Mongol Rally Micra
Discussion
camhasnoname said:
That sounds awesome - I can imagine the 205 would be a pretty solid choice for it. Don't know if I'd fancy rolling one though 
All okay I presume? Any pictures of Daisy? 
We are doing the Southern route (albeit using the Caspian Sea ferry rather than going through Iran) and fully intend on doing the Pamir Highway! I must admit it's one of the elements of the journey that I'm both very nervous and very excited about. How long did that stretch take you guys?
It was actually my old road rally car so had a roll cage (very luckily!), both of us walked away with nothing more than a few scrapes. All okay I presume? Any pictures of Daisy? We are doing the Southern route (albeit using the Caspian Sea ferry rather than going through Iran) and fully intend on doing the Pamir Highway! I must admit it's one of the elements of the journey that I'm both very nervous and very excited about. How long did that stretch take you guys?
Here's a few pics to whet your appetite...
26 by matty_doh1, on Flickr
15 by matty_doh1, on Flickr
4 (2) by matty_doh1, on Flickr
2 (2) by matty_doh1, on Flickr
1 (2) by matty_doh1, on FlickrWe went the Southern route also but through Iran, assuming you're crossing into Turkmenistan, beware when entering that there's a lot of fees to pay and no cash machines at the border - take a decent stock of dollars (I think entering Turkmenistan cost us around $350). There were only two cash machines in Turkmenistan that you can use a Visa with - they're in Ashgabat, next to the Turkmen National Bank.
The Pamir took us about 5 days not pushing particularly hard as we wanted to spend some time there. That included taking the Wakhan Valley (again, recommended - the most beautiful place I've seen) as part of the main highway had been washed away. I wouldn't be nervous about it, everyone we met couldn't do enough to help us and there's a lot of Homestays on the way if you don't want to camp - it gets very cold on the higher stretches so warm sleeping bag recommended!
Just make sure you have some sump protection and keep an eye on your brake and fuel lines if they're under the car. The Corsa we were with was standard other than a sump guard and coped fine (well the roof rack fell off but they had too much crap anyway).
ZOLLAR said:
Very interesting, looks like great fun.
To those that are going to take part and those that have taken part what sort of costs were involved?
Entrance fee, fuel, etc rough estimate would be fine
It probably worked out at about £7k between two of us. Bearing in mind we went an expensive route (all 'stan countries except Pakistan and through Iran where British Citizens need an official guide at all times).To those that are going to take part and those that have taken part what sort of costs were involved?
Entrance fee, fuel, etc rough estimate would be fine
Rough breakdown...
£600 Entry
£100 Ferry & Tolls
£1000 Car, tax, insurance (if you're not planning on bringing the car back you can always cancel these when you're out of Europe and buying insurance at borders)
£1500 Fuel
£750 to ship the car back to Lithuania - not optional unfortunately, you can either ship or drive the car yourselves or use the organised transport. It must leave Russia though.
£1000 Visas and Borders Fees
£800 Iran (Guide and hotels)
£500ish misc hotels (when the stench in the cars/tents got too bad)
£500ish food and drink
£250ish bribes, fines and repairs
It's expensive but genuinely the best thing I've ever done and to me good value - we were away 7 weeks and there was never a dull moment
mattydoh said:
It probably worked out at about £7k between two of us. Bearing in mind we went an expensive route (all 'stan countries except Pakistan and through Iran where British Citizens need an official guide at all times).
Rough breakdown...
£600 Entry
£100 Ferry & Tolls
£1000 Car, tax, insurance (if you're not planning on bringing the car back you can always cancel these when you're out of Europe and buying insurance at borders)
£1500 Fuel
£750 to ship the car back to Lithuania - not optional unfortunately, you can either ship or drive the car yourselves or use the organised transport. It must leave Russia though.
£1000 Visas and Borders Fees
£800 Iran (Guide and hotels)
£500ish misc hotels (when the stench in the cars/tents got too bad)
£500ish food and drink
£250ish bribes, fines and repairs
It's expensive but genuinely the best thing I've ever done and to me good value - we were away 7 weeks and there was never a dull moment
Costly but certainly not the usual "holiday"Rough breakdown...
