In the summer of 2019, me and two friends embarked on a journey that we will never forget - the Mongol Rally

The goal is to drive to Mongolia in a car and experience as much as possible. It is not a race, and other than the start and end point, nothing is written in stone. It is all up to you to create your own adventure.

The rules are simple. You need a mediocre car with less than a 1.2l engine, no route, no support. And you need to raise at least 1000£ for charity.

The Mongol Rally is an annual event, organized by the Adventurists, a british organization which grew around the original Mongol Rally, which happened in 2004.

Here you will find a compilation of our travellogs, photos and tips and tricks in case you are foolish enough to attempt it yourself.

We're doing it. After long preparations and getting the car fixed last minute we finally started for probably one of our biggest adventures so far. After getting everything packed in the morning we left Überlingen at Lake Constance in southern Germany around noon to head direction Prague where the start event takes place. Including a big party of course. So far no hiccups today, the car runs smoothly, no police checks, not even speeding at a speed control. To be fair our car isn't fast anyways.

Today we made it all the way to Pilsen where the famous Pilsener beer is originated. We found a sweet campsite by the lake and met five other Mongol Rally adventurer cars here (Autocamp Pilsen Bolevák). We had a nice sit and some beers togehter. Really nice people and cool to see what others came up with their cars. One thing stood our. Everyone had crazy big lightbars mounted to the roof. I guess we'll need them later. Luckily we also got one. After a nice shower we're looking forward to a first of many nights in the tent.

After a great night at the campsite at Pilsen with five other teams from the mongol rally we're heading towards Prague after checking out the city of Pilsen of course. Our drive to the launch party in Prague is just an hour long and we arrive at a crazy campsite. Basically an old junkjard with a touch of an abandoned military base. The whole place is packed with fellow adventurists. As we found out later there's even more teams than we thought. 320 in total. After getting some info and doing some stupid stuff we spend a good amount of time hooking up our offroad lightbar and ťhe La cucaracha horns we had bought. The staff has been extremely helpful providing a drill and screws. I think we spent around 4 hours hooking everything up. The light works, the horn not yet.. we'll fix that tomorrow. After a short stop in the rave bunker we're heading to the tent to be ready for the launch tomorrow. A big day ahead of us and we already met tons of friendly fellow adventurists.

Excitement in the air after some good sleep on D.P.G.R.A. (Democratic People's Glorious Republic Adventuristan) grounds. It's launch time! All lights on green! Ready to go! Before we cross the start line all the teams gather one last time at the city centre of Junktown Plaza. Mr. Tom (the crazy genius behind the adventurists) has some final words for us. The best car gets honoured in front of the crowd, earing some beer as a prize. In this case the best car is of course the worst car you could possibly pick to accomplish the Mongol Rally. So basically a really shitty car. The crowd had to decide between two contestants. One team's car already broke down and the other team which actually won had an Ural motorcycle with an extra seat at the side. There wasn't even enough storage space for the beer they just had won. Next was the walk of shame! The winner of the "SHAME" prize is the worst car. So in this case (as you would imagine by now) the most luxurious, spacious and roadworthy car of all. The kind of car you would usually get for this kind of trip if you hadn't lost your mind... They had given us shame stickers the day before that we could put on a cars deserving the price. The winner was a couple in a huge Mitsubishi Pajero. That alone is a lot of space for just two people. But that's not all, they even had a trailer attached! After being shamed at the stage they received their price. A huge gold painted TV and satellite dish that they have to carry all the way to Mongolia! Good luck guys! After a moment of silence and listening to the D.P.G.R.A. anthem the whole crowd cheered and finally got back to their cars to soon gloriously cross the start line of the Mongol Rally 2019! It was a big moment. A long awaited start for a crazy adventure. Everyone went nuts as the first cars passed the start line. People were sitting on the roof of their cars, leaning out and waving flags. In every single face you could see how much joy they felt while crossing the line. After the start line cars quickly dispersed in all directions. It was a beautiful sight seeing all those tiny cars along the streets at the horizon. Of course we met many fellow adventurists along our route to Budapest. Each passing celebrated with furious waving, honking and flashes. At every gas and toll station we met some other teams and shared stories about what happened so far. Two cars already got a broken timing belt. Everyone helped each other. One timing belt got replaced by zipties and tape. It only lasted for 3 hours though. Before arriving late at our Budapest campspot we had a nice stopover with a piece of cake in Bratislava. We were positively surprised how clean and beautiful the medieval alleys have been. Definitely a place we want to visit again. Around 11pm we arrived at the family owned Ave Natura campsite. We were happy to have arrived and get a shower and some much needed sleep.

Broken glass In the early morning Robert got waken up by loud cursing on the otherwise quiet campsite. On our way to the bathroom we saw what happened. Broken glass on the ground. Another Rally team had smashed their rear window when something got stuck while they closed the trunk. Very unfortunate… however they got it replaced the same day.

Budapest city trip Today our trip leads us further south into Romania. We want to do the Transfagarasan pass tomorrow so the plan is to get as close as possible to the base. Before heading there, we decided to go for a little city tour in Budapest. Magnificent views while we crossed the bridge into the city. The well-preserved architecture left and right of the river Danube was worth lots of pictures. After seeing the parliament we went up the hill to the Royal Palace for a drink and view above the city. We spent a little more time than planned so we took a taxi back to the car to find out that we got our first parking ticket. Yay! This sets us back 20 Euros. Luckily we could save some money in Romania where the vignette only cost us affordable 3 Euros. The rest of the trip was just the highway through a mainly flat and rural landscape.

Campsite We arrived around 22pm at the campsite where we got a spot together with around 10 other Rally teams. A very spacious campground surrounded by nature. It’s really nice to camp together with the other teams as you’re always warmly invited to join the group for some chatting and beers. This way you get to know the experiences and challenges to other teams faced so far. Team Viking from Norway took part at the Mongol Rally for the 3rd time. Their plan is to drive all the way to Thailand, Mongolia and then back to Norway. Very impressive. We also got some valuable information about what is really necessary to accomplish the rally. Crazy rally tires and tennis ball loaded springs are not needed as the locals also don’t have big jeeps in those areas and use the same roads. However good driving skills and going slow is crucial. Having a few spare parts with you might also come in handy.

