Oman, Russia, Mongolia, Kazakstan, Norway, Sweden, Germany, France, Home?

I thought it would be useful for others to do a full and proper write up of my travels. I bought my landrover back in 2012 with the sole purpose of having a long adventure. On dream / researching my trip I used advice and examples from other people all over the website, so I'm adding mine in the hope it benefits someone.

The Folder!
I got a folder of all documents relating to the car and the trip together and made multiple copies of everything! Passport, driving licences, visas, car registration, etc. I also made a translation of my car registration into Russian, Mongolia, etc. I needed this constantly, possibly because it was in Arabic rather than english, but neither the less it was very well received.
I did a cover letter explaining where I was going and had been in multiple languages as well as a table with some basic things translated such as Diesel, Mechanic, Water, Toilet, Gas, Telephone, Bank, etc. Flipping through the pages and pointing at the picture and translated word moved the conversation on quickly.

The Land Rover. 1985 110
Lets be honest, this is not the most sensible car to have for a long drive, noisy, slow, uncomfortable, but of course its the only car I ever wanted.


300tdi (from a 1994 disco)
The car was purchased in Dubai and it came with a hazy history. Someone had changed the engine from petrol to a 300tdi, and modified the rear to make a double cab pick up. It was also sporting a rear roll cage, possibly only there for the roof top tent, as well as some dodgy electronics. I have no idea if it was all done at the same time, as the quality was not consistent. I haven't got much experience with other engines, but this one pulled great! Getting diesel was easy everywhere and the engine certainly allowed me to work on it without special tools and special knowledge.

Leaks: As this car wasn’t mean to be a double cab, the seams were not perfect. In the desert I never even considered this, but after the first taste of rain (and the washout the inside received) I had to hurridly patch everything using sixflex, ali sheets, and whatever I could find. An overland vehicle is typically fully packed so any water getting in will find something to soak into and the car won’t dry. SEAL THE CAR UP AS WELL AS YOU CAN.

Extra fuel tanks: I had three total. One between the main tank and the filler, and one under the right hand front seat. Nearly 200lts with everything full. Being able to do those extra miles on a detour without having to worry about fuel is vita.


Double batteries: Don’t know how you could do it without this. Knowing that the crank battery would be good in the morning how ever long I ran the fridge or laptop meant I could relax and enjoy the comforts. I have this wired to a marine battery selector switch...
http://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/marin...sitions.html?gclid=CKW3jfiquMoCFRUTGwod0SEFdA
This can handle the amps, and simply manually selecting 'both' once the engine is running charges both batteries. Once stopped I selected battery two to connect the solar panel to the 'domestic' battery.

Roof Top Tent. It came with the car. I would never buy one as they are so expensive, but it was invaluable. We could camp on ANY ground, even swamps or massive rocks, and everything would be fine. Plus with all the extras that came with it it could be set up (with a little patience) into an enclosed shelter with two floors, with enough room for people to sleep on the ground floor. There is a tub shaped ground sheet that zips on and off and a huge panel that zips off to give access to the rear of the car. I'm sure these are all standard features.

Things to look for if you were thinking of buying one:
1 - Condensation, In colder climates water collects on the bottom surface. being able to vent the tent and dry it out quickly is VERY useful.
2 - Flappy! How well does the tent fit together? If there are loose panels or excessively long straps, when the wind blows it will keep you up all night.

Solar Panel. Again we acquired it, not bought it. It was 180W, and one half that powerful would be fine. Powered the fridge, laptop charger, lights, anything. Batteries were always topping up, even in week sun light. It was slightly bigger than the roof rack so I made a wedge shaped 'roof box' that I used to store extra clothes and other lighter items.


Winch, used a few times, much to my enjoyment, mostly to pull other cars out of the streams and mud.

GRP Waffles. Invaluable, even if only for floor boards in the mud when camping and cooking. Had many people try to buy them. I got the longer version and was happy i did! They over hung a bit when stored on the roll bars, but they also worked great at storing fire wood collected along the way, strapped onto the waffles.


Gas cooker. I took a campingaz two buring stove fixed to the rear door. Had to buy a new bottle in Russia as nothing would fit the European screw to refill it. New bottle, regulator and gas cost about £20, so don't get obsessed with needing to refill yours! I made some very simple wind shields that slotted into the front and sides and allowed the stove to be on low simmer, something that makes cooking much easier!


