hogan's MTV show in Italian with a pizza lined gut makes you really feel like fighting the teenage mutant ninga turtles. Thus I have locked myself in a room to write a blog to avoid trouble. Just like Helen Clarke.
We have already clocked up 1300 miles. London to Paris on Saturday. The cab bounced around that crazy Paris round-about like a fly in a jar. We then had a couple of days in rural France at Fez's house. Took my rod and my fishing rod down to the river but no trout. We BBQ'ed ourselves and meat in the sun. We considered throwing away the keys, moving to France and pretending we were drove to Mongolia. However we decided we'd just caught French and were already surrendering. What would Charlie Boorman say?
A long day south to Avignon, which, like my birth city Hamilton, has a river. Unlike Hamilton it has some sweet, sweet medieval walls, perfect for defending Zombie attacks. Crap hostel room made worse by nagging bald man who, between him and his army of bed bugs, led me to howl at the moon.
Down the coast to Nice via Cannes. Plenty of boobs on the beach. My pale, pointy, hairy ones, in my opinion, added to the romance of the place. John's freckly ones blended into the sand.
Then Monte Carlo. Due to the credit crunch, gambling was similar to soccer mum's being left alone in a hotel during a husbands conference - addicted though pitiful. Ended 40 euros up. The cab didn't fare so well drag racing the ferrais at the lights though its amazing turning circle (the car can turn like a nipple) meant we handled the hair-pin corner with ease. I felt like Lewis Hamilton driving a wheel-chair.
Cab wise, minor leak in the radiator. It likes to binge drink on oil, but who doesn't? Conditions aren't easy. Its hot. And we drove it up the Dolomite's today, yet she seems to be behaving. Some times she even over takes other cars. She wanted to run over some police officers wearing shorts and driving Segways in Nice - we all did - but she showed massive restraint. A dream girl, really.
Hope all is well. This counts as an email.
D-Rex
We have already clocked up 1300 miles. London to Paris on Saturday. The cab bounced around that crazy Paris round-about like a fly in a jar. We then had a couple of days in rural France at Fez's house. Took my rod and my fishing rod down to the river but no trout. We BBQ'ed ourselves and meat in the sun. We considered throwing away the keys, moving to France and pretending we were drove to Mongolia. However we decided we'd just caught French and were already surrendering. What would Charlie Boorman say?
A long day south to Avignon, which, like my birth city Hamilton, has a river. Unlike Hamilton it has some sweet, sweet medieval walls, perfect for defending Zombie attacks. Crap hostel room made worse by nagging bald man who, between him and his army of bed bugs, led me to howl at the moon.
Down the coast to Nice via Cannes. Plenty of boobs on the beach. My pale, pointy, hairy ones, in my opinion, added to the romance of the place. John's freckly ones blended into the sand.
Then Monte Carlo. Due to the credit crunch, gambling was similar to soccer mum's being left alone in a hotel during a husbands conference - addicted though pitiful. Ended 40 euros up. The cab didn't fare so well drag racing the ferrais at the lights though its amazing turning circle (the car can turn like a nipple) meant we handled the hair-pin corner with ease. I felt like Lewis Hamilton driving a wheel-chair.
Cab wise, minor leak in the radiator. It likes to binge drink on oil, but who doesn't? Conditions aren't easy. Its hot. And we drove it up the Dolomite's today, yet she seems to be behaving. Some times she even over takes other cars. She wanted to run over some police officers wearing shorts and driving Segways in Nice - we all did - but she showed massive restraint. A dream girl, really.
Hope all is well. This counts as an email.
D-Rex
Sunday 2 August 2009
Blogging, so lame. Everything's so lame.
Hi
Welcome to the blog, we'll be using this to update you on our 'hilarious' misadventures while we're on our trip.
No news yet, except we're basically ready to go. We only need to pick up our cab/money-blackhole from the garage and get our fully visa-ed up passports.
Oh yeah, and don't forget our leaving party for Londoners at the Coach and Horses in Soho.
Laterz
John
Welcome to the blog, we'll be using this to update you on our 'hilarious' misadventures while we're on our trip.
No news yet, except we're basically ready to go. We only need to pick up our cab/money-blackhole from the garage and get our fully visa-ed up passports.
Oh yeah, and don't forget our leaving party for Londoners at the Coach and Horses in Soho.
Laterz
John
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