Hi, I am part of a 5 man team driving an ambulance 10,000 miles from Belgium to Mongolia and then donating it to the Mongolian healthcare system! Ask Us Anything!

Driving 11226 miles sounds quite costly. Have you evaluated alternatives to driving it there, and possibly donating the remaining money?

Quite costly it is indeed. However, as kgunnar said, the point of the journey, besides the delivery of the ambulance, is to raise awareness for the cause in a unique manner. The charity we are working with is Go Help. They have several locations in Western Asia, and one in Central America as well. Their goal is to provide health services to rural areas in these countries where it currently does not exist as well as provide educational opportunities to the underprivileged children who live there. We could have it shipped there, and probably for a little cheaper, but it would not have the same effect as completing the whole journey. In addition, besides promoting the cause, it will also give us the opportunity to meet people from all over the world, learn their culture, and have that global perspective with us for the rest of our lives.

Is this awareness stuff really worth it? Maybe not comparable but I went on several mission trips with a Church as a kid and it seems like the money we raised for flight tickets and our "bonus day" at a 5 star resort at the end of it could have gone to building more homes and in the pockets of local builders rather than on us to barely lay a few bricks to just say "Hey, we helped, also Jesus"

Good question. That is definitely something we talked about and there is certainly a fine line. We wanted to do a trip like this either way, and we happened to find a way to have the adventure of a lifetime while being less wasteful in the end. We could have easily done this journey with a cheap vehicle that we would end up junking, but we found a charity that has stringent requirements on the vehicle we were allowed to drive and donate. Ours is a 2009 vehicle that we got inspected, repaired, and will be modifying it in order to ensure it completes the journey safely. Additionally, we will be doing the same upon our arrival. I think with every charitable giving that goes beyond a cash donation there is going to be a personal satisfaction component. We aim to maximize our giving while also having the time of our life.

The drive there is for them to have an adventure. Hardly anyone would do it otherwise.

besides promoting the cause, it will also give us the opportunity to meet people from all over the world, learn their culture, and have that global perspective with us for the rest of our lives.

So pretty much a vacation.

When was the last time you raised money for charity on a vacation

Ya, I don't see why people are being so snarky about this. It's okay to help people and make an adventure out of it. Fuck the haters I think these guys are awesome

I think you're awesome

It depends how the funding goes. My next door neighbor does a charity event each year. This year he did a wing-walk, next year he plans to do bungee jumping off a bridge. He pays for the event out of his own pocket, and gets people to sponsor him - that extra money goes to charity.

I 100% agree, those people who raise £3k to "walk the great wall of china for charity" are raising £2k for a holiday and £1k for charity.

Great thing to point out. /u/nough32/ hit the nail on the head. We are basically doing what your neighbor does.

To clarify, all of the donations/fundraising will be going towards a cash donation to the charity as well as to the purchase price of the vehicle. Once, a minimum of $1300 for a cash donation and the purchase price of the vehicle has been raised, the excess donations will then go towards making the cash donation larger for the charity (Go Help, a U.K. based charity).

All of our repairs, food, gas, hostels, and other personal expenses will be coming out of our pockets. Thank you again to everyone for the support!

So I just google mapped it and it looks like the "fastest" route is only about 5300 miles. Why is it so important to more than double your mileage just to hit the 23 countries? You would go through 7 if you took this faster route (although a lot of Siberia)

The route was a little bit of a challenge to come up with. Obviously we aren't taking the fastest route, but we thought it would be the prime combination of both sight seeing, safety, and speed. Going the Northern route, we would possibly pass through Ukraine, and due to all the conflicts there, we decided against it. Also, if we went farther North, we would spend a lot more time in Russia, and with the visa requirements for Russia, we decided it was easier to stay in Russia for the shortest amount of time possible. However, we decided not to go as far South as some teams. There are a few who are going through Iran! As Americans, we decided that would not be a good idea. As for the twists and turns in our route that seem a little random. We will be visiting some friends along the way, but when you're 3000 miles away from home, 200 extra miles doesn't seem to far to visit an old friend. Thanks for the Question!

Edit: Thanks for the Reddit gold!

Have any of you seen Long Way Round? It's not an exact match to your trip, but the first few episodes touch on the difficulties regarding paperwork, border crossings, and check points. I'm rewatching the show now so it just came to mind while reading your title, but maybe the series could raise concerns you might not have considered and provide some helpful tips!

I actually came across that movie the other day. I haven't had a chance to watch it yet, but maybe we could get together as a group to watch it. It would probably be a good resource. Thanks for the suggestion!