FRIDGE. I will NEVER go without a fridge, why suffer? These things are so good, and with a solar panel and two batteries there is no down side. We had a waeco 65ltre one. Took up a large space, but I don’t know how I would have coped with a smaller one. After all, passing more than two well stocked markets a month was rare, so it was good to be able to keep things fresh!

Other notable kit was my strong tow strap and my long handle shovel. Two things I used far more than I would have liked.

Oman:

I lived in Oman for 4 years and loved the place. It is 4x4 heaven. Little restrictions on where you can go and what you can do. Nothing like some other middle eastern countries. Without a doubt the best adventure we had was travelling around the country, into the empty quarter and then up the coast.

If you're ever in that part of the world...

1) The northern Hajars, A beautiful mountain range that has lots of open tracks and some very rough terrain. Lots of water pools, rivers and waterfalls to explore.

2) the Empty Quarter. I can honestly say this is far more beautiful than I could explain. Very remote - do not underestimate, but worth every effort.


3) The east Coast. Oman is basically one long beach and unlike other countries you can drive on that beach! In fact you can drive anywhere once you leave the city.

Shipping,

A bit of a nightmare!!!! But that might have just been because we went from the middle east and GAC out there were a bit lethargic towards people shipping cars. Lots of red tape, lots of ‘un-knows’, and lots of repeating ourselves. The shinning light came in our clearing agent in Russia, Links Ltd. We should have done the whole thing through them from the start and let them arrange our boarding.

Lessons learnt:
1) Container not car ferry. I know it costs more, a lot more. But DO NOT put your car on a car ferry, put it into a container! A 40ft container will fit two defenders plus gear if you can find someone to share the cost. When I was a student I worked loading and unloading cars on a car ferry. I would never put my car through that system, you will be lucky if it hasn't been stripped of everything!

2) DO NOT expect them to know how to ship a car, I was not there for the loading of our car into the container, and assumed they would strap it down good and tight. In fact they just chocked the wheels and the car had moved in the container!

3) expect delays. I built in a 6 day delay, in the end it was 16 days. This meant lots of sitting around in Vladivostok burning money. Should have flown later, or had a plan B ready so time wasn’t wasted

4) Photo everything before the container doors shut! The car outside the container, in the container. The registration plate, the VIN number, engine number, etc. We would have saved 4 days if we had taken a photos of the VIN number, instead it had to go for inspection.

5) Already having multiple copies of documents are like gold dust. Have a bunch of stuff ready to hand out. Keeps the process moving, and one you have the clerk focused on you, it’s nice to have all you need rather than being forced to come back later.

6) Prohibited items. I was told the fuel had to be near empty and I couldn’t take a gas bottle. So I hid the large gas bottle and put a switch on the fuel sender so I could turn it off. No one seemed to know / care, and we started with a full tank and full gas bottle.

Russia:

Our shipping delay forced changes to our route, meaning the BAM Road is a project for another year, hopefully. Instead we had to take the main road, not that there is any other, directly from Vladivostok to Lake Bical. After a few days on the shore of the lake, we then headed south to Mongolia.

Depending on how comfortable the road felt, I found about 600km – 700km a day was average. The road was small, one lane each way, but everything feels fast in a defender. Plenty of beautiful landscapes came and went, with only 2 major cities along the way. Khabarovsk, just as the road turns west, and Chita a long 2000km after that. You can get everything you need in either town, except landrover parts of course.


When we zero’d in on lake Bical we choose a small town that would have been hard pressed to be harboring many tourists, the village of Dry. To get there we approached from the east along a minor 70km road passing through thick forest and over hills that collect near the SE corner of the lake.

I had guessed 1.5 hours would be all that was needed, but steep climbs on very loose gravel over large patches of water damage kept us in diff lock and low range all the way to the summit. After 3 hours we peaked at 2000m and agreed that we wouldn’t want to do this road in the opposite direction!


On our decent a massive 8 wheeled machine crawled towards us, and the driver pointed back the way we came. It was, in his opinion, the only open route. We carried on, determined to finish what we started and quickly found ourselves on the limit of my driving skill and Charlie’s nerves.


The road was little more than a muddy swap, 7 meters wide and under constant seige by the river running along side. Conserving momentum became our soul objective, and with Charlie calling the path to the driest and firmest ground while I focused on what was immediately infront, we managed to avoid getting stuck, just. Charlie thinks we nearly tipped the car over twice, I think we where just lucky to get through, and it took us a day to dry the car out and clean the mud off everything.


