Sink or Float – Mongol Rally
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When I was a kid, I used to have this thing called a ‘bubble’; it was made of Styrofoam in the shape of an oval about a foot long. It was used for swimming…actually, it kept me from sinking. The bubble was strapped around my waist and basically kept me afloat in the pool. I loved the water, and I loved my bubble.
Learn about the culture of Mongolian nomads first-hand
As we sat looking at the river crossing with a wind and rain storm at our backs, kids begging for candy around us, and a local guy assuring us we could make it – all I could think about was my old bubble. I thought to myself – I wish our car had a bubble.
This river crossing was much deeper than the ones we did the day before, but we had to tackle it. The local (possibly drunk) guy felt like we could make it without a tow, so we decided to trust his instinct. After all – locals know best. Even drunk locals probably know better than 3 North Americans that knew nothing about river crossings!
However, right when we were trying to sort out our best route to cross, a powerful wind/dust storm came up, and the whole sky turned brownish-gray. It was pandemonium as we tried to communicate with the local guy and could barely see 4 feet in front of us! Deb once again took the driving position as Dave and I waded to the other side and waited for her with our fingers crossed. Dave and the local guy tried to direct her a bit around the rocks, but I just stood there hoping for the best and wishing for a bubble.
We actually did many river crossings and we got better at every one. We learned to mainly trust the locals. If they said you could make it – then you could. They knew the exact complex routes that you should take to get across – and trust me – they weren’t always the most obvious or straight forward routes.
Dave and Deb put together a great video compilation of all of our recorded river crossings. The one at the end is the one I’m referring to today. Enjoy…with or without a bubble…
- It’s Real Now – Starting the Mongol Rally
- Pimpin’ Our Ride
- Festival of Slow – Mongol Rally Kickoff
- First Stop – Brussels
- Stopped by the Police – Mongol Rally
- Learning to Drive on the Autobahn
- CzechOut our Camping – Mongol Rally
- Racing Through Prague – Mongol Rally
- Driving in Romania
- Twilight in Brasov – Mongol Rally
- Crossing Borders with Natasha- Mongol Rally
- What I see out my window – Mongol Rally
- Ukraine Highway Culture – Mongol Rally
- Mongol Rally: Driving in Ukraine
- Hotel Nissan – Mongol Rally
- Kiev Paperwork Forgery – Mongol Rally
- Teaming up in Volgograd – Mongol Rally
- Russian Stereotypes
- Good Luck at the Kazakhstan Border – Mongol Rally
- The Hardest, Longest, Slowest, Dirtiest Road Yet – Mongol Rally
- The End of The Road – Mongol Rally
- Camping on the Mongol Rally
- Locals to the Rescue – Mongol Rally
- Setting Up Camp – Mongol Rally
- Bad Things do Happen on the Mongol Rally
- The Birth of Kazakhstan Tourism – Mongol Rally
- Kazakhstan’s Secret City – Astana
- The Best Laid Plans – Mongol Rally
- Our Car’s Health – Mongol Rally
- My ride in a Kazakhstan Police Car – Mongol Rally
- The Real Adventure Begins – Mongol Rally
- Minor Repairs – Mongol Rally
- How To Wait at a Border – Mongol Rally
- Border Bonding – Mongol Rally
- Mongolia Freedom – Mongol Rally
- Lost in the Mongol Rally
- Slowing Down – Mongol Rally
- The Mongol Rally Diet
- Muffler Mayhem – Mongol Rally
- Sink or Float – Mongol Rally
- Mongolian Hospitality – Mongol Rally
- Driving in Mongolia
- Tire Trouble – Mongol Rally
- Desert Illusions – Mongol Rally
- Mongolian Malls and Mechanics
- Shocking Tarmac – Mongol Rally
- Mongolian Cloudscapes – Photography
- Ulaanbaatar in our Sights
- The Finish Line – Mongol Rally
- What’s it all for?
- What Happens to the Car?
That’s a great video! Where was that camera? On your bumper???
Entertaining video!
Nancy & Shawn