Yo I'm from Mongolia and that's really tight. I'll be there in August if you wanna meet up!

Unfortunately Mongolia is very much still a developing country that is having a hard time catching up to the modern world. There is political corruption, alcohol abuse is rampant and we are landlocked so we simply sell our natural resources with no infrastructure in place to adequately grow as a nation.

It's the least densely populated country in the world, and the country side is very old-fashioned. Outhouses, wells and farming.

Thanks for making the country a little better. :)

Great to hear from you! We would definitely love to meet up once we reach Mongolia in early to mid August. Please PM us, and we can try to set something up.

We appreciate the great thoughts and love to see people from Mongolia seeing this as well. Thank you!

No kidding. Just the detour from Frankfurt to Milan instead of going directly to Prague adds another 1000km to the trip. Also, taking the southern route in Kazakhstan adds another 1500km.

Haha, as soon as I saw the title of this post I knew there would be people in here criticizing the dude putting mileage on the ambulance. He's having a life experience AND doing something good. People who wouldn't give a shit can possibly donate money for the maintenance of the vehicle post-delivery, which is already surpassing the limits of most "raising awareness" internet campaigns. You get your own charity ambulance, then you can drive it real fast and straight.

I've been surprised about how many people have mentioned that as well. Thanks for the backup though, m'dude

Please bring extra tires.

Those are definitely on the list!

How feasible will the upkeep of the ambulance be when it is in service in Mongolia? An ambulance that you cant get parts for isnt much help. Sorry to be a downer.

Good question. So, actually, that is a struggle with any vehicle in Mongolia. Unfortunately, their vehicle market is quite not as up to par with other European and Asian nations. So, we attempted to find a vehicle that would be more common to find parts with while also being in the market we were purchasing it from (Ford Transit). This is also where the charity comes in. Our cash donation, deposits, and the charity's resources will be utilized to maintain it long after we are gone.

I love that you guys are going to try and do something good but looking at that ambulance and then thinking ahead another 12000 miles...are you not just going to be delivering a piece of junk there? Why not just send them the money instead?

The reason for delivering the car, is that the industry in Mongolia is far behind that of Europe and the US, so they can't just buy an ambulance. The ambulances have to be imported from somewhere else. While it might get a little beat up on the way there, we are having skid plates installed along with some other precautions to keep it in the best condition possible. The charity we are working with coordinates with the Mongolian government to approve the vehicles in order to make sure they are vehicles the government actually wants. Also, if the ambulance is going to be used in rural Mongolia where there are no roads, driving it there is a testament to the fact that it can actually do its job when it gets there. Thanks for the question!

When the ambulance gets there, will they be able to maintain it?

Certainly upon arrival there will have to be a few minor repairs. After those are done, it should be ready to go out and serve. I think that after that, the charity and the healthcare system will be able to maintain it. There are two very similar rallies, the Mongol Rally, and the Mongolia Charity Rally. The Mongol Rally is a banger rally where after the journey is completed the cars are shipped back to Lithuania where they are trashed. Mongolia Charity Rally was formed in response to this, and they focus on giving back to Mongolia rather than just using it as a finishing point. They really do care about making Mongolia a better place, and I have no doubt they will do their best to make sure the ambulances stay in top shape. Here is a link to the ambulance project that has a few pictures of the ambulances donated as well! http://gohelp-charityrallies.weebly.com/ambulance-projects.html

Will it have a Yellow Jacket sticker on the bumper??

Did our boys in white and gold pull out the W in Athens last year?

We will definitely be sporting a Yellow Jacket sticker. :)

Hey guys. My question: Do you want a beer? I literally live on your route (south Germany) and would happily invite you for one...

Heck yes. I'll PM you, and we could figure things out! Prost!

How do you get back? That's a long walk.

None of us are runners, so we aren't planning to Forrest Gump and run cross continent. Ulaanbaatar is our final destination, and we just booked flights to fly back to London from Ulaanbaatar via Beijing. There are no direct flights unfortunately. It's around 16 hours with the layover so it's not bad. I have heard of a few people taking the Trans-Siberian railway from Ulaanbaatar back to Moscow and then flying from there.

How... How long did it take for you to figure out how to spell that?

Just kidding. Despite the naysayers, I agree, one of the points is to raise awareness, and donate a usable vehicle to a country in need of it. I look forwards to your pictures from your journey! Don't die!

Thanks! Be sure to follow us on Facebook or our website to keep up with us this summer.