I highly recommend that route.


Practical’s:

· Fuel – everywhere, maybe 200km between stops max. Just don’t expect to pay with cards. Most places will also sell oils and fluids for your car. I found most Russian garages better stocked that UK ones. You have to pay BEFORE filling.


· Food & Water. Locals sit by the road selling their home-ground by the bucket, bag or bottle. Cheap and it’s all there, fresh out of the ground. Apart from that the smaller towns have small stores. Buy what you can when you can, don’t expect to see it again later.


· Camping. Never a problem. You only realize how small the UK is when you go ANYWHERE else. There is plenty of space and no one minds. Careful of forest fires though, a genuine factor. We drove through thick smoke for 4 days. At the end of it my lungs where sore!


· FLYS! Major problem. They’re massive and they want you! We bought two face nets in Vladivostok. Cost pennies and worked wonders. A smoky fire will help, but if you think you’ll just tough it out, you won’t, you’re British and you’ve never seen anything like it before. Also they cause a right mess of your windscreen and radiator, and we all know defender wipers aren't going to help.


· Insurance. Our clearing agents got us insurance. I was not involved. Cheap and easy experience.

· POLICE. We got stopped a few times. A nice smile and plenty of paper work at the ready and never had a problem. I got used to the fact that sometimes people just want to take a look at your landy. On one occasion a very senior looking army officer got me out and climbed quicky in. His subordinate snapped a quick photo of him pretending to drive, we shock hands, a cherry good bye and back on our way.

· Vehicle inspection / repair ramps. These can be found everywhere in Siberia no more than 100km apart, at each rest stop. You simply drive up and walk underneath your car greasing, tightening, checking away on everything. My impression was everyone in Russia buys a car that is self fixable and knows how to fix it.

· Customs – it’s a very basic check unless they suspect something. Have a small first aid kit that they can see so they will check for pills. I kept having to dig one out as they insisted checking what medication I was bring in. Then I switched to a small bag as my ‘show bag’ and saved time.

Mongolia

As far as boarder crossings go, you have a limited choice. Not all the boarders are open to non-Russians or non-Mongolians. We came down from Ulaan Ude and used possibly the biggest crossing point. Took about 2 hours to cross which was normal throughout the trip. Insurance and tax purchased just outside the Mongolian customs.


The most critical thing to understand about driving in Mongolia is the lack of a credible road network. Plus as there isn’t any mapping at meaningful scales, you need multiple ways to navigate your way around. Having taken two GPS’s with different maps, plus a paper map (covering the whole country), we always found our way. Sticking to the major destinations won’t require more than checking road signs and asking directions, but then the treats are off the beaten trail.


Ulaanbaatar shouldn’t be on anyone’s overlanding itinerary, except that within the city is a landrover dealership, which may have the part your looking for, or know where to get something similar. Charlie flew out from the capital and for the rest of the trip I was on my own.

The well traveled routes lie to the west, desert to the south and wide open rolling hills to the east. Having lived within poking distance of the empty quarter for 4 years I decided to head East first, before looping back and driving west to the mountains.


It is clear to see why the west draws the most travellers as the valleys and mountains have an alpine feel but on a monumental scale. The south west features some spectacular lakes that fit everyone’s mental image of a desert oasis and were my favorite part of the trip. I spent a month exploring and could have spent many more.


Once away from any of the four asphalt roads that the country owns, your millage drops dramatically. If the track is any good, it’s a suspension punishing corrugated highway, if not, it’s a twisted, rutted, muddy, swampy challenge. I got stuck plenty of times, I am proud to admit, but for my redemption, I rescued many others. Just as your ego decides you and your vehicle are taking on the wild victoriously, a family of ten bumps past in an inner city saloon car and brings you back to reality.


Nomadic families are everywhere in Mongolia and although this vast country is host to a tiny population, you struggle to be truly alone. At most camps I was visited by locals who simply chose to sit about 3 meters away and watch my every move intently. No amount of attempted engagement from me could encourage them into a conversation except in a handful of occasions. The norm became eating my food while being coldly observed at a short distance, very strange thing to get used to. However I did manage to play a 13 year old boy at chess, and win. (The Monk in the photo gave the car a thumbs up)



Practical’s

· Self Sufficient. I towed three Italians in a fiat panda 400km to find a mechanic. No one is coming to help you and just because the town is the largest one around doesn’t mean it will have anything more one small grocery shop.


