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We in team Ambulance To Mongolia are three guys who this summer are going to drive a Volvo 965 ambulance in The Mongol Rally, a yearly charity stunt organized by The Adventurists, to donate it to a hospital in Ulan Bator. By publishing this adventure of ours here on the internet, we hope to raise awareness of the peoples, cultures and countries of Central Asia, and raise money for charity to support them.


Main Sponsor: Volvo Switzerland

The charities we are raising money for are Norwegian People’s Aid and their mine clearing work in Tajikistan. The Mongol Rally also has an official charity this year, called The Lotus Children’s Centre Charitable Trust, which helps children in Mongolia. We want to make the world a better place, one little step at the time, and we hope you will support us in this effort.

Our total fundraising result:
€ 6,540.63
… in total; for the NPA, the Lotus Trust and the ambulance; as of 2012–12–20 …


The team’s official charity:
Norwegian People’s Aid

The Mongol Rally is one of the last great adventures, going from Prague in the Czech Republic to Ulan Bator in Mongolia. The distance is roughly 15,000 km, or about ⅓ around the world. The journey will lead us through countries where just getting the visa is a challenge on its own, and that sometimes still haven’t mutually agreed on the shape of their borders. We will travel roads that barely deserve that designation, fight incorrect maps and “difficult” local regulations, and if we’re lucky, we’ll be in Ulan Bator two months later.

It comes with a few quirks; the organizers provide us little more than a name for the event, and a set of rules, the most important of which are:
  • Every team is required to raise at least £1,000 for charity, and the car (should it make it to to Ulan Bator) is auctioned for charity, too.
  • This is not a guided tour. Every team needs to come up with its own route.
  • You’re on your own, if you get yourself into trouble, you need to get out of it by yourself.
  • The car must have an engine with ≤ 1.2 ℓ displacement, and must not be older than 10 years. In short, a crappy car. No fancy 4×4. Exceptions are granted for "utility vehicles" (such as ambulances).
  • No GPS. Navigation has to be done using maps, compass, the stars, and friendly locals.
Of course we’re always happy to hear stories of similar adventures, hot tips for surviving in Central Asia, and the newest techniques to speed up border crossings.

We plan to roughly follow the traditional northern Silk Road, going through Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and China thereby visiting the notable cities of Istanbul, Türkmenbaşy (Krasnovodsk), Samarkand, Kashgar, and Ürümqi (and finally, Ulan Bator). See Route for details.

blog.mongolia.to

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