Transfagarasan pass The Transfagarasan pass was built in the 1970s, reaches an altitude of 2042 meters and according to Top Gear is the “greatest driving road in the world” (youtube episode available). A first real test on how our Panda would handle steep terrain. As everyone on the campsite wanted to drive over the pass we formed a convoy to experience it together. As the road was winding up with its steep turns we were greeted with spectacular views down in the valley while clouds passed below us. It was so much fun driving up there with the whole group and seeing those unique cars lined up in the curves on their way up. La Cucaracha horn Yesterday we bought some final parts that were missing to get our La Cucaracha horn working. A stronger fuse and a piece of tube. A lot of effort was put into installing the whole thing and to our delight it really worked! The pass was a good opportunity to test the horn. The motorcyclists at the side of the road cheered at us when we honked the La Cucaracha tune. With all the excitement we had to refrain from using it too frequently. We stopped several times to let the car cool down and take some pictures of the beautiful scenery. So far the Panda worked flawlessly. After passing the top there was a sharp decent with even more curves. The convoy wasn’t super fast but also not slow at all. We had to make heavy use of the brakes before every turn. After descending quite a bit we stopped together at a parking strip. Then we suddenly noticed an intense smell coming from one of the cars. Everyone looked where it came from but we quickly noticed that our brakes where smoking hot. And I mean literally smoking hot. Luckily we didn’t have to make use of our fire extinguisher but it was ready in case we needed it. Everyone was helpful and discussing why our brakes were smoking a little. We also thought about ripping off the wheel covers to give the brakes more ventilation. We didn’t do that though, we just went a bit slower and made more use of the motor brake which solved the problem. After passing over a huge dam the road condition got worse because of some repairs where they carved out some bits of the tarmac. There was a motorcycle accident because of that where Team Mongol Trolley had to give first aid. For lunch we got a nice fresh omlette and selfmade fries. Definitely worth the waiting time! Camping After a short visit to Bucharest (we only bought a hammer there) we headed further south over the border to Bulgaria near a city called Tarnovo. We had a beautiful campsite with a generous pool. The lady running the campsite was super excited that some teams of the Mongol Rally returned to their site. She was a big fan and they had lots of participants there last year. We even got a discount from her. On the terrace we met our friends from Norway that arrived half an hour earlier. After having a beer, a delicious tomato soup and some more beers we headed to bed at around 1am.

After a nice morning swim in the pool we went on our way to Turkey. Our friends from Team Mongol Trolley are heading south of Istanbul to visit relatives while we’ll use the northern route once we’re in Turkey to get into Georgia as quick as possible. We’ve all been to Turkey a couple times before so we’ll skip some of the touristy stuff and spend more time in the countries following. On the way out of Bulgaria you could see some poorer, more rural villages with horse-drawn carts passing by. The ride to the border just took us a couple hours. While getting closer a familiar picture with long lines of trucks greeted us. The staff at the border has been really nice to us. We didn’t even have to unpack our gear. Just a short look into the car and question whether we had any drugs with us. Once we got closer to the Istanbul the buildings got higher and the traffic busier. After a while it was slow stop and go traffic. The Bosporus Bridge was just an hour away and we joked that it would be sunset until we arrive there. Unfortunately it really was sunset when we arrived at the bridge after several hours of traffic jam. Some lanes of the bridge had been closed for reconstruction. While crossing the bridge we had some breathtaking views above the Bospurus with several boats passing below the bridge and Istanbul in the background. We finally left the European continent without too many hiccups. The joy didn’t last long. A few kilometers after the bridge the speed indicator was moving awkwardly before permanently going to zero. A little while later the power steering failed as well and some engine lights went on. Bummer! Our mood got pretty bad, especially because the power steering already had problems when we bought the car and we just got it fixed in Germany. If the whole power steering system had to be replaced it could cost around 1000€ or more. 40 kilometeres behind Istanbul we left the motorway to a big parking lot where we organized a tow truck to get our car to the next workshop. Some security guards helped us explain where our location was. Driving wasn’t safe in this condition. We were worried that this could be an early end for our trip if the costs get too high. Definitely not a good feeling… Two hours later at midnight the tow truck arrived and took us to the next fiat workshop. The gate was closed and even after repeated honking no one showed up to open it. A while later the truck driver lost his nerves and went over the fence to see what was going on. He found the security guard sleeping in his chair and woke him up by banging against the window. After unloading our car the truck driver was nice enough to bring us to a closeby hotel where we expect to spend a few days. It was already 1am when we arrived and the driver told us that we should be back at the workshop in the early morning around 7:15am. A short night ahead and a worried feeling about how our adventure would continue from here.

After just a few hours of sleep we got up at 6:40am to get a taxi to the workshop. The breakfast buffet looked delicious but we had to skip it to be on time. We arrived at 7:15am at the workshop. It was called the “Fiat Automotive Legends” near Izmit. An older Turkish man who appeared to be the janitor greeted us warmly once we entered the building. He only spoke a few words English but managed to let us know that the place doesn’t open before 9am. Instead of sleeping longer and sitting at the breakfast menu we’re now seated in the Fiat lounge where the friendly janitor serves us some Turkish coffee and several rounds of Cay. A surprisingly high number of employees and the manager arrive at 9am. He quickly calls us to his office where, with the help of google translate tell him all the problems we encountered with the car. It didn’t take long before 5 mechanics started working and diagnosing the issues on our car. They checked everything thoroughly. We also asked them to have a look at the brakes since we had some problems with them on the pass. It turned out that they had to be readjusted because one was a little too tight. They also found out that the electronic part for controlling the power steering was broken. The exact same part we already got replaced back in Germany. Luckily they got one spare part in stock and could fix it right away. After expecting high costs we were relieved that the bill was only 68 Euros. The manager and mechanics were really interested in the Mongol Rally and with everyone standing around the map on the front of our car we explained what we were up to. We got some group pictures together and were happy to be able to continue our adventure. It really was a professional workshop that you don’t always find in Germany. Once again we want to thank the manager and all his employees for getting us back on the road. We left around noon and had to make some distance to reach Georgia the day after. It was a long drive ahead of us to the northern coast with access to the Black Sea. It got dark once we reached it and we drove through plenty of modern style cities with colorful LEDs everywhere. There weren’t any options for camping in the first cities so we decided to drive longer even though it was already quite late. On a map we found the sign of a camping spot and hoped that it would still exist and be open. When we got there we were pleased to see a modern, clean campsite directly at the sea. Arriving at the gate the security car rushed to our car and friendly greeted us. Are you a family? He asked. No just friends from school we replied. You guys can’t camp here! We didn’t understand what was going on but it turned out that this was a family or married couples campground only. We later found out that this is quite common in the conservative northern part of Turkey. We tried our best negotiation skills with no luck. They suggested that we could camp on the other side of the street next to the gas station. Definitely not a good option. At 11:30pm we arrived at the next camp (Uluburun campsite) shortly after Giresun located on a cliff above the Black Sea. Luckily it was still open and they accepted non family campers.