£600 Entry
£100 Ferry & Tolls
£1000 Car, tax, insurance (if you're not planning on bringing the car back you can always cancel these when you're out of Europe and buying insurance at borders)
£1500 Fuel
£750 to ship the car back to Lithuania - not optional unfortunately, you can either ship or drive the car yourselves or use the organised transport. It must leave Russia though.
£1000 Visas and Borders Fees
£800 Iran (Guide and hotels)
£500ish misc hotels (when the stench in the cars/tents got too bad)
£500ish food and drink
£250ish bribes, fines and repairs
It's expensive but genuinely the best thing I've ever done and to me good value - we were away 7 weeks and there was never a dull moment
Do most people go in pairs or some go in groups? I imagine you're limited by how much room is in the car.
mattydoh said:
It probably worked out at about £7k between two of us. Bearing in mind we went an expensive route (all 'stan countries except Pakistan and through Iran where British Citizens need an official guide at all times).
Rough breakdown...
£600 Entry
£100 Ferry & Tolls
£1000 Car, tax, insurance (if you're not planning on bringing the car back you can always cancel these when you're out of Europe and buying insurance at borders)
£1500 Fuel
£750 to ship the car back to Lithuania - not optional unfortunately, you can either ship or drive the car yourselves or use the organised transport. It must leave Russia though.
£1000 Visas and Borders Fees
£800 Iran (Guide and hotels)
£500ish misc hotels (when the stench in the cars/tents got too bad)
£500ish food and drink
£250ish bribes, fines and repairs
It's expensive but genuinely the best thing I've ever done and to me good value - we were away 7 weeks and there was never a dull moment
What's to stop you pulling the plates off it and ditching it somewhere?Rough breakdown...
£600 Entry
£100 Ferry & Tolls
£1000 Car, tax, insurance (if you're not planning on bringing the car back you can always cancel these when you're out of Europe and buying insurance at borders)
£1500 Fuel
£750 to ship the car back to Lithuania - not optional unfortunately, you can either ship or drive the car yourselves or use the organised transport. It must leave Russia though.
£1000 Visas and Borders Fees
£800 Iran (Guide and hotels)
£500ish misc hotels (when the stench in the cars/tents got too bad)
£500ish food and drink
£250ish bribes, fines and repairs
It's expensive but genuinely the best thing I've ever done and to me good value - we were away 7 weeks and there was never a dull moment
TacoExcellence said:
What's to stop you pulling the plates off it and ditching it somewhere?
Depends on the country - some will write in your passport which is then checked when you leave the border. We crashed in Kyrgyzstan and arranged a local fixer to deal with the car (not drivable) legally and had no issues leaving the country without the car - doing the same in Turkmenistan, Russia or Mongolia can and does cost thousands.It's a bit of a dick move anyway to be honest and is partly the reason for the increased cost of doing the rally and why it no longer officially finishes in Mongolia - people were (understandably) getting pissed off at the number of cars being dumped in the country illegally.
09 vet checking in.
6730_601698874084_61303202_37828807_8200485_n by Russell Gowers, on Flickr
Micras are awesome - one of the most successful MR cars ever I think. Great choice.
6730_601698874084_61303202_37828807_8200485_n by Russell Gowers, on FlickrMicras are awesome - one of the most successful MR cars ever I think. Great choice.
mattydoh said:
Depends on the country - some will write in your passport which is then checked when you leave the border. We crashed in Kyrgyzstan and arranged a local fixer to deal with the car (not drivable) legally and had no issues leaving the country without the car - doing the same in Turkmenistan, Russia or Mongolia can and does cost thousands.
It's a bit of a dick move anyway to be honest and is partly the reason for the increased cost of doing the rally and why it no longer officially finishes in Mongolia - people were (understandably) getting pissed off at the number of cars being dumped in the country illegally.
