Heavy Metal around Mongolia and Central Asia
- Thread starter Timolgra
- Start date
We aimed to stop at any truck stop we could find for two reasons really. The first was that they served hot food and normally plenty of it which was tasty and secondly they had accommodation.
We had camping gear and the plan originally was to camp at every opportunity but when it came to pitching tents in the rain and striking camp in the rain the the accommodation won. It was really a no brainer when the accommodation was cheap and cheerful and there was normally beer nearby!
Now I won't go into the details of Tim and Rikk's encounter with the gay truckers but I will never forget Tim's face when I was sat on a table with Pete and Jarvo and I glanced across to Tim and Rikk. They had met these friendly guys and they had started to knock back the vodka and eat smoked fish. I can still see Tim now raising his glass to us and I am sure he winked drinking more and more
The three of us left them to it and about 2-3 hours later Tim caming stumbling into the room saying, " You are not going to believe it but those guy's we were drinking with were gay and one said that he loved me!"
We could not stop laughing it was hilarious. We asked him where Rikk was and he said that he had made excuses that he had to get a book for translation and left him with them. About 5 minutes later Rikk stumbled back in to the room and he said the same thing!
Well at that point we were all laughing and we saw the funny side of it!
Tim had a few words to say the next morning so click on the picture to find out what he said.
Jarvo found it funny too!
We had camping gear and the plan originally was to camp at every opportunity but when it came to pitching tents in the rain and striking camp in the rain the the accommodation won. It was really a no brainer when the accommodation was cheap and cheerful and there was normally beer nearby!
Now I won't go into the details of Tim and Rikk's encounter with the gay truckers but I will never forget Tim's face when I was sat on a table with Pete and Jarvo and I glanced across to Tim and Rikk. They had met these friendly guys and they had started to knock back the vodka and eat smoked fish. I can still see Tim now raising his glass to us and I am sure he winked drinking more and more
The three of us left them to it and about 2-3 hours later Tim caming stumbling into the room saying, " You are not going to believe it but those guy's we were drinking with were gay and one said that he loved me!"
We could not stop laughing it was hilarious. We asked him where Rikk was and he said that he had made excuses that he had to get a book for translation and left him with them. About 5 minutes later Rikk stumbled back in to the room and he said the same thing!
Well at that point we were all laughing and we saw the funny side of it!
Tim had a few words to say the next morning so click on the picture to find out what he said.
Jarvo found it funny too!
Tim had a few words to say the next morning so click on the picture to find out what he said.
Watching the Russian truck drivers on this years Dakar still brings me out in a cold sweat
I can remember staying at this place which conveniently had a bar net door. The Babooshka who ran the place gave me a friendly smile as Rikk and I booked in. I was referred to by the lads as 'Baz the book' as I had a small lonely planet Russian phrasebook which was very handy.
I would walk in normally with Rikk and we would sort out accommodation and like I say at this place the Babooshka had this smile. I thought nothing of it until she walked into the bar with another Russian guy and asked me outside. She kept going on about souvenirs and I explained the only things I was carrying were postcards and balloons for the kids in Mongolia.
The guy she was with then placed his hand on my chest and then on her chest and said souvenir!
It was then that the penny dropped and I made a hasty retreat back to the bar. That was one souvenir I did not want to take back with me.
The morning of this photo was one of the sunny days we had as we started off.
It was nice riding off with the sun shining for once
One of the bext places we stayed was at a truck stop on the outskirts of Omsk. At this point we had ridden 3,968 miles and it was day 11 of our trip. The staff were so friendly and we met a guy called Alec who helped us sort out washing the bikes. I received a telephone call from him only a few days ago which was very brief as his English was about as good as my Russian.
That evening we spent all the time communicating by means of paper and pen and drawing pictures. To me it was great and such a laugh. They could not of been more hospitable and it was a welcome rest for us on our travels.
Staff at the motel outside Omsk
Talking about accommodation this is one of the hotels we stayed at which was the only place open in a town in Ishim. It was a hotel that was probably built post 2WW and had had nothing done to it since. We had ridden 480 miles that dayand it was dark cold and wet! We were all knackered and we vowed we would never ride that late again.