After a swim in the Black Sea we left the campground to cross the border into Georgia and get closer to Tiblisi, the capital of Georgia. We had a nice lunch break shortly before the border. A family run restaurant where the father explained us all the specialties he had. He also introduced us to his daughters who were serving here. Everything was fresh and tasted really good. We paid 17€ with drinks included. The daugthers kindly asked to get a group picture in front of the car before we left. At the last gas station we spend the last 38TL (approx. 6€) we had in our pockets. Not an easy task. I bought 3l of Coca Cola but was far from reaching 35TL. I had to buy cookies, chips, chewing gum, additional 2l of Coca Cola and 3l of water to reach the amount and left the gas stations with two bags full of supplies. At the border crossing Denis had to stay in the car (it’s registered on him) while Robert and I had to use the pedestrian border check. Everything went smoothly and just cost us an hour. At around sunet we arrived at a beautiful Campground directly at the beach shortly after Shekvetili (Black Beach camping). It was a beautiful sunset and view from the campground. We also met a nice retired German couple who are cruising the world several months a year in their campervan. Very impressive! The wifi didn’t work because of a power outage but we could help the manager by borrowing him our powerbank with inverter to power the router. Swimming in the Black Sea was fantastic again, especially with a beautiful sunset like we just had.

Ambitious plans for today. We want to explore Tiblisi, the capital of Georgia which is a 5,5 hour drive. After a few hours of sightseeing we want to cross the border into Azerbaijan and drive another 4,5 hours to reach our hotel which is somewhat near to Baku. As we had a tight schedule we decided to wake up early at 6:30am. After several hours on the highway with just small villages it was impressive to see Tiblisi where we arrived at 1pm. It had an interesting mix of modern and old architecture. The capital is beautifully embedded between hills with a river meandering through it. There is a castle on one of the hills which can be reached by foot or with a gondola cableway. Once again we were positively surprised by the beauty and culture of this city that we might have never seen if it wasn’t for the Mongol Rally. A nice walk through alleys with dozens of restaurants, a sulfur bath and a botanical garden lead us up to the top of the hill where the castle and a big statue (mother of Georgia) stood. Breathtaking views above the city from a bar where we got some much needed refreshments. For our way down we got the gondola cableway to get directly to the other side of the river and do some more walking there. We spent 3 hours in Tiblisi and all agreed that it would be worth spending several days of vacation here. We continued our trip to Azerbaijan to reach the city of Ismayilli at around 10 to 11pm. At least that was the plan. After a while in the traffic jam Robert and I went through the pedestrian border crossing again. This wasn’t a big issue. They definitely took extra care in checking our passports and visas but let us pass after 10 minutes as the people behind us got a little impatient. They made the impression that they don’t see Germans with visas too often. As Denis had to cross the border in the car it was a whole other story for him. He had to endure a long bureaucratic procedure which seemed to be quite disorganized. The fact that most staff hardly spoke any English didn’t help. After waiting a long time in line they searched every box and container in our car. Afterwards they checked his passport and handed out a paper to him that stated that his passport was checked. Next you had to go into another line to get your car insured. Each counter had its own lines with long waiting times. So far 2 hours passed. When Denis finally reached the gate they didn’t let him pass because the stamp that the car had been searched was missing. Apparently you only get this if you first get your passport checked. After a while Denis reached the gate again. The frustration grew as they turned him back another time. He had the insurance papers but that wasn’t enough. You needed another stamp by the authorities that the insurance is correct. Robert and I were already waiting on the other side and cheered when Denis finally got through after a total of 4 hours. Since we still had 4-5 hours of driving ahead this meant that we wouldn’t reach the hotel before 1 or 2am. We didn’t drive fast because of potholes and animals on the street. All this with no street lights so visibility was bad as well. After an hour we passed an accident where someone happened to crash into a cow that was lying dead on the side of the street. Our time of arrival gradually got later and later. When we left the highway for the last 40km going up north we encountered the worst street of the whole trip so far. At first we thought this was just a few hundred meters for reconstruction but it only got worse. There almost wasn’t any tarmac left. Only big potholes and dirt. All this in a pitch-black night. We didn’t see any cars except for one Lada that passed us jumping over the potholes like a rabbit. After a few kilometers with an average speed of 10km/h we left the pothole hell to get back on a decent street. It was a big detour but still faster than continuing on the pothole street. After another hour we arrived at 2:45am at the Ismayilli Resort Hotel which was newly opened and very luxurious. We were happy to end this long day without any accident and fell asleep at 3am in the morning.

After some good sleep we got up at around 10:15am to not miss out on the wonderful breakfast buffet that was open until 11am. It must have been one of the first big breakfasts we had on the trip. We also had a walk through the wellness area where they had a sauna and swimming pool. We then headed off to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan which was just a 2.5 hour drive away. After arriving close to the city center, traffic and finding a parking spot became a complete chaos. At one intersection we were completely stuck with cars all around us. Some guys made a business with organizing parking spots for desperate tourists. After we couldn’t find one, we took the offer and paid around 4€ and left him a box of cigarettes to take care of our car. Robert had bought them at the previous duty-free shop. Having some cigarettes is always good for negotiating in some of the countries ahead. The old city center of Baku is pretty walkable and surrounded by a big stonewall. The buildings inside are very antique, especially the “Maiden Tower” which is supposed to be unconquerable. Some parks are placed just outside the wall where we had a little break in the shade. In the distance you could see the financial district with the modern skyscrapers. Baku definitely is a nice city, however all of us agreed that we like Tiblisi better. After eating a little too much for lunch we headed back to the car to drive as close to the border to Iran as possible. We arrived in the city of Lankaran just 1 hour away from the border at the Caspian Sea. We went to the Luxe Hotel Lankaran for under 50€ and really enjoyed the airconditioning after a hot day.