I can't help but notice your map showing you traveling through what appears to be North Ossetia and Inigushetia, what sort of precautions are you taking to handle the instability and corruption in these areas!?

I haven't heard many specific situations in those areas, but I have heard about just general corruption in that area. Are there specific things that have happened recently? I have heard about Chechnya and the specific issues they are having there, so we are planning to avoid it. As far as precautions, we are driving through there as fast as possible, as we have no stops planned until Volgograd. Do you have any advice or suggestions? We have a lot to plan for, so any help you could give would be greatly appreciated.

I had a friend do the London version of this rally. I have no questions but share a couple of tips if you'd like to read them.

1) get the European AAA-equivalent (ARC?) membership. You got the ambulance checked out, but it may not always cooperate.

2) Keep vodka bottles with you in Russia. For "gifts" (when official-types stop your vehicle). I have no idea about crossing borders with liquor, so maybe try to stock up fairly soon after crossing.

Friend's team ran out of gas, had the damn thing break down multiple times, and they even tipped it on its side in Mongolia after another truck coming head on at them was taking his half in the middle. I think it was a much older vehicle and I'm glad to see that Mongolia is enforcing some standards in these kinds of rallies. Best of luck to you!

Those are some very good suggestions. The vodka bottles will definitely come in handy! Did they end up making it to the end?

Will you keep the lights and siren on the whole trip?

Unfortunately, that's probably not legal, but being bold students, we may or may not give it a try.

What made you decide to go north of the Caspian Sea instead of south, through Iran?

Sounds like you are well prepared anyway. I did the Mongol Rally in 2003 so I can confirm it's an awesome trip. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people do the same thing as you every year so you will have loads of support. Enjoy!

Thanks for the question. Being students, we are on a tight budget, and from what we researched, the Iranian visa itself is quite expensive and they tax the vehicle itself as well. So, we decided that would be too costly. That would also require another visa to go through Turkmenistan. We are excited for the route we are taking though! Can't wait!

wtf for?

Asking for a friend.

Great question! I'm surprised it took this long to get that question directly. That's the first question all of our friends (and in particular our moms who think we're going to die) ask us. Actually though, we had some friends have the adventure of a lifetime doing a similar rally a couple of years back. We wanted to seek the same adventure but thought buying a car then junking it upon arrival seemed kind of wasteful. So, we sought to find something that had a charitable aspect to this. We then came across the Mongolia Charity Rally, which aims to help improve Mongolia's fledgling healthcare infrastructure by raising awareness in a unique manner (the wild adventure), raising funds, and donating a vehicle that had stringent requirements by the charity as well as Mongolian government to qualify. We found that this rally was perfect for us. We are aiding the Mongolian government in a manner out of the ordinary/other than simply donating cash. We are able to directly impact people and see it for ourselves while also having a fulfilling adventure of a lifetime.

How much effort is required so that you all can get the necessary visa and passport stuff required? Otherwise it looks awesome!

Surprisingly it was pretty easy! Of the countries we are going through, the only ones we needed to get visas for were Turkey and Russia. The Turkish visa was online, and it was instant approval. Russia was a little bit more paperwork. You need to get an invitation from a travel company and then you need to go get an actual visa from the consulate itself. Lucky for us one of the members of our team lives near the consulate in Houston. The hardest part for paperwork was the insurance on a car driven by 5 people all under 25...

Are you planning to change the oil a few times on the way?

We will definitely have to change it at least twice. As far as I know, oil has to be changed about every 3,000 miles, and since we are going over 10,000, we should probably have to change it 3 times. I have seen pictures of people doing it in previous rallies, and they found some janky little car lift/bridge type thing so they could get under their cars. It's sure to be an interesting sight seeing five college age guys changing the oil on an ambulance.

Prep it with full synthetic oil. 10k is a cakewalk for modern vehicles.

Synthetic oil it is then! Thanks for the suggestion! Glad to hear it shouldn't be much trouble

Who do you think will be the first to breakdown and want to go home?

Definitely Murphy. He needs chocolate milk to keep his weight up, and I imagine there won't be much past Turkey. I foresee this leading to a mental breakdown, followed by a bit of arguing, followed by Murphy getting out of the ambulance and walking off into the middle of the Mongolian steppe never to be seen again...

Sounds like a really exciting journey. How long will it take you to complete? How many other groups will there be? Have you collected all of the funds you need?

