Wales to Mongolia, Timbuktu and now Azerbaijan

Time for an update after a few days without any sign of the internet.

We’re now in Mariupol on the coast of Ukraine, about 80km from the Russian border. Having left Budapest we drove to Romania, meeting three other teams along the way. We crossed the border in the afternoon and were struck by the clear decline in wealth compared with Hungary. The towns were sprawling, with beggars coming up to us at traffic lights. The countryside, however, was beautiful. We passed through a lot of farming land where horses pulled carts of hay along the roads, often with families sitting on the top. Some had no lights, which made night driving particularly nervewracking. We drove late into the night over the Carpathian Mountains of Trannsylvania. It was very atmospheric as the road wound its way through the pine trees and mist! We eventually stopped for the night just past Suceava for a few hours’ kip.

Next morning we drove to Iasi and crossed the border into Moldova. We had to buy visas at $30 a pop, but there were no real problems. The country appeared poorer again, but the vegetation was lush and it was very pleasant to drive through. We stopped for lunch in Chisinau and promptly got lost as soon as we set off again, but eventually found the road to Odessa.

The next hurdle was to enter the unrecognised state of Transdniester in the southeast of Moldova. This involved a border crossing as official as anywhere else.  We also had to pay a few dollars in various taxes and fees (possibly made up on the spot). The guards were interested in our car and our journey. Once through we crossed the capital Tirapsol, where I had my first proper run-in with traffic police ever! A copper with a radar gun caught me doing 64 kph in an alleged 50 zone (there were no signs and the road was wide but it was built up). He asked for $30, but I managed to haggle him down to $24. I suppose it’s better than the UK equivalent of 60 quid and three points… Once I had paid he was quite happy and sent us on our way with a smile.

We reached the Ukrainian border and had to pay more fines to the Transdniesterian guards for generally looking a bit foreign. The Ukrainian guards were great, however and gave us no problems. We had to buy insurance though, as they wouldn’t accept our green card. Whilst Jim trooped off to the office, I chatted as best I could with four or five guards. They were very interested in us and asked about the countries we had been through. They were fascinated by my pound coins and a couple signed the car. Then Jim came back with the news that the minimum insurance we could buy was for 15 days, and it would cost $117! The guards were astounded and sympathetic, but powerless to help. After an hour or so of arguing, we paid up and were on our way.

We drove to Odessa and got very, very lost - there was very little in the way of signposts and they seemed to point in different directions. Eventually we saw a sign that even we could read - the Golden Arches - and suddenly remembered we hadn’t eaten all day. After the nicest BigMac in the world ever, we went to the station and we approached by a couple of women offering a room (legit according to the Lonely Planet guide!) Jim hopped in a taxi with one and the other jumped in the Lancia, which is how I found myself chasing a Lada at incredible speed through the streets of Odessa at midnight with a middle-aged lady barking instructions in Russian. I felt like I was in a straight-to-video action film, but it was tremendous fun!

The room was great, and we reflected on the day the Mongol Rally really started over a beer.

Next day we headed east again. After a struggle we got out of Odessa and stopped near the Black Sea for lunch. We (I) were stopped by the police twice more in one town. They just wanted to check our documents and a pound coin once more oiled the wheels.

We drove to Melitopol hoping to stay the night, but it was so bleak that we decided to press on. We were able to buy supplies though (bread, water, beer, vodka). We made it to Mariupol which is much bigger and a bit more pleasant. We found a hotel with the aid of a taxi driver and slept for a long time.

We will hit the road again this afternoon aiming for Russia. Our visas are valid from tomorrow, so we’re going to try a sneaky midnight border crossing. This could go one of two ways…

Dave.