Preparation

We are just a few weeks from jumping in Stan, our Ford Transit van and driving 8,000 or so miles from undulating Surrey to the vast plains of Mongolia. Planning has been going on for two and a half years, for a journey that will last 7 weeks. We will first cross Europe, from the northern coast of France, through Begium to Luxembourg and then across Germany before heading south-east to Bulgaria and the shores of the Black Sea. Ferry schedules are not renowned for their accuracy or reliability in that part of the world but if all goes well, our ship should sail us smoothly over the sea and take us to Georgia. Next will come the challenge of the Caucasus mountain range, tracking winding roads through deep-cleft valleys and down into Azerbaijan. Once more, we will have to throw in our lot with the ferries and hope to secure a passage from one side of the Caspian Sea to the other, as well as wrangling a Turkmenistan visa, one of the most notoriously difficult documents any traveller can receive. If successful, we will have the wide open roads of the empty desert to look forward to and only five days in which to cross the country (so hopefully no mechanical problems!). Copious amounts of tinned food and stacks of bottled water, as well as jerry cans full of petrol will see us through these lonely stretches. Once through the desert, we will pick up the trail of the old Silk Road, the main thoroughfare since ancient times, connecting Europe, Africa and Asia and along with silk and spices used to flow. The hub of all this commerce was the thriving city of Samarkand, in Uzbekistan, whose glimmering aqua domes we hope to come to before pushing onto Krygyzstan and Kazakhstan beyond. Eventually, the mighty peaks of the Altai mountains, in a distant part of Siberia, Russia, will loom their heads and once across them, the almost limitless grasslands of the Mongolian steppe itself will prove our final obstacle before arriving in the capital, Ulaanbaatar. Here, Stan the van will be donated to the charity Go Help, where it will be converted into an utilities vehicle so it can spend the rest of its days in service as an asset to the people of the city and the country.

That’s the grand plan, everything is now in place: we have the resources, the know-how in order to deal with any mechanical issues, the route firmly in our minds and the documents we’ll need at each and every border crossing to see us safely through. We also have a shedload of toilet roll! Most importantly, we have each other to rely on and keep us all going on the road. And we have Stan, of course. He’s ready for his new life in Mongolia. We just have to get him there.