This was the view from the outside which did not seem too bad but when we tried to communicate with the miserable woman in reception things started to go down hill fast. Tim had the crack with her but she was having none of it and she charged us something like $50 Us each. It was a right rip off but I suppose beggars can't be choosers. We dined on couscous, tuna from our rations and washed it down with a mouthful or two of vodka. Now if you look carefully you will see the miserable old dragon behind the glass but a word of warning don't look directly into her eyes you may turn to stone!
A sort of smile unde rthe circumstances
Careful don't catch her eyes!!
This was the view from the outside which did not seem too bad but when we tried to communicate with the miserable woman in reception things started to go down hill fast. Tim had the crack with her but she was having none of it and she charged us something like $50 Us each. It was a right rip off but I suppose beggars can't be choosers. We dined on couscous, tuna from our rations and washed it down with a mouthful or two of vodka. Now if you look carefully you will see the miserable old dragon behind the glass but a word of warning don't look directly into her eyes you may turn to stone!
A sort of smile unde rthe circumstances
Careful don't catch her eyes!!
Well we eventually decided to camp and we rode a few metres off the road and into the woods. I think we were all quite excited about our first camp and I know Rikk was as it meant he could show us all his gucci camping gear.
All I know is that i took with me a North Face tadpole tent which I thought would be Ok but the inner had a mesh roof. I did not realise this when I bought it and to say I was cold was an under statement! I should of brought my mountain tent so you live and learn.
Pete's panniers had leaked and see what he had to say about it. Again click on the clip for footage.
All I know is that i took with me a North Face tadpole tent which I thought would be Ok but the inner had a mesh roof. I did not realise this when I bought it and to say I was cold was an under statement! I should of brought my mountain tent so you live and learn.
Pete's panniers had leaked and see what he had to say about it. Again click on the clip for footage.
This is the view from the top of my first hill climb looking down at a small village. I was a little nervous to tell the truth when we first arrived at this point as I thought that I would be measured on my ability to get up this slope with regards to the rest of the trip. Looking back on it it was easy.
Rikk driving on up
Jarvo's run
Tim's run
Good weather and the open road.
Tim led the way most of the time and some of us took it in turns to lead. The route was basically east and we had a standing joke of a morning, " Which way shall we go today lads? " Mmmmm East!
We eventually arrived at Lake Baikal and stayed at a great camp site by the side of the Lake. This was the turning point for us as we headed south from here to Mongolia. At this point it was day 14 and I had ridden 5931 miles from home in Dorset.
The campsite looking south
Dorset has only just recently produced a county flag and I thought this adventure was an ideal opportunity to fly the flag in different countries as we went.
On many of our stops morale would be high and on this occasion Pete couldn't find any locals to pick on so he decided to sit on Jarvo instead.
chad
Registered user
keep them coming
tinatrim
Registered user
Prior to leaving Russia we met these two lads who reminded me of Borat. They were nowhere near Kazakhstan so they must of been looking for Pamela Anderson.
She is nice!
Pete and our bikes all lined up neatly as we go in and out of the customs building to complete paperwork to gain entry into Mongolia. There were a couple of Mongol Rally cars abandoned at the border which we assumed would be collected and sold to make money for the charities which was my understanding of that event.
We eventually entered Mongolia and now had Dennis the Oz travelling with us. Dennis was a hoot and I will never forget the time we stopped at a restaurant and Tim pulled out his MP3 player and his headphones were all covered in chocolate. Dennis was so quick and said, " Tim you are meant to put them in your ears mate not up your arse! "
Cole
Registered user
So here I am the night before departure with a nice shining bike and all I can say is it doesn't look like that now!
I see Tim laid down the law about packing light 
Heavy Metal indeed!
Is that a directors chair on the back?
.
chad
Registered user
more baz
Heavy Metal indeed!
Is that a directors chair on the back?
.
To be fair to Baz, some of that junk was dumped in Rick's Landy...........also some of his luggage
Stevie73
Registered user
C'mon Baz!!!!!!!!
chad
Registered user
hurry up
chad
Registered user
