One of the elements of entertainment on the rally is the way that some of the participants unwittingly reinforce prejudices about national stereotypes. Some (important to note not all) of the Germans put their towels down on the parking spaces early in the morning, some of the Aussies are fiercely competitive (4 out of the top 7), some of the Americans whinge about the hotels (mind you I do too, but in my blog only), some of the Italians wear what appear to be Gucci designed smartly tailored overalls when working on their cars, while other Italians are wonderful with the local children and hand out child sized tee shirts with Paris Peking printed on them. And the Brits mainly seem to keep the bar open late and just want to get to Paris in comfort…

Figure 1 We have arrived ‘in Europe’ and have a certificate to prove it!

Today was a relaxed day. The organisers tend to get nervous about border crossings because they take unpredictable amounts of time and mess up rally schedules. So they normally (but not always) give us a relatively easy day when we have to cross them. Particularly anything involving Russia. But this time the gods were on our side and we had an easy passage in less than half an hour.

 

As I’ve mentioned before, Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan make up the Eurasian Economic Union and this clearly helps reduce customs formalities. In Russia immigration is the responsibility of the FSB (former KGB) and is handled efficiently. Customs are a law unto themselves.

 

And the icing on the cake was a border guard lady who despite wearing military fatigues still managed to look extremely glamourous. She flashed a wonderful smile as she wished us bon voyage.

Figure 2 Welcomed into Magnitogorsk

We actually had two border crossings in a day as later we passed from Asia into Europe when we crossed the Ural river in Magnitogorsk. This is an iron and steel centre, one of the biggest in the world by the side of a mountain made largely of iron ore which gives the city its name. The city is reputed to have the worst air quality in the world but this did not appear to be the case when we arrived. Mind you the whole town seemed to be out to greet us which would have made it difficult for them to be doing the activities that create the pollution.

 

We got an even better reception than elsewhere. Requests for autographs, selfies, vids etc. Mainly the attraction is the car, not us. But pleasing nevertheless. The engine starts to overheat if we get stuck in traffic for any great period so we find it hard to stay stopped while everyone gets the pic that they want.

 

This part of Russia, like some of the outlying areas in Siberia, still looks very poor. But the infrastructure is good and improving. Obviously distance is the problem – we are a long way away from anywhere. But the scenery in the foothills of the Urals is breathtaking.

 

We are staying on Lake Bannoe in a soviet era set of workers’ holiday flats. The flats are basic (apparently they are planning to install lifts…sometime) with polyester sheets but the place makes up in natural beauty for what it lacks in style. The lake is stunning. And as we are in the Urals, we are also in ski resort territory. Lake Bannoe is ranked No 1 in the Urals for snowboarding by the World Snowboarding Guide, so sounds like a place to avoid in winter. And it has the best bouncy castle I’ve ever seen…..

Figure 3 Happy campers in the workers’ holiday camp. Alan (next to Mike) and his brother Steve Maden (opposite him) from Melbourne are in a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow and generally keep us company as we aim for comfort rather than speed. Barry Nash behind Steve owns a garage in Benenden and with Malcolm Lister (opposite) is driving a Rover 3.5 litre

It is interesting how much of the Soviet era survives even 40 years on. Modernisation clearly operates more slowly than we had expected. And some Soviet era institutions we built to last. Our block of workers’ holiday flats have floors made of concrete which would be quite hard to demolish (though the walls are another thing).

 

It’s actually quite pleasing to see places that are quite wonderful being made available to those near the bottom of the pile. I guess they will be spoiled when they get fully opened up to tourism but at present we are getting a special glimpse into some great places before they get ruined.

 

And fun to discover connections on the rally. Barry Nash (see pic) runs a garage in Benenden close to Tenterden where Mike lives and where we are moving. One of the Italians is a fellow Cresta rider and a member of the St Moritz Tobogganing Club.

 

We had no serious mechanical problems today. The car was not charging properly in the morning so we (with the help of the sweeps who had the right spanners) tightened up the fan belt at the first stop which solved the problem.

 

Today we head off to Ufa for a stay in the Hilton and a rest day. Although the car is running reasonably well (touch wood of which fortunately there is a lot in the car), it needs a thorough check up and service to try to help it get to Paris.

 

And from the map it looks as though the drive takes us through some more stunning scenery as we traverse the mighty Urals.

Mike and Doug are fundraising for the Harinder Veriah Trust.  It provides essential equipment and tuition to enable the poorest of pupils to attend the Assunta School in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. It is a worthy cause and particularly close to Doug’s heart since his first Cub Scout Bob-a-Job week aged 6! The brothers have been supporting the school ever since. To donate or find out more please follow this link: https://www.gofundme.com/7hf8j-peking-to-paris-2019