THE PROBUS CLUB OF SEAFORD
At our last meeting we received an excellent presentation from Mairin Colleary detailing the overland journey that she and a friend had undertaken to Mongolia. ‘Why on earth would two ladies want to travel overland to Mongolia?’ we asked. ‘Well,’ said Mairin, ‘I had just passed a significant birthday, so I wanted to do something slightly different’. The first stage was to acquire a second-hand van, for conversion into a small motor caravan. Since all the countries they were crossing drove on the right this meant buying a left-hand drive van in Europe, bringing it back to the UK, converting the lighting and other aspects to meet UK legal requirements to get the vehicle registered and insured, and then changing it all back for the first stage of the journey which started in Brussels. A further complication was that ‘Camping Gaz’ is unknown outside mainland Europe, and so the caravan was equipped with a petrol stove! The small size of the vehicle precluded the fitment of an Elsan chemical toilet, so for the whole journey the sanitary arrangements comprised a shovel and a torch. At Brussels they joined 11 other vehicles which were participating in a Charity Rally, although they saw very few of the competitors on the rest of the route. Throughout the journey the major hazards were other drivers, poor roads, roaming camels, the weather, and rivers to be forded. If there was any doubt is to the depth of the water, Mairin sent her friend Kitty ahead on foot! Road signs were virtually unknown. Uzbekistan is generally known for its herds of apparently wild horses; in reality they are farmed for meat.
In many areas there was evidence of large-scale road building by the Chinese. But when the road is finished the workmen do not go home: they stay and colonise the area by stealth. Siberia lived up to its reputation for midges; those in Scotland seem tame by contrast. Throughout the whole trip Mairin and her friend saw nothing but kindness. It seemed that the poorer people were, the happier they were to share what little they had. They met a local boy in Uzbekistan who spoke almost perfect English: not as a result of lessons, but by watching cartoons on Western television. The whole purpose of the trip was to raise money to buy books for Mongolian children – a much prized but virtually unobtainable commodity. The camper van was left behind, to be converted into a mobile library. After a lively question-and-answer session, Mairin was thanked for sharing her adventure with us. Only then did she mention one other fact about the trip: she and her friend had only managed to have two hot showers during the whole journey! For further details of our club please contact our Secretary Gavin on (01323) 893760.
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