Many enthusiasts love a good road trip. Getting into a car and going on a long-distance drive can be a lot of fun, and in some cases, a great way to unwind. For some people, a road trip can be just a long cross-country trip on regular roads. For others, it can be much more than that.
Mez Hallaby recently sat down with VINwiki for one of their car stories videos, where he described what he believed was the craziest road trip in the world. And this is far more than just a long jaunt in a grand tourer.
This is the Mongol Rally. It is an incredible eight-week adventure, where teams drive 1.0-liter or smaller cars, also called ‘junk’ cars, all the way from the UK to Mongolia. And as we know, Mongolia is one of the most desolate countries on earth, making it even more challenging.
As the rally doesn’t have a fixed route, it encourages those participating to focus more on the adventure, rather than the speed at which they complete the event. As Hallaby explained, it is one of the coolest and craziest experiences you can have in the automotive world.
What Is the Mongol Rally?
The Mongol Rally is open to those running a junk car with a 1.0-liter capacity or less, all the way from England to Mongolia. Hallaby said a friend of his rang him up at 3am one night, incredibly drunk, and said, “I’ve signed us up to something, and you can’t say no,” and Hallaby decided that they might as well do it.
Eventually, six of them ended up doing the race, with them pairing up to run three cars. The cars they bought were K11 Nissan Micras from the UK, some of the most basic and cheapest cars you could get in the UK. The team had the cars modified to take part in the event, ensuring they had everything they needed to take on the Mongol Rally. They even rented an Airbnb in the UK and resprayed and modified the cars before they began the rally.
Driving right-hand-drive cars on right-side roads after leaving the UK was a particularly eye-opening experience, especially at the launch party they went to in Prague, before they began driving the route they had planned back in England. The route they chose involved crossing through Turkey and the Central Asian ” stan” countries. That meant some long border crossings, with some of the group having to cross into the other countries on foot.
How the Rally Went for the Three Nissan Micras
The rally aims to take the longest route possible, without, of course, taking liberties with that. At one point, the team thought they’d have to drive through Russia or Iran, but ended up taking a ferry across the Caspian Sea into Turkmenistan. It is an isolated and tightly controlled country, but there were some highlights, such as visiting the famous ‘Gates of Hell’ gas crater, a pit that has remained burning for over 50 years.
Turkmenistan certainly sounded like the craziest country the team drove through. The contrast between the capital city and the rest of the country was eye-opening for Hallaby and his friends. From there, they drove down the Silk Road through Tajikistan and went through all sorts of drama, ranging from altitude sickness to being warned to stay out of sight at the Afghan border in Tajikistan after dark due to security risks.
All Three Cars Did Make It to Mongolia
Despite the drama and military patrols being around, the three cars made it through to Kazakhstan and Russia, and eventually they were able to make it into Mongolia. The Micras held up incredibly well, and having experienced the country, they reached the official finish line in Russia after travelling around 10,000 miles. Hallaby and his friends continued their adventure, visiting Ukraine and Chornobyl, before selling the cars at a German airport and heading home.