DUMPTY DO—HERE WE GO AGAIN
Garry wrote a log of his and Ken’s exploits, and in this issue we carry his reports on the eastern and most challenging legs of his journey through China, Mongolia, and Russia. Next month, Garry and Ken will complete their epic journey, passing through Kazakhstan then back into Russia, before coming down through the former Soviet states of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and on into Poland, Germany, Belgium, and France. Over to Garry.
Beijing, China
After a good flight up to Beijing we are now getting into the final preparations for the Peking to Paris endurance rally. The first formal obligation was the Chinese driver licence police briefing for all who had to have a new licence. We were instructed about the cultural differences that apply to Chinese driving habits, which are based on the days of the bicycle, and how to readjust our rear vision mirror. As someone who has held a driver licence for 58 years, I have to have a special licence for people over 70 years old. This was made available by my paying a facilitation fee of £280.
Friday was car pick-up day. It started with finding the documentation we needed before we could move the car from the shipping warehouse: Chinese registration papers, and a temporary number plate and driver licences for me and Ken. We accepted gracefully.
We had yellow wristbands so were on the first bus to the shipping yard. It took over an hour to get there. The car started after about 10 seconds of cranking, so all was good, then it was off to a fuelling station for a full tank of 92 petrol.
We got ourselves into the scrutineering queue. We just breezed through — our first indication that