Reminding ourselves of the experiences we had at the last border crossing we prepared for the worst. We expected long waiting hours and a difficult process. Before leaving Lankaran we had a little walk through the city and the beach with the Caspian Sea. After an hour drive we arrived at the Azerbaijan border. The border was just gravel for the last bit. Luckily there were only two cars in front of us. But that didn’t mean much. It took about half an hour for every car to be checked. A very long process just for leaving the country. All the luggage had to be removed for an x-ray scan. They looked inside the passenger room and engine compartment. They also spent lots of time checking our passports. One of the military guys looked a little angry when seeing the Armenian flag on our car (we didn’t even go there). After 1.5 hours we could finally move on to the Iranian side. We already heard before that there are so called “fixers”. They offer help for a little “service charge”. Our plan was to do it without but we ended up getting one. Nothing was written in English, no signs that showed where to go next and a bureaucratic process with our “Carnet de passage”. This document is necessary when you enter Iran by car to make sure you don’t import it illegally. It turned out that we’ve been pretty lucky getting such a friendly fixer with whom we got through the whole process in just 40 minutes. There was no x-ray scan and the car was just searched a little. They specifically asked and searched for alcohol which is forbidden in Iran. In total we paid 40$ for car insurance (usually a little cheaper) and 10$ for the fixer. After crossing the border faster than expected we could really make it until Tabriz. A big city in the northwest where we know an Iranian family through a friend of Robert. After a scenic drive and busy traffic in Tabriz we arrived half past 9 and were warmly greeted by the whole family. It was a very spacious house in the middle of the city with beautiful carpets covering the floor. Everyone came together for a nice Kebab dinner while sitting on the carpet. To keep the carpet clean you put a plastic table cloth beneath all the food and plates that you can conveniently throw away after you’re finished. No need to clean a table. The food was delicious. With full stomachs we headed to the huge guestroom which they kindly offered to us. We were provided some original Iranian guest beds. It’s a foldable mattress a pillow and a sheet that goes over both. Very practical and easy to stow away.

Of course we wanted to see the city of Tabriz before leaving for Theran. With it's population of 1.7 million it's pretty big so we were lucky to have the best tour guides possible. Different family members showed us the top spots. We first went to a beautiful park (Shahgoli garden) with a popular restaurant in the middle of an artificial lake. The park was surprisingly busy during the morning hours, probably because it’s still quite cool and most shops don’t open before 10am. For the locals the park is used for excercise and meeting friends. There is an amusement park attached to the park. We had a delicious breakfast in theDamla Garden Restaurant where we tried the local omelet, cheese, dates and honey served together with flat bread. Tabriz is also famous for its carpets which you can gaze at the old bazaar in the city center. The bazar is huge and definitely a must see when you come to Tabriz. Besides the beautiful and detailed carpets, you can find lots of jewelry, spices, snacks and leather shoes. The selfmade lemonade there is a welcoming refreshment before getting back into the heat outside. Our friend also showed us a barber where Till could get a decent Iranian haircut. The costs of living are pretty cheap. The haircut cost 1,5$, a liter of gasoline costs 0,09€ (1000 Toman) while a basic factory job earns you 110$ a month (average net salary is 339$/month). Before leaving we had a honey melon smoothie (very good!) and some local ice cream. Everything we heard about the Iranian hospitality was true. It just couldn’t be any better! We got greeted by strangers many times and when we headed for Tehran (7 hour drive) people were waving and smiling at us. There are a few toll stations on the way (pretty good street) but we didn’t have to pay at one of them. They just asked where we were from, had a little chat and waved us through. It was also the first time we got pulled over by the police because we were a little too fast. Yeah, it's even possible with a Fiat Panda, but only downhill! Instead of giving us a ticket they just gave us a warning and an apple for the way. In Tehran we arrived shortly before midnight at the Espinas Hotel. It was a little bit more expensive but well worth it.

After almost two weeks this will be our first day without driving ourselves. Since Tehran is a huge city with lots of history we wanted to have a little extra time to explore it. Taxis are not very expensive and it’s common that you get a private taxi driver for the whole day who waits for you at all the sights. Communicating with our driver was a little difficult since he didn’t speak English but with the help of Google Translate that wasn’t a big issue. First we stopped at the former US Embassy which was seized in 1979 during the Iranian Revolution. The Iranians call it “nest of spies” and turned it into an anti-American museum. A lot of classified documents (the ones that weren’t shredded), radio equipment and a “glass room” is accessible. It’s a room for secret negotiations with a glass chamber in the middle and all the walls covered with tin foil. Of course there were many anti-American posters on display and a student was employed to have “political discussions” with visitors. Next was the Golestan Palace in the heart of the city. An UNESCO World Heritage site which was the residence for the Qajar dynasty who chose Tehran as his capital. A fascinating complex with lots of tile work, a beautiful park and many museums. Definitely recommended. To get an idea of the size of Tehran we went to the Milad tower which is by far the tallest building of the city. It’s a crazy modern telecommunication tower with a café at the top. With 435m its the 6th highest tower in the world. While having some drinks and cake above the city we were impressed to see how far it stretched out. All the way to the horizon. From here Robert and Denis headed back to the hotel for some wellness while I went on for a private tour to explore Tajrish. It’s one of the oldest parts in Tehran and located on the northern hills of the city. Together with my tour guide Ehsan I wandered through the bazaar which is also a very popular place for the locals. Since Ehsan grew up in Tehran he knew all the best spots and had great explanations about history, culture and traditions. The tour was amazing and we tasted lots of different food at the bazar. (Website: www.persianwalk.com)

After some relaxing and sightseeing in Tehran it was time to do some long driving again. The plan today was to get as close as possible to the Turkmenistan border and to cross it the day after. The streets have been very good so we were lucky to drive 820 km to a city called Quchan. During the drive Robert found out that another Mongol Rally Team is also close to the border. We got in contact through the Mongol Rally Whatsapp group and decided to stay together in the evening. Left and right of the street you could see old buildings of the silk road era. According to the warning signs there were Asian cheetahs and camels in the area but they seemed to avoid the smell of our car. After 11 hours of driving we arrived at the hotel where we met Sean and Ciaran (Team Starlet Fever). Two very likable guys from Ireland. After some chatting and dinner, we all fell to bed.