· Fuel. Not as sparse as you might think. I didn’t have a problem keeping the tanks full.

· Food. This is where the fridge came into it’s own. Fresh food is only available in the biggest of towns and being able to stock up is the only way to keep eating well. You can buy pot noodle’s everywhere if you can stomach it.

· Water. Depending on how much you use, you may want to bring a filter. I would have struggled without one.

· Rubbish. This is a problem. There is no system to deal with rubbish. And of course you will end up with a lot after a while. The guide books tell you not to burn rubbish in a fire as it's offensive to the locals, who seem to just discard rubbish as they move. Have a system to store rubbish in some way until you reach a large town and can find a bin. Undoubted the bin will just be emptied in to a pit somewhere but at least you're using their system. We kept our large water bottles (that we would buy to resupply) and used them as bins.


· Pack a cheap big bag of sweats. There are the only way to break the ice when you get visited by the herdsman or mobbed by children.

Russia 2.

Unfortunately for 'overlanders' Russia is just in the way between Mongolia and Kazakhstan so I had to drive through Russia once again. Transit visa where bought when in Ulaanbaatar earlier and i would guess that I spent more time queuing for the visa than I did using it!
I decided to change all the oils in the car now that I was back in vehicle civilisation. I found a tarmac track off the main road and having bought a selection of correct fluids and oils went about getting everything ready. Always the problem is what do you do with the old oil. Luckily I had some 5 litre water bottles with me and cutting the top from a smaller drinks bottle I had a perfect funnel.
Underneath the car, on a nice rug for some comfort, I got the funnel and bottle perfectly placed and unscrewed the engine plug. Thick hot oil gushed into the funnel and it was with horror that I realised the screw lid of the funnelling bottle was still in place. Scolding oil poured out everywhere as the funnel turned into an effective sprinkler system.
No mater how hard you try, engine oil can not be removed from your skin when camping. Hot running water not being easy to come by. The axles, gearbox and wheels changed without the same drama I was on my way, disappointingly leaving a permanent shadow mark on the roadside.


Practicals.

You won't need much time to drive through this area. You can get a ten day transit visa, but you'll only need a few days, I took 3.

Stock up on supplies. Once back in Russia you'll find the garages and shops are happily well stashed to get you fridge and spares box full.

Kazakhstan,

Kazakhstan and Russia form a common economic area which meant no custom clearance for the car, a welcome time saver. Plus although British nationals can get a visa on arrival, I had managed to get an extended visa from the Kazak embassy in Oman while living there. Unbeknown to me my visa said I was the guest of the Kazak Muscat Embassy and you can imagine that this smooths the process a great deal.

Driving in Kazakhstan is incredible, simple small roads, but incredible countryside with clear blue skies. I was making great progress westward while enjoying stunning sunsets every evening.


400km out from Astana, the new capital, the car started to slow while the revs remained high. At first I though this was just a head wind. Then the smell penetrated the interior, and I was hit by the realisation that the clutch had clearly died. I’m certain that I must have over filled the engine oil sump, or at least brought it back to a level where it could seep past the seal onto the clutch plate. Bonnet up next to the road and three minutes later I was being towed behind 4 men with holstered hand guns in what seemed to be a un-marked police car. I spent the evening by the road side, picked up another tow early in the morning and managed to get the car to a garage in Astana, with the help of some very patient locals who found me a place to stay and towed me to the garage the next day when it opened.


Luckily the mechanics where very happy with the 300tdi setup and once the parts had arrived from the UK (ordering them myself was much cheaper, even after DHL shipping) the car was back on the road and working well. I had difficulty getting the part supplier to deliver to an address in kazakhstan, as they said they did not send outside the EU. Strange considering they did send me a new fan belt in Mongolia. Next time I do a trip I will arrange a deal with a supplier before hand, just in case.


Practical's.

POLICE: I was stopped by the police four time in Kazakhstan, each time they where just after a bribe. I managed to get out of three of them simply by shrugging for 30 minutes or so before they realised there where other people they could be fleecing. Play dumb, see if that works. If not haggle, after all they haven't got the law on their side.

Russia 3.

I got a ten day Russian transit visa while in Kazakhstan, which gave me just enough time to drive up to Norway. The first part of this was motorways and cities. in south East Russia there is a lot of industry and a lot of roads. In another car it might have been fun, but I found my self just trying to get through it as quick as possible.