Oh yeah I wasn't advocating doing so, just at 750 quid I assume a lot of people would look for ways around it. I'm just surprised you can't sell it or scrap it or something.It's a bit of a dick move anyway to be honest and is partly the reason for the increased cost of doing the rally and why it no longer officially finishes in Mongolia - people were (understandably) getting pissed off at the number of cars being dumped in the country illegally.
Zombie said:
Part of me is wondering what people do to be able to take 7 weeks off work and blow nearly 10k on a holiday, part of me is deeply jealous and my "Inner Chimp" wants to take a lump hammer to the piggy bank.
What an epic holiday.
Nearly £10k is a bit strong - the quote above is about £7k split between two, which in my experience is about right.What an epic holiday.
How to get the time off? Personally, I saved for a year and then quit my job. No sense in doing the best thing you'll ever do in your life with one eye on the calendar, is there?
I love threads like this they always give me such itchy feet. Best of luck and keep the updates coming!
mattydoh said:
Is that the gates to hell in Turkmenistan? Thats something I really want to see. Also did someone take a drone? That seems like a super cool but excessive thing on a trip where space must be tight!Buzz word said:
Is that the gates to hell in Turkmenistan? Thats something I really want to see. Also did someone take a drone? That seems like a super cool but excessive thing on a trip where space must be tight!
Yep that's the place. Tricky to get to but oh so worth it! That picture was indeed taken from a drone... and to make the packing even more impressive it was one of the guys on a bike! He had a top box on his bike purely to carry the drone. 
mattydoh said:
<snip>
2 (2) by matty_doh1, on Flickr
The Pamir took us about 5 days not pushing particularly hard as we wanted to spend some time there. That included taking the Wakhan Valley (again, recommended - the most beautiful place I've seen) as part of the main highway had been washed away. I wouldn't be nervous about it, everyone we met couldn't do enough to help us and there's a lot of Homestays on the way if you don't want to camp - it gets very cold on the higher stretches so warm sleeping bag recommended!
Just make sure you have some sump protection and keep an eye on your brake and fuel lines if they're under the car. The Corsa we were with was standard other than a sump guard and coped fine (well the roof rack fell off but they had too much crap anyway).
Awesome pictures, every time I see stuff like this from previous years' rallies I get excited 2 (2) by matty_doh1, on FlickrThe Pamir took us about 5 days not pushing particularly hard as we wanted to spend some time there. That included taking the Wakhan Valley (again, recommended - the most beautiful place I've seen) as part of the main highway had been washed away. I wouldn't be nervous about it, everyone we met couldn't do enough to help us and there's a lot of Homestays on the way if you don't want to camp - it gets very cold on the higher stretches so warm sleeping bag recommended!
Just make sure you have some sump protection and keep an eye on your brake and fuel lines if they're under the car. The Corsa we were with was standard other than a sump guard and coped fine (well the roof rack fell off but they had too much crap anyway).
We were mooting getting a drone ourselves as it goes. We'll see how we are for space! A lot of very useful information as well, so thank you. You mention sump guards, I'm guessing that's just a case of finding somebody who can fabricate one?Usget said:
That is awesome. What is it, a Metro?!teambeer said:
Have fun! We did. Got about £1k sponsorship which covered the fuel bill, rest cost about £2k each (3 of us). Not bad for 16 countries and 5 weeks travelling. If possible go through Iran, amazing country. Turkmenistan & Uzbekistan also very interesting places in their own way.
I like the Fiesta! It's a shame that we're not doing Iran really; it was a bit of a time & cost trade-off, we're aiming for about 5 1/2 weeks, and decided that the Pamirs were a must-do. There seem to be quite a lot of teams doing it this year though.Also, with regard to the cost we're expecting about £2.5k-£3k each ourselves, which seems to fall in line with most people. A lot of it is spread out before the rally, for example visas and the car itself, so at least it's not all in one hit 
When you break it down and look at how long it's for, it's not too bad really
When you break it down and look at how long it's for, it's not too bad really 
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