From London to Ulaanbaatar—in an Ice Cream Truck
Travel Blog • Terry Ward • 07.24.07 | 2:22 PM ET
Driving from Western Europe to anywhere in Asia has always been a dream of mine. I have a German friend who set off in her Audi for China, and a Swiss friend who hit the road for Iran in an aging Mercedes. But traveling in a working ice cream truck from London to Ulaanbaatar as one group of three intrepid travelers is attempting to do, takes the, well, cake.
In a personal account of the trip’s first few days posted on BBC online, Ryan Walker writes:
Backpacking just isn’t for me. Everyone goes backpacking, or so it seems, I want a proper old-fashioned adventure and to do something nobody has ever done before. And so we are pushing back the boundaries of ice cream vending.
After raising funds for the trip by selling cones along the coast in England, Walker and his pals set off in their ice cream truck on Saturday from Hyde Park.
The group is one of 200 teams taking part in the Mongol Rally—a charity driving event where participants travel a third of the way around the globe (some 10,000 miles) during the course of a month to raise money for rural Mongolian communities.
But there’s a catch. According to the rally’s Web site, only “crap” vehicles are allowed to enter.
Any car with more than 1000cc of umph is strictly forbidden as over-powered, and considered a risk to your ability to have fun.
Walker’s ice cream truck—along with buckets of ice cream to dish out en route—was given to the group by a British ice cream company. Walker writes that traveling like an ice cream man has its challenges.
Where to sleep in the van is a logistical nightmare in itself. There would be plenty of room if we had no freezer, jerry cans, tyres and wafer cones, but as it is Alex has claimed the front seats, I am sleeping with the freezer in the back and Mike is outside in a tent.
With 20 countries to tackle in 30 days—including Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan—the group’s fate will be fun to follow on its blog.
Walker and company hope to entertain passing nomads and schmooze border guards with free ice cream. But a route that takes in scorching deserts and freezing mountain ranges, paired with the ever-present threat of roadside bandits, is sure to keep things thrilling.
Something tells me they’ll be scooping up some Rocky Road.
Related on World Hum:
* Surfing U.S.A.: Australian Duo Getting Stoked in All 50 States
* Oprah Winfrey, Amanda Congdon and the New Golden Age of the Cross-Country Road Trip
Photo courtesy of the Mongol Rally.
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Terry Ward is a Florida-based writer and a long-time contributor to World Hum.
ben 07.24.07 | 4:36 PM ET
This ... is ... awesome. Thanks for finding it, Terry.