The Norwegian Team Mongo Trolly we met before (Vegard and Mikkel) let us know that they are waiting for us in Ashgabat. This was good news because we thought we had to drive directly to the gas crater to catch up with them. So instead of a long drive it was just about 140km and a border crossing. After arriving at the Iranian border we already saw some other teams waiting there. Once again the Iranian side wasn’t a problem at all. Very basic search of the car and friendly staff. We got our Carnet de Passage stamps and headed on to the Turkmenistan side. There staff has also been friendly but waiting times had been a bit longer. An “entrance fee“ including insurance cost us 220$ while you had to pay an additional 140$ for using the heavily subsidized gasoline. The procedure was very bureaucratic and Denis even had to get an interview by a doctor. He only asked if Denis had any pets and then quickly went to presenting all the German words he knew. Every team also got a GPS tracker so that the government knows where you are going. After 3 hours at the border our Mongol Rally convoy, now consisting of 4 cars went down the valley to Ashgabat. The mysterious city of white marble where you’re not allowed to take any photographs. It felt unreal when we entered the city through big streets with white monuments, statues and palaces on both sides. None of us have ever seen anything like this. It was like being in a theme park filled with attractions. We and the rest of the teams stayed in the Grand Turkmen Hotel where the Norwegians waited for us. In the past this has been the Sheraton hotel of Ashgabat but the government took it a long time ago. It was still very nice but you could see that they hadn't done much maintanance since Sheraton left. After relaxing by the pool and playing volleyball with the local kids we went out at 8am to explore the nightlife. Since everything closes down at 11pm its wise to leave a bit earlier. We first stopped in a Texas Bar for some drinks with Mikkel and Vegard. Maybe we were a bit paranoid but we always felt like someone was watching us. One table across there was a single guy with sunglasses sitting there the whole time. Since there wasn’t much dancing going on we went to the basement club nextdoor. It was a pretty popular place amongst locals and many went there for dinner and dancing. Unfortunately the party stopped pretty soon because it was 11pm. A local guy in a black shirt suggested us to go to the Karaoke Bar in the Grand Turkmen Hotel because they would be open until late night. What a lucky coincidence. When we arrived with him there wasn’t much going on. Just two or three guys sitting at the bar. This changed pretty quickly though. Within 5 minutes more and more people came until there were 15 – 20 people inside. The locals enjoyed singing karaoke songs, a young couple on the other table had some drinks and kisses. Our guy from the club told us that two ladies on the opposite site would like to talk to us. It was pretty obvious that they were looking for customers so we declined. Again quite a coincidence that the guy knew the ladies. After some more beers and laughs we headed to the comfy beds at around 2am.

Before heading to the Darvaza gas crater we had some time to explore the city. We went to a close by bazaar where Robert and I bought some traditional Turkmen sheep hats. Still it was mainly locals at the bazaar buying their food, clothes and electronics. There was a huge variety of local foods, reaching from pickled vegetables to meat and elaborately decorated cakes. While walking through the city it felt like not all houses were completely inhabited. There wasn’t too much traffic on the streets and not many people walking around. We left Asgabat at 1pm in a convoy to get to the gas crater near Darvaza which was about 275km away. The good streets with little traffic invited for a little drag race covering all four lanes of the highway. It was funny to see those tiny cars struggling to gain some speed. After 50 km we all had to slow down though because the street was now a complete pothole mess again. The Darvaza gas crater is a natural gas field that collapsed into an underground cavern. It then was intentionally set on fire to prevent the spread of methane. They thought it wouldn’t burn for long but it is now burning continuously since 1971. Locals also call it the “Gates of Hell”. When Team Starlet Fever (Sean and Ciaran) and Mongolmongrels (Hew, Grant, Tony) sat in a British Bar in Asgabat yesterday they thought it would be a great idea to have a band playing at the gates of hell. Hew asked the singer if they could arrange it. They weren’t sure and said they’d give us a call in the morning. This turned out to be difficult with bad cellphone reception on our side. After a while we got signal at a small village and managed to call them. We told the band that we were absolutely serious about having a concert at the gas crater. We were around 10 teams and would have the money ready if they’d show up. They asked for 1200$ but since everyone in the convoy was willing to pay it ended up being 52$ per person. The band had some trouble organizing everything last minute, especially the bigger generator to power everything up and the cars to get all the equipment and band to the crater. For the last five kilometers to the crater you have to leave the “main” road to the right onto a sand/dirt road. This short stretch is known to cause a lot of trouble with many teams getting stuck here during the last years. The locals are already on standby with their motorbikes and jeeps, anticipating lots of business after looking at our cars. They offer to pull you out for a little service fee when you get stuck. We discussed how we could best accomplish this route with the convoy and decided to let the weak cars go first and the 4x4s at the end to help pulling out cars if needed. Some stretches of the streets are completely covered with sand. The first car accelerates, hits the sand, loses speed and gets stuck in the sand. In a few seconds a lot of people helped pushing them out. The next cars went faster and glided smoothly through the sand. Not so much luck for the 4x4 Panda (Team 9TY), they suddenly had two tires in the air after hitting a sand bump. With the help of a shovel and some pushing they also reached the crater where the other teams were already gazing at the huge fire. It’s mesmerizing to look into this huge fire crater with a diameter of 69 meters. You can surely tell why it’s also called Gates of Hell. After the first excitement we found out that the roof rack of us and the Irish Team was broken. Theirs was a heavy construction made of steel and broke at the brackets holding it onto the roof. After some discussion what to do we found out that the locals had a welder. In the middle of nowhere! They welded all the broken parts for 30$. The problem with our roof rack was that the crossbars slid out of their bracket on the roof rack rails. This could be fixed quite easily with tightening everything again and fixing it with additional straps to the side. Before it got dark everyone set up their camp and gathered for some drinks. We waited and waited but the band wasn’t to be seen anywhere. They probably couldn’t make it. After most didn’t believe that the gas crater festival would become a reality, we saw some lights coming over the horizon around 11pm. It really was the band!! How crazy was that! They drove 5 hours to the middle of nowhere to play a concert for us at the gas crater. It was unreal when they started playing at midnight. You couldn’t imagine a better lightshow with all the flames in the background. The head singer said that to her knowledge it was the first ever concert at the Darvaza Gas Crater. A dream come true, she added. We were all dancing in ecstasy and had drinks in front of the fire until 2am when the band finished their set. Truly an unforgettable experience. We named the event the Gastonbury festival after the legendary Glastonbury festival in England. This must have been one of the biggest parties at the gas crater in the history of the Mongol Rally.

