The Return

The last few months have been an incredible adventure for me. I have travelled from the UK to Mongolia and back, I have traversed from the highest emotional highs to the most depressing lows, I have seen the most beautiful sights and felt the darkest nights. And now, after 5 months of life changing events, I return to normality and its humanity.

My adventure to Mongolia was incredible. We set off from Goodwood on Saturday July 24th 2010 and by Friday August 20th 2010 we were in Ulanbataar, Mongolia. It was indescribably amazing. I will write a full and detailed account of what happened each day and the things that we undertook along the way, from firing RPGs and machine guns, to eating with a Mongolian family and being slightly scared by a strange Russian chap and his daughter.
But the trip itself was jaw droppingly immense. I have tried to tell people that I have spoken to about it, tried to describe and illustrate just how life changing and worth while it is but I feel that my words escape me and I can only tell them half of the whole feeling.
Alongside that, we managed to raise a whooping £2200 for charity and with donating our vehicle to charity too, we raised a further $3350 (£2100). All in all, we were very pleased with how our team did and what we managed to contribute to charity!

The rally also allowed for a great deal of thought and contemplation. Although I took only fictional novels with me to read on some of the long haul drives, these novels reflected my mood and feelings and somehow managed to help me relate and survive some low periods. The books I was reading were part of The Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell. These stories are about a young Englishman who is adopted by a Viking clan and shown how they live before returning to his own people and then having to turn and fight against the Vikings he had grown to love. Along the way he faces close personal loss, battles of immeasurable hardship and a plethora of other contributing factors that make his life a constant battlefield. But through the grime, blood and hate, there is an underlying search for calm, for prosperity and for love.

Often when I took my turn to sit squished and cramped in the back of our Terios, crossing through some of the landscapes that Kazakhstan and Mongolia and many other countries had to offer, I would absorb myself into the novel, putting myself in the place of Uthred Ragnarsson (the hero of the story) and in turn, putting him in my place. I felt as though, as we travelled across Asia, that I was a Viking of old, heading out to discover new worlds and places, sailing the seas, facing the pitfalls of life and the battles of death. Whether people would look at me odd for admitting that I do not know, but I used his resilience and inner power to help me through some low points on the journey.

Saying this however, the highs greatly outnumbered the lows by a huge amount. Some of the most audacious experiences I have had, came from Team Metalrallykhar and our enjoyment on the road. Swimming in the Black Sea, getting drunk with a Ukrainian campsite owner, eating Pasta and tomato whilst drinking Vodka by the bucket load, driving some amazing roads, navigating our way through almost non existent tracks and pitting Bertha (our car) against some formidable terrain. These and many more occurings have inspired me, driven me to investigate further adventures yet to be had. Seeing the lives of others pass before my eyes, talking to locals from all walks of life and places across the world, experiencing everything I did has not only motivated me to do more with my life, but has given me the passion to do so.

But as with all good things, it came to an end. A drunken and fuel frenzied end, but a terminal and undeniable end. We spent 2 full days in Ulanbataar before flying home. When we reached Berlin, Shaun went off to Spain to see his lady and then Dan and I made our way back to England. It was good to be home, but as with festivals I have found, the blues set in massively. So I decided that I would use my unemployed status to my advantage and head out on the road again. This time I decided to go it alone but would again be on the road. Having read so much about Vikings and their history over the past few weeks, I thought a trip to their homeland would be inspirational and informative. So after a brief shopping trip to the local shops, I packed my bags and not even 4 days since my return from Mongolia, I set out on the road to Denmark.

It was a strange but enjoyable experience going it alone in a foreign country. But thankfully I used this time to practice my Danish, to learn about other cultures and to explore the background of such an incredible nation and it history. I journeyed from town to city, taking in as many sites as I could. Visiting museums, galleries, exhibits and many other cultural aspects. It was amazing. Lonely at times, when wanting to discuss what I had just seen or experienced, but apart from that, it was a lot fun.

Then after 7 days of journeying alone, I returned home, to my family, to my friends and my lady. It was good to see them all, to hear what they had done, to see that life goes on regardless and to learn that no matter how much you fear the unknown, I believe it offers you more than you can ever expect.

So now I am back, I have finally found a little job for 5 months whilst I contemplate and plan my future and the next adventure in my life. Many other things and events have unfurled in the recent months but these are entries in my blog yet to come.

But for now, I bid thee farewell and I hope this has given some kind of insight into what the Mongol Rally has to offer each and every one of us, if you have the initiative and gumption to go out on a limb and do something daring, something new, something amazing!