What happens when you take two PhD Computer Science students from Germany put them in a crap car without a GPS or a navigation system and ask them to drive from London to Ulan Bator in Mongolia? Who knows?! But Richard Süselbeck and Martin Saternus (former Microsoft Student Partner) are going to find out. They are taking part in the Mongol Rally 2007. They will be making a journey of around 13,000 kilometers across 5 mountain ranges and 2 deserts on roads ranging from bad to non-existent and all this in a car that they bought on E-Bay for 200 Euro. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?! Well, at least an adventure.
A couple of months ago I spoke with Martin at the STC in Duisburg about the Rally. And with the starting date approaching on July 21, I thought it was time to stop by and see how the preparations were going. I had a little chat with Richard in Mannheim about the car, the route, the visas, the joys, the challenges and all the rest.
If you want to follow Richard and Martin's preparations, donate money or check their progress, you can find their blog at: http://www.mongolrally.de