After a crazy night everyone got up a little hungover and had breakfast. Our destination today was Uzbekistan in the north. On our way out the British team also encountered problems with their roof rack on the Fiat Panda. The rails completely broke on one side. Roof racks really have been the weak spot on most cars so far. Especially on the Fiat Panda. It was fixed with pieces of a wooden flagpole attached with cable ties to the rest of the construction. The street to Uzbekistan was again covered in potholes. Thus the roof rack fix didn’t last long. This time they put tires between the roof rack and the car and tied everything down with lashing straps. This was a lot sturdier and didn’t cause further problems except for making huge dents in the roof. We arrived around 5pm at the Turkmen border and got a little nervous because the Uzbek side is supposed to close at 6pm. The friendly border guards called the other side and asked them to wait for us. Getting stuck between two borders wouldn’t have been fun. The second thing we were nervous about was the drone that we had to hide. If found it would’ve been destroyed on site. We heard that the cars are usually searched very thoroughly. There were also rumors that the whole car and all the luggage gets x-rayed. None of this has been the case. We didn’t even have to take the luggage of the roof. Maybe the process was a bit quicker since we arrived with the whole convoy just before closing hour. We arrived pretty late in Nukus where we stayed in the dirtiest hotel so far. Even though they had just cleaned the room there were still dead cockroaches on the floor.

At checkout they asked for 90$ for the triple room. Way too much for what was offered. They quickly went down to 60$ after Robert showed them the cockroaches. At the first gas station we saw that Team 9TY got more serious roof rack problems. The roof rails completely broke. Luckily, we had so many spare parts from broken Fiat Panda roof rails that we could build a completely new one. When ready to fill up our cars we saw that they only had 80 octane fuel. But since they told us that there weren’t many gas stations on the road, we filled up the cars and jerry cans. Of course, there have been plenty of gas stations but at least the cars worked fine with the low-quality fuel. It took us 7 to 8 hours to get to Bukhara. It’s an old city along the silk road with many historic sites. The streets to Bukhara have been surprisingly good for the first three quarters, then the highway suddenly stopped and our chances of arriving early perished. We stayed at the Komil hotel which had nicely decorated traditional rooms with a wooden ceiling. Its highly recommended (double 55$, triple 75$). It was a bit difficult to drive there since a lot of the streets are currently being rebuilt. The receptionist was nice enough to come with us to where we parked and guide us through the narrow streets to the hotel. Within short walking distance from the hotel you find the main plaza with a big mosque, a park, several shops and restaurants around it. Close from there we went to the Ayvan restaurant where we had one of the best dinners for a long time. The evening ended in the Esco Bar where we went together with Mikkel, Vegard, Sean and Ciaran.

Before leaving the city we all went to the local car shops in the suburb to get our cars fixed. It’s like a huge car bazaar with several car shops to choose from. You can almost get anything fixed here. The British team got new bars welded to replace the tires currently holding the roof rack. The Irish team got their roof rack reinforced with some extra beams bolted through the roof. Most of the teams also got their cars raised to prepare for the roads ahead. Other teams in front of us have told us that this is really a necessity. Including all parts and two hours of work it only cost us 25$ to raise the car. Another Norwegian team (Kill Bil, bil = car in Norwegian) was ahead on the way to Samarkand and organized a hotel for all of us. Samarkand is said to be the jewel of central Asia, that’s why we plan to spend two nights there. It already looked great during nighttime when we arrived. Both Norwegian teams went out to see if they could join a wedding party. Big weddings with several hundred guests are very popular in Samarkand and tourists are often invited to join. After standing in front of the festivities they really got invited to join. It turned out to be a circumcision party of a young boy. It was a crazy big party with plenty of food, a dancing area and a big bear walking around. We were a little tired and just had dinner in a restaurant where we met the Italian team Silvester Pandone.

After breakfast together in the courtyard we went out to explore Samarkand. In our opinion the mosques have been even more impressive than in Tehran. It is believed that the city was founded in the 7th century B.C. Due to its location directly on the Silk Road it became very rich and was once the biggest city in Central Asia. It was really worth spending a second night here and seeing all the attractions up close. At one mosque a policewoman suddenly walked up to Mikkel and Vegard and greeted them. It turned out they met at the party so we took a nice group photo together. Similar to the last days it was crazy hot (around 40°C). We retreated to our airconditioned hotel room for the afternoon. In the evening we went to a close by restaurant (Bibikhanum restaurant) with a fantastic view from the roof terrace to the Bibi Khanym Mosque.

Another day with a border crossing. This time to Tajikistan. We got up early and looked how best to get to the capital Dushambe. Google Maps suggested a very long route through the south while there is a direct, much shorter connection with the M41 going east. From what we heard the M41 is often blocked by landslides. Judging from satellite images the once broken part now seems to be fixed with a new bridge. Hence we decided to go for it. At the border we met a German motor biker who confirmed that the M41 to Dushambe was indeed open. As many others he just came from the Pamir Highway where we wanted to go. The line at the Uzbek border wasn’t long but in contrast to when we entered the country they did very thorough checks of the cars. Not good. Again we were worried about the drone. We didn’t use it but only possessing it can get you into trouble here. After an easy border crossing into Uzbekistan we thought it should be fine taping it somewhere behind the radio. Unfortunately this didn’t hold and the drone fell down. Next we tried taping it under a seat. After a while we thought this is way too obvious and probably one of the first spots they would check. We were just 10m from the border gate with guards and people walking everywhere. In fear of losing the drone we thought we have to take a chance and hide it quickly in the engine compartment. We were a bit nervous opening the hood in front of everyone and quickly hid it. Luckily the guards didn’t see it and no one else said anything. Once we finally got checked it was a completely different picture though. The car was barely checked. We didn’t even have to take our luggage form the roof. It seems like tourists have a little bonus here. When we arrived in Tajikistan after 3h we decided to buy some sim cards. This turned out to be a time costly endeavor. The salesperson was working at a painfully slow pace. Each sim card took 30 minutes to process. This way we spend another 1.5 to 2 hours before heading on. After the border everyone was hungry and we had a lunch break in Panjakent, the first Tajik city on our way to Dushambe. When we got back with full bellies the Irish team noticed that they had looked themself out of their car. All four keys were inside while they were outside. With a thin wire they tried to open the door which prooved to be quite challenging. Meanwhile some local kids gathered and we used the time to play some soccer with them. After a while the Irish managed to pull the lever for opening the trunk. Everyone cheered and we moved on. We reached Dushambe late at night but found a hostel that could accommodate all 11 of us into one big dorm room. Now the whole courtyard was filled with Mongol Rally cars. (Dushambe City Hostel, 10$ per Person, bathroom and toilet across the coutyard).

