The Mongol Rally Guys

The next morning we got up around 9:00AM, grabbed a bite to eat, and headed off to the Goodwood Motor Speedway. There we joined all of the other teams for a bit of pre-launch comradery, Mongolian music and wrestling performances, and assorted speeches. We met the Rally organizer, Tom, and also had a chat with some of the representatives of Mercy Corps, which we are raising donations for. We had a slight snafu when the organizers said that they hadn’t received our vehicle deposit yet–apparently the bank transfer two weeks earlier hadn’t gone through. I promised to check into it and re-send the money whenever possible and they kindly let us receive our entry packet.

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Collin arrived in the UK on the morning of July 15th without much incident (other than him losing his directions to a cleaning lady on the subway and having to find a library in London where he could check his e-mail and print them out again). He was pretty jet-lagged and ended up sleeping most of the day. We went out in the evening for a few rounds with a friend, Fran, from Ireland, that lives in Australia and I met because of Japan and was now in London on a one day stopover before flying to China.

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Contrary to certain reports, we are indeed still alive!

In Prague right now. We hit the pre-launch campground at about 10PM to see dozens of other teams out drinking and BBQ throughout the nite. One team, Jersey Boys, had already gotten into an accident and had to be towed to a garage the next morning. Got a few hours of sleep and then got up to attend the launch at Goodwood Motor Circuit.

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Adventure is a path. Real adventure—self-determined, self-motivated, often risky—forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind—and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both.

 
This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white.

 

Mark Jenkins