Once North of St Petersburg the country side opened up and the ground turned to near swamp for the next 4 days. It was beautiful scenery but not one you could explore offload with a fully loaded car, plus the bugs came back, and where big enough to need daily washes of the windscreen.


Practical's

COLD. I had packed for cold weather as the plan was to head north to Norway and with any delay I knew I would be there when the temperature had dropped. Make sure you are over prepared.

Nice report NR, don't fancy anywhere cold myself, but interesting stuff.

Just spent the last half hour reading through this with a coffee. Very well written report and the whole trip sounds absolutely amazing. I hastily await the time in my life I am able to do something similar. My current situation only allows for ~5000 mile trips around Europe every couple of years. I have a fascination with the east and can't wait to explore it. Posts like yours remind me of my goals and keep me going. The furthest east I have been so far is Kiev. Ukraine was a pretty good introduction to dealing with red tape and bribes.

Would love to see a map of the route you took.

Continued...

Norway
I crossed into Europe right at the top of russia - a little place called 'Hesseng'. I was nervous about bringing the car into Europe as it's not the most well maintained vehicle - the 'MOT' in oman is very light. Leaving Russia I was subject to a full check, everything came off / out of the car, dogs and scanner crawled all over it. In norway a different story. I was asked by the solitary guard if I had any refugees with me. I said no. He waved me on.


Cost
Norway (and sweden) is expensive. But if your cooking your own meals, it won't break your budget at all. I found a spent a fare bit of cash in the supermarkets but this was most like excitement at being able to buy 'western' food again. Bring a FIDGE!! It saves so much money and stress.

Camping / Accomadation
Norway is amazing You are allowed to camp ANYWHERE for 24 hours for free. Providing you are a certain distance from a private dwelling. I'm not sure what that distance is, but I never had any trouble finding space and pitching up. if you can't find an idillic camping spot with beautiful views each night, then you're doing something very wrong.


You're other option is to use the 'huts'. I don't know the correct name for them, but I was introduced to this system but a hitch hiker I picked up. Apparently for a small deposits (around 30 euros) you are given a key that opens all these bivy huts dotted around the country. But make no mistake, these are NOT like anywhere you've bunked in before. The place I stayed would have been somewhere I would have rented for a holiday week. The kitchen was better equipped than my own home. You still had to collect the fire wood from the outside store as their was no running water, but comfortable beds and a warm place to relax was a very nice treat.


Roads / Ferries
There isn't too much to chose from - especially in the north. I drove down from Nordcap along the coast and onto the loften-islands. It was as beautiful as a postcard, and very easy going on the roads. De-touring isn't much of an option, apart from deciding which islands to visits. But be careful, the ferries do not operate all year round and some HAVE to be booked in advance. I took the ferry from Moskenesoy to Bodo from the western tip of the islands and had to buy a ticket online for a certain crossing.

My troubles...
This was when the car started to steam - aggressively, In fact it happened right at the top of the country. Clearly the head gasket had gone, and possibly the head was warped beyond function. I managed to nurse the car through Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Holland to a garage. Lots of stops and water topping up. BUT it can be done!!

NR interesting write up, we are planning a similar trip once finished here in Qatar (been here 15yrs already) I do have a couple of related questions you maybe able to shed some light on if possible?
I am sure the vehicle/traffic/visa laws in Oman are similar to those here so how did you export the landy without putting it on export plates before cancelling your residency or did you ship prior to visa/residency cancellation, it is a bit of a minefield as to what you come up against with immigration if you own a car and intend to cancel your RP as there is always a question looming over what have you done with the car if it has left the country and you are no longer a resident, I am led to believe the reg is supposed to be cancelled and plates to be handed in when you exit and the car will no longer here and will not be coming back, if they are not then that could pose a problem if you wanted to re enter but not the car in the future as the car is still registered in Qatar but not here so in theory you have broke the law and possibly have ones collar felt at passport control when trying to get back in?

Well... all I can do is tell you what we did and what might be the same...

First we contacted GAC in Oman and got a quote for the shipping. Now either they thought we knew what to do, or didn't know themselves, but they didn't tell us anymore info.

At this point I 'left' Oman and came back on a tourist visa. continuing to drive the car as the registration was still valid and it's all very fudgey out there. With a few weeks to go we where told we needed to get a ticket from the ministry to load the car. So after we pleaded and bull****ed for a few days trying to get round the problem, we then....

Registration in home country

• Sold the car to Charlie (who still had her visa)
• Extended the insurance for a year.
• Got them to cancel our car reg and then give us a new one so we had it for a year.

