Mongol Rally Sherry Ott

The Mongol Rally – The Ultimate Road Trip Across Europe and Asia

What is the Mongol Rally?

The Mongol Rally is an unsupported road rally from London, England, to Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia. In July 2011, four well-traveled, and some may say crazy, travel bloggers set out on a 10,000-mile journey to Mongolia. This was no fluff press trip…this was us against the open road, in a car that was not meant to be driven to these lengths.

When I first heard of the Mongol Rally, I went to the site and was immediately hooked with messages like this:

“10,000 miles of bad roads, no roads, bandits, deserts, mountains and other adventuresome stuff…the Mongol Rally is supposed to be an adventure not a guided tour. It’s about getting out into the world and discovering it for yourself, so we resolutely refuse to give you a route. Think how much of a second-rate adventure it would be if we all followed the same route, like a traffic jam all the way to Mongolia.”

Is this a good idea?

4 bloggers. 2 continents. 9 countries. 10,000 miles. Countless flat tires. 1,000 wrong turns. Hundreds of dollars in bribes.

In 2011, we slapped our sponsor stickers on a car that had no business leaving London and took off on the craziest, hardest, most satisfying adventure I’ve ever done — the Mongol Rally. Deserts, mountain passes, roads that didn’t exist. Bandits, breakdowns, corruption. And not one of us had a clue how to fix a car.

We believed in the power of travel, and in strangers helping strangers — because we needed a LOT of help. Changed plans, near jail time, team blowups. We made it anyway in our ridiculously inappropriate car.

mongol rally danger
“If you know you are going to make it, then it’s not an adventure.” –Mongol Rally Organizers

Read the entire Mongol Rally series

Camping on the Mongol Rally

The best thing about camping on the Mongol Rally is peeing in the desert under the stars. It’s bliss. And it’s certainly better than Kazakhstan…

Setting Up Camp – Mongol Rally

  This is my favorite team photo to date!  We rolled into this dried-out lavender field while the sun was setting and quickly jumped into…

Kazakhstan’s Secret City – Astana

I expected poor roads, hot days, car issues, team disagreements, dirt, hunger, and communication challenges. But there was one thing I didn’t expect – Kazakhstan….

 

Read my other Mongolia articles