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Romanian brake trouble and a lot of beer: Day 6

Romanian brake trouble and a lot of beer: Day 6

By Robin Ewing
During the 7-mile drive to Dracula’s castle, the brakes started making an ominous sound. So on the road to Bucharest, we pulled into a mechanic shop – no go. Then, we pulled into another mechanic shop and a bunch of men in overalls huddled around the wheels loudly sucking in their breath and saying things like “no safe” and “broke bad.” We kept going

Transylvania: Day 5

Transylvania: Day 5

Day five, Wed. July 10 : Budapest to Brasov, Romania  696km/432 miles and 14.5 hours (including a 1 hour construction stop, a 1-hour dinner stop and a 30 minute speeding ticket stop) Not so long out of Budapest, the multi-lane autobahn ends and the...
Cologne, Munich, Bratislava and Budapest: Day 2, 3 & 4

Cologne, Munich, Bratislava and Budapest: Day 2, 3 & 4

Day Two, July 7: Cologne to Munich, Germany. Miles driven: 714km/443 miles Spent most of the day in the car yearning to wear a ride a bike in a dirndl through the Rhine Valley. One of the prettiest roads I have ever seen, B42 follows the Rhine River, a UNESCO...
And we’re off! Day 1

And we’re off! Day 1

By Robin Ewing
July 6, 2013.

Day One: London to Cologne. 590 km/367 miles

And we’re off! The London launch was brilliant, as the Brits like to say.
About 13 teams showed up at Horse Guards Parade at Whitehall in central London, a parade area where Henry VIII held jousting tournaments and Elizabeth I threw her birthday parties. Nowadays, it’s mostly where tourists go to photograph the changing of the guards. Today, instead, it was a motley assortment of people driving cars decked out in stickers and flags and passing on advice about the best way to get to Mongolia.

Jamie’s manifesto

Jamie’s manifesto

By Jamie Ewing
June 2013

My fund raising is pitiful compared to my sister, her high-rolling friends and my bullying engineer cousin. I haven’t listened in on a single Go Help conference call. I’ve barely studied the logistics, rules, visas, distances, or routes for my nine countries. I haven’t suffered from FOMO (in case you don’t know what that is, read the previous blog entry), and I haven’t bought any supplies even though the temperature in Turkmenistan commonly reaches 110 degrees in July (I did research that).

Top 10 reasons Mongolia is more awesome than wherever you are

Top 10 reasons Mongolia is more awesome than wherever you are

by Jamie Ewing
July, 2013

1. Short horses. Have you ever seen a Mongolian horse? I haven’t either, at least one that wasn’t on Google images. They are short.

2. Yaks. It’s a funny name isn’t it? Some people call them furry cattle. Some people use the word as a verb. I don’t care how you use it, but try saying it without at least a hint of a smile. Ever had a yak milk cappuccino? That will wipe the smile off your face