This was very important as nearly everywhere we went the car could be temporarily imported if it was still valid on it's home countries papers. Get it registered for a year.

Export Papers
We went with the line that we where TEMPORARILY exporting the car for a trip. So we had to get a Carnet De Passage for the car, even though none of the countries we were visiting required one. If you've not heard of one before, it's basically a insurance scheme that pays the inport duty if you temporarily bring the car in to the country and then leave it there. To get one you have to put some money into an account, the bank then lock the money agains the CdP and you get it back when you give the CdP back.

CdP for Qatar is with these people. I suggest you talk to them about all legal steps for your trip as they will know.
http://www.qatcqatar.com/qatcqatar/html/services.html

With our CdP we could get inspection for cargo loading from the ministry (a stamp on a form by a very uninterested clerk) and GAC could then legally load the car into the container.


After the trip
The big question to me was releasing the cash for the CdP. I was under the impression that I was going to have to take the licence plates off and give them back, along with the CdP to prove the car was no longer on Omani plates somewhere. In fact I flew back for some work, payed a visit to the CdP place and they said "oh hello! Good trip?" To which I said yes and gave them the CdP. "You've not used it? there's no stamps" "No we didn't need it, I tried to explain that when we left" "No problem" and the money was released.

So the car stayed on it's omani plates and is fact still on them now - very soon to be changed to UK. once thats done I could drop the plates back, but I'm under no obligation to do so at the moment. I can always drop them back if needed, but my take on it is the system is pretty loose. I could always say the car was stolen / blown up / lost / etc.


MAKE SURE:
You leave with the car registered in Qatar. You will have no problems temporarily entering countries.
You will most likely need a Carnet to do this. Keep it safe and return it.
Inport the car in UK - bring the plates back if needed.


Hope this helps.


p.s. it's great fun to 'pretend' to translate the registration card from Arabic for the Russia customs people. In the end I made a fake translation document on word and never had any issues. The fact that the car was in Charlie's name was never noticed.

NR thanks for the detailed info which I think is probably about the same for here, as you did is what I kinda intended to do which is to leave with full insurance and reg and a valid visa once out of the country then fly back in to cancel my visa but not the car reg's, if they pick up on this I can always transfer to a mate who is still here, not sure how he will go on if he then has to leave or try and keep my visa open until back in UK then fly back to cancel visa plates in hand just in case.
I don't want to put them on export plates as every country will want me to pay some sort of import duty, this happened to a few mates who left here for Dubai on export plates all a customs scam as was all cash and a number plucked out of the air!
Not sure on a route yet but will probably be with 2 motors but may have to avoid Saudi as mate and a girlfriend driving my other motor are not married so cant travel together and she is not related to me or my Mrs, so probably ship from here to a destination unknown for now cheers!

At the end of the day you only need your registration card to have a valid date on it. If they 'cancel' it back in country, which I don't think they ever would, you'd still have the card to show at the boarder hut for the guy to scribble down on some scrap of paper.

As for route - I'm guessing you'll find out like we did that it's largely dictated by wars, visas, safety and boarder crossings. Very quickly we decided there was no point looking seriously at Saudi issues as once through where do you go? West means Libya and north means Syria. even Egypt ins't as stable as it used to be.

We intended to do Oman, Dubai, Iran, and then up and into turkey / russia. But Iran changed their visa rules at the last minute stopping british passport holders from 'independent travel'.

So we thought about shipping to Mumbai and then driving into china, but that boarder is not open to foreigners. So then it was Mumbai and then east into Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and then up into China, but there are all sorts of visa restrictions and laws on foreigners driving which shut that idea down very quickly.

In the end Vladivostok was the best choice as a starting point, especially as we really wanted to visit Mongolia, and to be honest it was the real high light, no roads, pure land rover country. One time an old man on a horse passed us in a quiet valley and walked round the car noting everything, he spoke no english, but smiled and said 'Camel trophy!'. we shook hands and he left.

Camel Trophy, from a Mongolian in the middle of nowhere. That's golden.
On your other thread I asked about safety. Surely that is quite a risky trip, Were you every worried about your safety? I mean from other people.

replied just now.

Great write up and pic. I totally agree on shipping in containers.

Charlie's photos:

Russia,
https://www.flickr.com/photos/charlottehbest/sets/72157661184101519

Mongolia,
https://www.flickr.com/photos/charlottehbest/sets/72157664091193805