If one thing has emerged during the drive to Mongolia it's that Mr Bannan has thoroughly immersed himself into the spirit of the rally bringing his unique brand of humour and wit whether intentional or otherwise. His latest witticism is thus:
"Got lost in Taldykorgan and Paul was ranting on saying that you would think that they would have put the bloody road signs in English".
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| Bannan to lodge formal complaint to Kazakhs concerning "ridiculous" signs |
With a bit of foresight before embarking on the trip, one of the team should have had the common decency to have entered into intense negotiation with the Kazakh embassy in London. They perhaps then could have dispatched their UK diplomat to liaise with the appropriate department in Astana the Kazakh capital, and have all road-signs on the teams route changed so as not to offend our congenial plumber. Clad in an ill fitting Don Estelle type safari suit throughout the journey Mr B has suffered amongst other things, raging diarrhea, and some very dubious mishaps involving bed slats but plods on ranting but stiff upper-lipped as he stumbles for ever onward toward his goal........The man's a legend.
It seems that the distubances in various locations in England have spread far and wide and now reached Kazakhkstan:
"Scumbag throws brick through our rear window outside our hotel in Kounradskiy"
They seem to have survived the Kazakh hoodies as Japs log reads :
"Camping on the Kazakh Steppes tonight already tucked up. The stars are really brilliant and Paul had a blonde moment he rared up as the signs were in the Cyrillic alphabet and not English"
At last they seem to be using the tent.
They are now on probably the hardest leg of the journey. After leaving Kazakhstan they will "briefly" go into Russia and then onto Mongolia and the daunting Gobi Desert. Tonight they will sleep under the stars unpolluted by light and in the vast Asian outdoors. This is what it's all about, to be tucked up in a warm sleeping bag under a massive dark sky,drowsy and content...except that is for good old Mr Bannan floundering into the blackness, Andrex and shovel in hand, off to do his ablutions still carping and bleeting about those bloody road-signs.
Distance travelled : 9027 miles
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