Two students approached Stanfords for help with an intrepid journey overland from the UK to Mongolia – by ambulance. How could we refuse?
Charlie Hogg and Matthew Burgum, both 21, will drive unaided on the 10,000 miles from England to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, where they will donate the ex-NHS ambulance, plus some much-needed medical supplies, to a hospital.
Charlie said, “We were trying to come up with an adventure for a once in a lifetime post-university trip. We decided first that we would enter the Mongol Rally, but then the idea changed and the project became somewhat more worthwhile when we thought it would be a good idea to drive an ambulance there, which will serve our needs for the trip but then also something good can be passed on to the people of Mongolia.”
The students, from Lancaster University, expect their voyage across France, Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, to take up to five weeks and know there are some challenges waiting ahead. They admit, “We are sure that we have not thought of every challenge we can potentially face, but we can expect to be extorted at border crossings, harassed by the Ukrainian authorities for no other reason than having a British plated vehicle, breakdowns, and getting stuck in sand and mud, as the paved roads run out about halfway through the trip.”
Charlie and Matthew decided to approach Stanfords for a supply of maps to cover their route. Charlie explained, “Stanfords are an internationally recognised producer of maps and guides, and having researched the maps we need, their name kept popping up and this is why we approached them. No other single supplier appeared to cater for all our cartographic needs.”
The students are now in the late stages of preparation, ready to set off on 18th July. They said, “Neither of us has attempted a journey by road of this magnitude before and as such it truly will be an adventure. We cannot wait for the day we reach Ulaanbaatar knowing that we have completed the project successfully, and can donate the ambulance to a hospital… We expect once we have completed this journey we will want to do another!”
Follow the progress of the ambulance to Mongolia on their website: www.ambulancetomongolia.com.
Author: Rachel Ricks
Date: 17 April 2008
Add a comment