8 000 miles, 2 deserts, 5 mountain ranges, roads ranging from bad to non-existent, no support crew and all in a car you swapped for a bag of crisps? The answer is : "Yes"
One of the blogs I occasionally peruse made mention of the Mongol Rally. The blogger has two friends who have entered themselves in the race. Intrigued by the thought of a car rally and finding the team name of "Celtic Chancers" amusing I decided to check out the websites.
The object of the Mongol Rally is to drive a shit box car from London over 8,000 miles to Ulaan Bataar, the capital of Mongolia. The rules of the rally state you cannot drive a car that is in good shape or of any sort of major horsepower. The Celtic Chancers are driving a 1995 Ford Fiesta (g-d help them!). The goal is to raise as much money as you can for charity. Some of the charities that will benefit from this crazy, wacky rally are Send a Cow, Mercy Corps, CAMDA and Wildlife CRU.
I love the idea of the charity Send a Cow. Their website explains that Send a Cow works closely with local organizations to identify the most needy people in the community - usually women, disabled people or the teenage heads of families orphaned by war or sickness. They strive to ensure that recipients make a success of rearing the livestock they are given. It's not just cows though, very poor people, with little land and few resources who find it difficult to manage dairy cows, receive smaller stock, such as goats, pigs or poultry. They can then begin to rear livestock even though they cannot provide the full shelter or fodder needed for a cow. Each gift - whether it's a cow, goats, pigs, poultry, bees or even fruit trees - is chosen to fit the circumstances of the individual family. Training is provided beforehand in animal rearing and sustainable organic farming, and low-cost veterinary services are provided afterwards.
The initial gifts go on multiplying indefinitely, as each person who receives livestock passes on the animal's first female offspring to another poor farmer, who will do the same in turn. Send a Cow are now working in Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Lesotho.
I just donated via the lads website. It was a breeze to send a donation online. I asked that my donation go to Send a Cow. I urge all of you to check out the The Mongol Rally website. Pick a team you like and donate some $$$$$ You can track your team via the cool tracking page Last time I checked the Celtic Chancers were somewhere in Kazakhstan.
Here's to the Celtic Chancers. Let's hope they make it to Ulaan Bataar and back safely!
Quote of the Day:
"The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But... the good Samaritan reversed the question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?"
Martin Luther King Jr
4 comments:
I like your post on the Mongol Rally. Jamie (Celtic Chancers) is a mate of mine and I had the chance to go along with him. Unfortunately, I was unable to make it due to starting a new job.
I am just a little jealous as it sounds like the adventure of a lifetime and like you say, it raises a fair bit of money for charity.
Mind you, knowing Jamie, he's never gonna make it to Ulaan Bataar :)
When I read about it on your blog I loved the idea. I would love to do something like that. Don't know if I would make it either but it would certainly be an adventure! I hope they make it, even if they don't they have raised money already.
hey, hey, hey!
Jonny me old codger, I did actually make it and, I might add, in fantastic style!
The wee fiesta made it eventually but with 2000 extra miles clocked up after a russian visa disaster, a new team mate (girl half of 'The Hearse Flies'), some interesting border encounters and a choice meeting with kids holding guns.
Some things I could have prepared better for...better quality spare tyres would have saved me 2 days in the desert...
Some things I couldn't have prepared for...24 hours at a border checkpoint bumping up against other cars...corrupt cops etc.
Aaaaaaand some things I prepared for just fine...errr, the russian visa which cost me 2k miles, 6 days etc. wasn't my fault!
The highlights?
1. Tamsyn and myself taking on 6 muggers (and the cops too if they got in the way),
2. driving on the wrong side, the right side, the other side and any other side the locals felt was right for that moment.
3. the amount of help that locals gave us and...
4. the fun we had dodging guards, other assorted folk with guns, ramming the car through sand and impossible terrain, spending 20 hours a day driving over bumps that shook our teeth loose.
it was all great fun and I want to be doing it all again!
jamie
oh,
and if folk read this I'd love to hear your stories if you were on the rally as well.
if you're just planning on doing it I'd love to help and show you some photos.
jmack, thanks very much for the donation. unexpected and very kind :o)
jamie
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