Right now we have planned for about 6 weeks with a little contingency included in there. We included about a day for each border crossing, because we were advised that after the EU each border crossing takes a very long time. After that we added an extra few days in Mongolia so that we could experience our final destination and to account for any breakdowns or other random problems. Last I heard there were around 10 groups participating. Many will be driving ambulances, and one team I heard was driving a fire truck! We have collected some funds from family and friends, but as a group of college students, we are searching for all the help we can get. If you're interested, the donation page is linked at the top of our Facebook page above, through the Donate Now button.

This sounds awesome! Two questions: What are you most excited about? What are you most nervous about?

Most Excited: I would say that each of us are just really excited at getting the opportunity to go to parts of the world that we've never experienced before. Not many people get the opportunity to go to this many places and experience this many different cultures, so I think that part of it will be really fulfilling. It will also be a learning experience for sure haha.

Most Nervous: Since we're going through so many different countries where there are so many different languages, communication is sure to be an issue. I'm a bit nervous that my hand gestures may not be enough to accurately communicate with people if we need help or something like that.

Most Nervous:

I did this exact rally in 2015. Communication is really not that big of an issue- hand gestures, expressions and a small notebook for drawing go far. I had a blast, good luck!

Seriously though, be nervous about the "toilets"(that's not really a thing once you get into the Central Asian countryside) and 20-foot deep pit latrines with 2 flimsy boards to step out on. Hell of a place to discover vertigo, is all I'm saying...

You've opened my eyes to a whole new issue haha. Thanks for the advice!

How large would you estimate the size of your ambulance to be if its volume was measured in opossums?

about tree fitty

How often are you stopping for bathroom breaks?

That is honestly a question I have never thought about haha. As found on bladderandbowel.org, the average person goes to the bathroom about 6-7 times a day. I would guess that means we'll need to stop about 4 times each day for at least 41 seconds: 10 to run to the bathroom, 21 to pee (the amount of time it takes every mammal to go to the bathroom no matter the size), and 10 to run back. That will add at least two whole hours of bathroom stops

And 0 seconds for washing your hands

It's the little things that we're clearly going to struggle with

Where'd you get that logo??? It looks awesome!

First we had to come up with the name which probably took a month (We're a very indecisive group). Then since we chose One Small Steppe, we decided it need to be an astronaut. With that idea, we sent it off to one of our friends (Shoutout to Kat), and she made this masterpiece of a design!

How much beer do 5 Belgians need to go 10,000 miles?

https://giphy.com/gifs/filmeditor-mean-girls-movie-l2YWF00ZX8wOs0p0s

What's the plan if you get kidnapped for ransom?

The plan right now is not to get kidnapped, but this is a question my mom has asked me several times. There are a lot of resources for Americans abroad to make sure they are safe. One of which is the embassy in each country. We have called the embassy of each country to let them know that we are coming through and the dates we plan to be there. When we get to each country we're going to call them to let them know we are there and when we plan on leaving. That way, if we end up in the worst case scenario and get kidnapped, the embassy will know. They will know the right people to contact about the problem, and hopefully they will be able to get us out. Other than that, we're just going to try and keep a low profile so that we don't get kidnapped in the first place. One thing I was told is not to wear shorts. Why does no one in Europe wear shorts?!?

Is this related to, or an evolution of the old Roof of the World rally? That seemed cool then kind of went defunct...

Actually yes! It's run by the same charity, and it's part of their charity rallies project. I think that one died down because it just wasn't as popular as the Mongolia rallies. We actually looked into it, but after seeing State Department warnings about land mines near some of the roads, we decided against it. Go Help actually donates ambulances to Tajikistan as well though!

How difficult was it to map out the petrol stations?

As with the amount of times we're going to stop to pee, this is a question we haven't thought about too much. Our vehicle is diesel, so we need to keep that in mind while getting gas. In Western Europe, gas shouldn't be much of an issue, but when we get to more rural areas of Romania and beyond, we're going to have to think this through each day. Some friends told us that we should make sure to have several gas cans that we have filled at all times in case we run into an issue. I did some research and it seems like the gas in Turkey is extremely expensive, so it would be good to have extra gas while we're there. It's supposed to be cheap in Russia and beyond. One thing we were warned about is the quality of the fuel. Some areas towards the end of our journey may have gas, but the quality may be very poor. That is another reason we were told to store extra gas. If you have any suggestions, please let us know!

Those extra fuel containers could be a lifesaver (no pun intended) out there! That's all I was going to suggest. Whatever you do- don't let that diesel tank run dry. Please be safe we're all pulling for you! I think this is a wonderful awareness/donation idea. Thank you all again!

