23/11/17 The final post

20,066 miles 19 countries 25 border crossings too many police stops to count What a journey! more impressively: 0 punctures 0 crashes 0 muggings 3-4 bribes We've met the most wonderful people; seen the most beautiful countries; and i can't wait to go again!

21/11/2017 The Baltic states

Estonia A country I have never really thought about before, but beautiful and full of ruins. We found ourselves stopping at well preserved ruins by the road but entry was free and you had the run of the place. Narva castle A very cool border crossing, I felt I should have been on a horse...

13/11/17 Where Russia meets Europe

Moscow Moscow was exactly as I expected. This city inspires awe wherever you look. Red square is huge with the kremlin on one side; st basils on the other; national museum on the flank; and the lit up GUM mall. It lives up to its hype and more. We were lucky enough to catch a...

05/11/17 The police tried to deport us from Russia

So the story begins with us walking through Moscow's Gorky park, along the banks of the river. Taking photos along the way, we stopped for a rather impressive official looking building on the other side of the river. A minute or so later a police car pulled up in front of us. Three guys jumped...

04/11/17 Suzdal: olde idyllic Russia

Suzdal is your quintessential olde Russian town. As part of the golden triangle it is one of those places you can't miss. Fortunately the trans-Siberian train doesn't go through it so it remains more untouched and slightly quieter than other places. We spent a morning exploring its picturesque streets lined with wooden buildings and amazing...

03/11/17 Siberia and Urals:The start of the return leg

It is difficult to cram 2 weeks and 3500 miles worth of Russia into one blog post, but here goes... Without cutting the car in half, removing the engine or any other crazy plan, we are left with one option: to leave Russia with the car. Due to high import fees it is impossible to...

17/10/17 Ulaanbaatar and North Mongolia

Ulaanbaatar is modern with the character of a Western city. It is a world apart from the rest of the country. Having said that there is not a great deal to see or do. But no one comes to Mongolia to see the cities! We spent a day exploring the city on foot. The Narantuul...

14/10/17 We made it (Ulaanbaatar)

We leave Tolbas quieter than how we arrived and climb to 2600m on the mountain pass to Khovd where it is -6C and the road is icy. Navigation is difficult and you just have to look at the bearing from google maps/maps.me. Surprisingly we find a cafe in the middle of nowhere and eat the...

08/10/17 Western Mongolia part 1: The day the exhaust fell off

We arrived in Kosch-Agatsch at night, a quiet town with not much going on. Santiago from the boat is already at the hostel to greet us with a great dinner also. And we are all hyped with anticipation that tomorrow we head into Mongolia. The crossing takes all day. On the Russian side we are...

05/10/17 The Trans-Siberian roadway

And so the journey through Siberia begins... Almost immediately the road surface improved, a stark contrast to many Kazakh roads. Having crossed at midnight it was pitch black and bitterly cold. Arriving in Omsk, we turned up to a hotel...which didn't seem to exist. So exhausted we slept in the car outside. That morning we...