One of the highlights of the tour was ahead of us. The famous Pamir Highway, also called M41. It’s traversing the Pamir Mountains along the border to Afghanistan and was once part of the ancient Silk Road. In some parts it is heavily damaged and therefore small cars like ours are rarely seen there. It’s usually big 4x4 jeeps with tourists and trucks that use the route. Apart from the road conditions the altitude with 4655m at the highest point will also be quite a challenge. From Dushambe the first stretch of the M41 is said to be in a very bad condition. From what we heard before it is advised to rather take the southern route through Kulob that joins the M41 again in Kalaikhum. After a basic breakfast at the Hostel the whole convoy, except for the Italian Team (Silvester Pandone) left to go for the southern route. The Italians hoped to save some time by taking the much shorter direct connection via the M41. Our convoy made good progress until we heard over the radio that the Norwegian team had a problem with their car. It turned out that one of the springs snapped out of their mounting after they hit a big pothole. In a matter of minutes the Irish team came to the rescue, jacked up the Mitsubishi Colt and put everything back in place. Those guys really knew how to fix cars and our convoy moved on without much delay. It was quite impressive when we first saw the Afghan border across the river. It always felt so distant, even unreachable when you heard news about it on the TV. Now it was so close that you could see the Afghan people walking around in their villages and children playing in the riverbed just 25m apart from you. It was strange to think that most Afghan families on the other side probably never met their Tajik neighbors in person. From now on the Pamir Highway will follow the Afghan border for one or two days. For the night we stayed in the Darvoz Guesthose close to the river. It didn’t have rooms for everyone so a few had to sleep outside or “Tajik style” how the manager called it. Not a bad option since the rooms were pretty hot and there was no AC. From the Italians we heard that the direct connection via the M41 was even worse than expected. They made slow progress and had to replace a broken tire before arriving a few hours after us at the Guesthouse. (Darvoz Guesthouse 15$ inside, 5$ outside)

Another day to enjoy the Pamir Highway. Today we’re trying to get to Khorough which is a bigger village 242km away with a few hotels and restaurants. It was still amazing to be that close to the border and watch the daily life of the Afghans. On our side we frequently saw Tajik military patrolling along the river. As most other Tajik people they were super friendly and smiled at us when we passed by. Almost all the children and also many adults waved and cheered at us. They were humble people with delicate facial features. If we had more time it would’ve been nice to spend more time with the locals or sleep at more homestays. From our observation it seemed that most people actually driving on the Pamir Highway were tourists and not locals. Some pay quite a high price to join one of the paid jeep tours, other travel by themselves on a motorbike or expensive offroad trucks. The most surprising travellers though are the cyclists. Most of them are from Europe and you see far more of them than you'd expect. It's definitely the biggest challenge to do the Pamir by bike and no local would think about that even for a second. It seems like Germans in particular visit the Pamir Highway for their adventures. Along the way we met a German motor biker who obviously had some problems with his bike. He was hit by a truck but luckily the bike was the only thing that was damaged. The rear part was smashed and quite loose. Again the Irish came to the rescue quickly and helped removing the broken parts. In the evening we arrived in Khorough at the Zarya hotel with a terrace directly on the river that went through the city. The other teams stayed in another hotel close by and we joined them for dinner. It was basically the leftovers of a wedding that had just taken place there before. It was delicious and our offer to pay them was generously turned down. (Zarya hotel, triple room 75$)

After our breakfast on the river terrace all teams met at the gas station to get gasoline and stock up on food. There won’t be bigger villages on the way for some time so it’s good to prepare for camping. The convoy left Khorough around 10am. The Irish team with Sean and Ciaran was driving just in front of us when it suddenly happened. They hit a big pothole and quickly came to a full stop afterwards. You could already see from behind that their car suffered major damage. The right rear wheel was tilted. After getting out of their car they could see that they just broke their axle. This would normally mean the end of the rally for most teams. Not for Sean and Ciaran. They are determined to get to the finish line no matter what. After shortly thinking about all the possible options they decided to jack up the car and disassemble the whole rear axle to take it back to Korough. Before leaving Ireland they reinforced the rear axle by welding an extra metal tube to it, hoping that would make it much stronger. Now it broke just where the tube ended. The Irish Toyota Starlet was left abandoned without a rear axle on the side of the street. The American Team TBD and us continued the southern route to Langar. It is supposedly more scenic but takes an extra day compared to the direct M41 connection to Murghab. Time for the others to catch up. On the way you can see some hot springs, an ancient fort and the “Afghan” market near Ishkashim. It’s essentially a small strip of no-man’s-land in the middle of the river where Tajik and Afghan people trade their goods. It’s popular amongst tourists because you don’t need a visa to enter the market and meet some Afghan people there. Since the market is only open on Saturdays so it wasn’t an option for us. Instead we stopped at the Buddha Stupa near the village Vrang. According to the guidebook you can get a tour by a local if you’re lucky. Shortly after we stopped the 18-year-old Mustafa showed up and offered to show us the Stupa for 10 Som (=1€). His English was good and we were happy that he showed us the way up because you couldn’t see really see it from the road. He also showed us some ancient Buddhist tombs with visible skeletons inside. After not finding a nice camp spot we stayed at a homestay shortly before Langar and finished the day with some fried potatoes and eggs. Direct camping on the border to Afghanistan is not recommended since some drug trafficking is taking place at the river. A Dutch team that camped at the border got woken up in the middle of the night by three men with Kalashnikovs. Luckily just the Tajik army, but they had to pack everything and sleep in the city.