We'll have to make sure we keep those puppies full at all times. Thanks for the support!

Mongolia are accepting old vehicles again? They've been arseholes for the past few years about old cars

Yeah, there are a few stipulations though. Because we are importing the vehicle there (unlike similar rallies) it has to be approved by the government. The most important rule was that it has to be no older than a 2008 model. Other than that, the vehicle type had to be a service vehicle in order to avoid import taxes. Service vehicles were ambulances, firetrucks, pick-up trucks, buses over 10 seats, or work vans with a sectioned off storage portion. It was really difficult to find a service vehicle that had 5 seats(we have 5 members). Luckily, we found a 2009 ambulance with exactly 5 seats. Then the charity got it officially approved by the government!

Ah, splendid! Yeah, the 2008 rule is a bit of a pain for those wanting to the do the claptrap mongol rally from london, heh!

Definitely a bit more costly too. Our friends did Mongol Rally and spent only $500 on a car. As you can imagine an ambulance newer than 2008 was a lot more...

If you're leaving the Ambulance, how are you getting back?

Ulaanbaatar is our final destination, and we just booked flights to fly back to London from Ulaanbaatar via Beijing. There are no direct flights unfortunately. It's around 16 hours with the layover so it's not bad. I have heard of a few people taking the Trans-Siberian railway from Ulaanbaatar back to Moscow and then flying from there.

Have a safe flight

Thank you! We'll try and make it to Ulaanbaatar safely too haha

Isn't this the Mongol rally?

It is similar to the Mongol Rally, but as we mentioned earlier, the Mongolia Charity Rally was started in response to the Mongol Rally being a banger rally where teams by cheap cars to beat up along to the route with the goal of junking it upon arrival. The Mongolia Charity Rally has requirements such as the vehicle has to be newer than 2008 in order for it to be eligible. Additionally, the charity assists us in communicating with the Mongolian government to make sure it is a vehicle they actually want and need.

What's your favorite Billy Joel song, and why? (Let's exclude Piano Man from consideration to keep things interesting.)

We Didn't Start the Fire - because it's what we'll be saying to the police after the ambulance catches on fire

Also, we have a car ride playlist where you can add your own favorite Billy Joel Songs https://open.spotify.com/user/2g3n/playlist/4IaDXkaE85Kwju2Tgao5eE?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open

first of all, thank you guys for doing this.

one question/concern: do you have any local support in Mongolia? asking because it is more than likely that the ambulance will get stuck or bogged down as at times there won't be any paved roads. and with the warm season on its way, the natural roads will turn into mud tracks. if there isn't any local support then at least consider investing in a power winch and a metal stack (and a good hammer)

Thanks for the question! The charity (GoHelp) has some local help as we get closer to the capital, Ulaanbaatar, but there isn't much outside of that. Unfortunately, power winches are a little expensive, but it is definitely on the top of our list to add. We also plan to have tow ropes and will try to caravan with other teams as much as possible.

Are you more Burt Reynolds or Dom DeLuise?

Burt Reynolds, specifically from Boogie Nights.

This is awesome! Good luck guys! Out of curiosity, were you inspired by the Mongol Rally by any chance? You're virtually doing the same thing and I've always wanted to participate.

Thank you! Actually, sort of, we have had some friends a couple of years back participate in the Mongol Rally, but due to the fact that the Mongol Rally just takes cars to junk them in the end, we decided to go for the Mongolia Charity Rally which has much more stringent requirements on vehicles and also coordinates with the Mongolian government.

Can I come with ?

Probably be a better teammate than Murphy...

How do you plan on getting back?

Ulaanbaatar is our final destination, and we just booked flights to fly back to London from Ulaanbaatar via Beijing. There are no direct flights unfortunately. It's around 16 hours with the layover so it's not bad. I have heard of a few people taking the Trans-Siberian railway from Ulaanbaatar back to Moscow and then flying from there.

When some Japanese try to donate life saving equipment (medical) in Derventa/BiH chief of hospital want his share (bribe)

Why do you think they will say thank you and suck your d*** ??

Do you have money to bribe them,and why you assume they will be nice to you?

What you will do if they see you as a threat??

Our donation is organized through the charity Go Help. They have coordinated with the Mongolian government to import the vehicle (it has been officially approved by the government), and once we arrive, they are going to handle the rest. As for bribes, I have heard from friends who have done the rally that once you get to Eastern Europe and beyond, many policeman will stop you and ask you for bribes. We were advised to carry some cash for these types of situations as well.