I always want to do things the right way. »The right way for whom?« you might ask. For me, of course. What does it mean to me? I think the closest I can get to the meaning in one sentence is: »If it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing«.
I started doing some research soon after Mateja told me about the Mongol Rally. The first thing was the duration of the event. The organizer doesn’t really have any specific requirements with regards to duration. Well, apart from a couple of more or less obligatory gatherings. There’s a party at the start of the rally, there’s another party usually in Romania and there’s one more at the finish line. It starts in the middle of July and it ends sometime towards the middle of September. We’d have two months if we’d like to »finish« the rally.
I then concentrated on the route. The start is near Prague nowadays and the finish line is in Ulan-Ude (near lake Baikal). There is no set route provided (or required) by the organizer. The only set point are the start, the party in the »middle« and the finish. Each team can choose the route specifically tailored to their needs (or stupidity). I immediately opened one of the more popular on-line maps thingies. I became quite apparent there are many, many roads between Prague and lake Baikal. Going through many, many different countries.
Even though I really like to be spontaneously adventurous, I went through some blog which contained a few route options. It seemed to me there are 3 popular directions teams take. One is the northern route. Many teams visit Scandinavia on their route to lake Baikal. The second one is the central one leading teams through Europe and straight through Russia. The third goes, well, south. Through Iran for example. There are numerous other iterations, but aforementioned ones are most common.
There is one additional thing suggested strongly by the organizer. The car really should leave Russia. I soon decided to drive home from the finish line. I’d really like to create a sort of circular journey. I (again) browsed the internet and had soon ended up on one of the more popular on-line maps. To choose a provisional route, of course. After some time the route was complete and I have marvelled in what I came up with. It would lead me through rivers and perhaps over the sea. I’d have to take on strange landscapes, dangerous roads and weird drivers.
I already knew my desire for going to this adventure wouldn’t really quieten down. It would only become louder. I was thinking about the obstacles, about not getting enough annual leave, about not knowing my co-driver, about… Many things.
My desire, however, was strong.
All of the fear, all of the doubt only drained me of my energy. And all for something I knew when I first read the article where 3 students were driving for 70 days to the heart of Asia.
60 days. Many thousands of kilometers and plenty of countries. All with a car most pepople woudn’t even be using for visiting the closest pub. I was picturing myself driving through epic landscapes, unknown countries. A true challenge.
The decision was always simple.
I’m going!
I was feeling ecstatic when I reach the final decision. There was plenty of time before the start. But Mongol Rally being an adventure, it doesn’t really begin at the start line. It begins even before you enlist. 😊
Having researched the event I had some idea of how the entry procedure worked. You can sign up for the event sometime during July or August.
And sure enough the sign up was opened soon after we returned form Georgia. A bit earlier than I predicted. I had to expedite my pre-entry procedure. 😊 I wanted to have my annual leave approved before I’d enter the event. Even though I was ready to take extreme measures I always hoped two month absence would be a problem for my employer.
I was experiencing a lot of anxiety when I was writing an email explaining why and how much time I’d need for my »vacation«. The anxiety was all for nothing. The time I’d need was approved. I’m really fortunate my employer is this cool.
This marked the end of my pre-entry procedure.
The story, however, can’t really end with me being the only member of the team. I could probably drive the whole thing myself, but I had a sneaking suspicion, it might be a tad easier and more fun if I had a co-driver.
I was working on convincing people close to me hoping at least one’d join me. Previous road trip experience convinced me my sister Mateja would be perfect for the job. I wouldn’t really quit convincing her until she’d agree. That why I was asking her quite often how her employer felt about her absence. With sign in start date getting closer she also asked and got a green line. Her employer is also quite cool, it seems.