Some technical driving skills are needed today. From Langar the first stretch is pretty steep gravel serpentines going up the mountain. The trip will be 226km long, starts at 2826m and goes up all the way to 4318m at the highest point. Just when I stalled the engine at the first really steep curve the American team tbd showed up out of nowhere behind us. Alright, lesson learned. From now on a bit more speed going up the curves. It’s just too much for the tiny 54hp engine in this altitude. Together with the Americans we continued our way up the mountain. Spectacular views opened up to the riverbed behind us as we gained altitude with every turn. In Khargush we passed a military base that also serves as a checkpoint. We heard that another tourist group once managed to persuade the young military officers to let them shoot an AK47 towards the Afghan mountains for 100$. That wasn’t on our to do list though. The drive was very scenic and of course many big jeeps passed us. We also met a German couple that was driving around the world in a huge truck that was converted to a campervan. Quite a size difference to the Fiat Panda. Our small city car definitely wasn’t made for the Pamir highway but we still managed to get further and further. Unfortunately only until we got stuck. For one second we drove a bit too close on the side of the street and got stuck in the loose sand. Luckily it was pretty flat in this section so we didn’t hang on the edge of a huge abyss. Pushing and accelerating didn’t work, we only got stuck deeper in the sand. Luckily we were in a convoy with the Americans so they could pull us out while being watched by a jeep that stopped for the spectacle. After a while we finally got back to the main M41 with some tarmac. It wasn’t really the good kind of tarmac though since there were many bumps. We also received a text by the other teams to hear the good news that they were also on their way to Murghab. They had also waited a long time at the intersection to meet us but didn’t know that we were much slower on the southern Pamir route. On the way to Murghab we were happy to suddenly see the Irish Team Starlet appearing on the horizon. It turned out they could only get a provisional fix in Khorough and thus couldn’t drive faster than 15km/h to avoid further damage. At nighttime we arrived in Murghab and were happy to meet the others in the Aruf Guest House. Even the Irish made it before midnight to join for a beer together.

Sean and Ciaran didn’t get too much sleep because they left at 5am again to have a little head start. We had a little more time and enjoyed breakfast together with the other teams. We also checked out the local gas station where they used bottles and funnel instead of a gasoline pump. Today we would leave Tajikistan and the Pamir Highway to enter Kyrgyzstan. On the way you come close to the border fence to China. There are some holes in it so you can sneak through it to the other side and take some pictures on Chinese land. It was a lot of fun, however it turned out that the real border had been moved in the past so the fence is just a relict of old times. That also explains why it hasn’t been maintained. You could tell that you’re still on the Pamir Highway, the roads were better but not consistently. Big potholes or uneven stretches occurred frequently. Murghab is on an altitude of 3580m. Luckily no one got serious problems during the night. However, our route today will lead us to the highest point of the pass with 4655m. We reached it after an 80km drive and stopped with the whole convoy to take some pictures. Everyone felt the lack of oxygen, especially after running around with the camera to get some shots. The group pictures turned out great and we had a lot of fun shooting them. We then left the highest point of the whole journey to visit the Kara-Kul lake on the mountain plateau. It’s a 30km long lake with an intense turquoise color amid a magnificent mountain scenery. The water was quite cold but how often do you get a chance to swim in such a mountain lake. Mikkel, Vegard and I took the chance and enjoyed a short refreshing swim. After the lake the road went through a river stream. The water was roughly 30cm deep with a strong current. Denis drove quickly through it so our Fiat Panda made it to the other side without any problems. Last were the Norwegians. I got in position to take some footage while they went through the river. They accelerated, aimed straight at the river and drove through it. Something wasn’t right though. You could hear a crack and see some car parts next to the river. They must have hit something. When Mikkel left the car he could quickly see that there was severe damage at the front of the car. They didn’t have a sump guard and must have hit a big rock. The front bumper was damaged and loose. Even more worrying was the blue liquid dripping from the radiator. It was completely loose and damaged beyond repair. Not a good situation, definitely not in the middle of nowhere. Luckily we’ve been in a convoy so we could at least tow them after they attached the bumper to the roof and fixed the loose radiator with a ratchet strap. It was clear that they’d need to get towed until they find a new radiator, otherwise the engine would overheat quickly and then get damaged as well. The American Micra was surprisingly strong and had no problem towing the Norwegian Mitsubishi Colt. Once we passed the first border there was a long, curvy and steep dirt road down to the border of Kyrgyzstan. A difficult task even without towing another car. In the evening we arrived at the city hostel in Osh. Surprisingly we didn’t see the Irish Team on the way. As it turned out later, they had the axle broken again and had some welding done in a city close to the border (Sary-Tash) before they could get going again. We arrived pretty late in Osh and stayed in the City Hostel.

Our first task for today was to find a workshop to get our car fixed. Yeah it’s still driving but it really got very bouncy on the last part of the Pamir. Usually a sign that your shocks are broken. And hitting potholes with a broken suspension is definitely not good for your car. It puts a lot more stress on the springs and axle. As we already observed, a broken axle is the last thing you would want during the rally. The polish teams accompanied us to the workshop to also fix their car. After the first workshop didn’t have time for us we had more luck at Vladimirs workshop. It’s a rather big workshop with some overlanders also getting their big jeeps fixed there. One of them was a German family driving from Brisbane to Munich (website: findpenguins.com/troopyontour). Quite an impressive tour. The boss of the workshop is actually called Vladislav. He was strong and confident. Exactly how you would imagine a mechanic named Vladislav. It didn’t take long before they got to work, flattened out the sump guard and repaired the shocks. Stones from the Pamir fell out when they removed the dented sump guard. Concerning the shocks they offered to just refill the gas that was lacking. We could have replaced them with new ones since we brought spare parts but decided for the bushfix. We thought it would be good to spare the replacement parts for later. The only problem was that the rear shocks didn’t have any vent to refill the gas. No problem for them though. They just grinded a little hole on the side and welded a vent on it. Problem solved. Everything cost us 50$ including tightening the hand brake. After a night of camping, the Irish, American and Norwegian team also made it to Osh. The Irish definitely needed a new axle to continue the rally. It had been welded so many times without success that there was no other way. After 200km of being towed the Norwegians definitely needed a replacement radiator for their Mitsubishi Colt to continue as well. A model that is rarely seen in Central Asia. A very difficult task. They asked around at the car market and searched different scrap yards. Like a miracle one vendor went to a pile of radiators and pulled out a fitting Mitsubishi one from the bottom. When they got back to the hostel, they installed it themselves together with the help of Sean and Ciaran. The Irish themselves were still looking for a new rear axle and considered all options. Express shipping from Japan or buying a used Toyota Starlet to just salvage the axle from it. All options were on the expensive side and would cost them at least a week. In the evening we all had a walk through the city and went for dinner in the Ethno Café. Before heading back to the hostel we wanted a digestive Vodka shot. It turned out that the concept of a shot is not known in this area. Instead of a shot they brought two full bottles and looked confused at us when we insisted on just having a shot of vodka. When it arrived it was even more than what you would get when ordering a double shot in Europe.