The Way Through Mongolia

After having settled on the southern route I faced 2000kms through Mongolia. The roads were very tough - as you will see from the photos in fact, there were no roads. There are only dirty tracks across the whole western sweep of the country to the capital. The trip from the border to Olgi was a short hop - other towns would require more patience. In spite of this short hop, I picked up my first mechanical problem of the trip. I had taken a knock to the undercarriage of the car and had found it very difficult to change gear - I had damaged the gear linkages. The car was drivable but I would need it seen to, something I did when I arrived in Olgi. In Olgi I also met up with a large group of Mongol Rally folk and it was nice to spend an evening of a few beers in our ger tent accommodation. 

The next day Olgi to Khovd was a 200km distance - a full day's driving at an average of 30km/hr. This was probably the most scenic drive of the trip through Mongolia as we crossed barren steppe followed by landscape punctuated by flat lakes and then mountains - some of which required a lot of willing the car up steep inclines. The stretch also included the largest number of river crossing. The first river crossing looked a lot easier than it was - you are never really sure where to cross a river but the tracks in one side and out the other can be some guide - they cannot be taken as completely reliable though as most Mongols are pretty sensible and do not drive Nissan Micras across such terrain. They all drive heavy duty 4x4's. Anyway, I...[Read More]