Charity

“If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.” –Frank A. Clark As Steve Priovolos and I started our final drive into Ulan Bator, Mongolia, I was again reminded why the Mongol Rally, the 10,000-mile road trip that began July 14 in Britain and ends here, is not for the faint of heart. … Continue reading »

  “Never drive faster than your guardian angel can fly.” –Author unknown I am within spitting distance of the end of the Mongol Rally, this 10,000-mile road trip adventure that began July 14 in Britain and, with luck, will end in Ulan Bator, Mongolia. After five weeks of grueling driving I can taste the glory. But before I start … Continue reading »

“No one can whistle a symphony.” –H. E. Luccock   I’m usually the one stranded on the side of the road, but not this time. We — Steve Priovolos, my co-driver, and I — were driving down a Mongolian dirt track that masquerades as a main road, and I was reminded that I am not the … Continue reading »

    Depend on the rabbit’s foot if you will, but remember, it didn’t work for the rabbit. –R.E. Shay With my stolen iPhone probably already sold on the Mongolian black market, I felt as though I needed some extra luck to get me through the new day. Driving further towardUlan Bator, my ultimate goal in this 10,000-mile Mongol … Continue reading »

“Modern man is the missing link between apes and human beings.” – Anonymous When you drive across one-third of the Earth’s surface, what could possibly go wrong? Well, it turns out, quite a lot, actually. The first mishap of the day happened as we tried to cross a river in the Mongolian desert. Crossing a river … Continue reading »

  “Every path hath a puddle.”  –George Herbert Ice-cold temperatures. Frequent visits to the dreaded “pit” that masquerades as a toilet and nightmares about still being in the Mongolian border holding pen kept me awake all night. By morning I had been sitting at the border for 36 hours. The border guards were now telling … Continue reading »

“If you’re robbing a bank, and your pants suddenly fall down, I think it’s OK to laugh, and to let the hostages laugh too, because come on, life is funny.” –Jack Handey Today I have good news and I have bad news. Ever the optimist, I will begin with the good news.  After waiting overnight we … Continue reading »

“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” –Aristotle. We had everything meticulously planned. Wake up at 5 a.m. Drive 400 miles. Arrive in Mongolia. Unfortunately our meticulous planning failed us miserably. As I write, I am sitting in the car looking at the Mongolian border. We have indeed arrived. But the border is closed. The … Continue reading »

“A good friend is a connection to life – a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world.”  –Lois Wyse Many people have questioned the sanity of driving from London to Mongolia, especially after last year’s near-fatal car crash in a Romanian village. “Don’t do … Continue reading »

  “I never make stupid mistakes.  Only very, very clever ones.” –John Peel .  I have skills. Navigating around Siberia is evidently not one of them. Today we drove from the eastern Kazakhstani city of Karaganda to somewhere in Siberia. I say somewhere because I currently have no idea where we are. And this, my friends, … Continue reading »