Lotus is one of the charities that we have been raising money for, and that so many of my wonderful friends and family have donated money and supplies to.
This morning we checked out of the Mongol Rally’s official finish line hotel (the Chinggis Khaan) and headed over to The Lotus Guesthouse, the orphanage’s hostel in Ulaan Baatar, where many of the team will be staying during the coming week. During the summer months many teenagers at the orphanage work at the guesthouse to improve their English, learn hospitality and gain some work experience. Some teenagers are also training to become tour guides. For as little as $10/night you can get a warm bed in their very warm, inviting, and comfy secure building which offers free wi-fi, showers, and access to a kitchen. It is a SUPER deal very close to the heart of UB’s peace avenue and Sukhbaatar Square. (They also offer more traditional private rooms and apartments for a bit more.)
Suugi, one of the orphanage’s wonderful staff, met us at the guesthouse mid afternoon to join us for the hour long drive out to the orphanage in the school bus. Once through the UB traffic, the landscape opened up to beautiful mountains, lush valleys with organic farms, and neighborhoods of colorful homes.
It was easy to spot the orphanage/school up on the hillside and my excitement grew as we approached. A warm friendly, young inquisitive face peered out at us as she slid open the blue entrance gate. We were quickly surrounded by young girls, who reached out to hold our hands as they fired away questions at us as we stepped off the bus. Where had we come from? Where did we live? What were our names? How long would we stay?
There are currently 65 children living at the orphanage. 29 of the children attend the on-site primary school (grades 1-5). The older kids are bussed every day into UB to attend various secondary schools. The school and dental supplies we have carried with us since the campground in Folkestone, UK were quickly unpacked off of the roof rack and taken into the main office where I met Will, and his wife Angie, who are from Guatemala. They are volunteering at the orphanage/ school for the coming school year.
With the start of the new school year less than 2 weeks away, Will tells me the kids have been questioning him endlessly as to when the new years’ school supplies would be arriving. I am so excited to be onsite and share with them then the school supplies my friend Dale and I spent so much time together picking out and organizing. We’ve brought: pencils, sharpeners, erasers, colored pencils, crayons, markers, metric rulers, solar calculators, scissors, and glue sticks, which Dale not only so generously donated, but then also shipped to the campground in the UK we’d began our journey from so I would not have to cart it all the way from Chicago by plane. My Dentist at home also donated over 100 toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste for the kids. Suugi seemed far more excited about these as she said they were really needing them, so huge thanks go out to everyone at Richard Hogan DDS, especially Mindy for all her enthusiasm and support.
Suugi gave us a wonderful tour of the grounds and the primary school which was beautiful. There were a number of very clean and well lit classrooms, complete with a library and computer stations (which had recently been donated by a rotary club in Australia!) I loved all the whimsical artwork painted on the trailers and the walls along the border of the property. James, an Australian who was spending his summer volunteering at the orphanage, was hard at work building an amazing Gazebo when stopped in. We’d hoped to see Didi, the founder, but she was still making her way to UB, also driving (and fundraising) on The Mongol Rally.
After our tour, and walking the grounds, the throng of kids had made a beeline straight for our school bus and it was instantly transformed into a favorite new jungle gym as they are eagerly climbing all over it, inside and out, up the back ladder and onto the roof Many took turns behind the wheel, pretending to drive and they seem endlessly fascinated honking the horn. It is clear, that while the school supplies we’ve brought may be great, THE BUS is the real star! The kids were exuding sheer joy out all their pores and it was a delight to watch them.
We spent about 2 hours with the kids, but facing an hour drive back, it was time to go. We were advised by Will to be sure to check under ALL the seats for any stowaways!
In all, in addition to the supplies we’ve donated, I am excited to say that via the Team Dixie Chickens website, nearly $1600 has been raised, not including the donations made to the team’s paypal account also on behalf of Lotus. This has definitely been the most rewarding part of the Mongol Rally for me. Thank you so very much to everyone who donated!
I am also very excited to report too, that another Mongol Rally team, Team Detour was also raising money for this wonderful orphanage and as of today: 09/19/13 – according to the Team Detour donation page – they have raised a whopping $11,000 bucks! – WOW!! (check out Team Detour’s blog for amazing photos of their Rally adventure)
Lastly, but certainly not least, as it turns out, I was delighted to discover that a very dear friend of mine in Vermont is the webmaster for an online music site called Innersong: Music for social and spiritual transformation. (Innersong offers “meditation music, mantra music, Chanting, Relaxation, New Age and World Beat music and has the largest selection of Kiirtan titles with styles from all over the world”)
When I told Tony of my journey this summer, he mentioned that one of the titles Innersong carries is a CD of traditional Mongolian Music put together by Didi, and sung by the kids at the Lotus Children’s Center. How Perfect! He was able to obtain permission for me to post a track from the CD – so do give a listen.
You can also listen to samples of a few of the other tracks on the CD at the Innersong link above
The Finished Gazebo: (photo from Lotus Children’s Center Facebook Page)
The grounds were FINALLY quiet at 6am when I woke early from my tent to take photos of this stoic castle in the morning light – devoid of the public and Ralliers!
Mist was slowly rising from the moat’s calm reflective waters, sunlight was streaking through the clouds, ducks were bathing, a heron stood guard in the reeds near the entry walkway to the front gate, and the pastures in the distance shimmered in that hazy early morning light reminiscent of impressionist paintings.
This magical peaceful morning with the castle would stand in stark contrast to the off the chart craziness that ensued with the launch just a couple of hours later.
When I returned to my tent, the great flurry of activity had begun as tents and gear were emptied, collapsed, packed away and hauled down to the mass of vehicles. Don now had to figure out how to get an additional 5 team members’ gear up into the roof racks that had seemed maxed out with the 9 we left Little Switzerland with!
The Rally festivities cranked up around 10am – complete with prizes given to teams for “most funds raised to date” (nearly 15K British pounds!!), “Least likely to finish” – Team Serpico – which ran into the front of the ramp, banged it’s exhaust pipe, and had to be pushed up the ramp, “Most unique vehicle” – Tryke around the world for his homebuilt Tryke – VERY cool! 4 Men 7 Brows was awarded a 30” old clunky TV that they had to figure out how to get into their car! Knights jousted each other on horseback and a “group” photo was shot with all us Ralliers crowded around the stage
Then came the grand announcement – “Now Go…and Start Your Engines!!”
Everyone ran for their vehicles, which were then paraded one by one up the ramp, across the stage and back down and out the castle grounds. No way the bus was going up the ramp, so we just drove in front of the stage and as we passed, Buddy the Emcee climbed up our back ladder and onto the roof to great cheers from the crowd! We were officially launched at 1130am (we did stop – barely – to let buddy down once we realized he was up there)
We made a beeline for the Dover to Calais Ferry – just missing the 2pm ferry we had our booking for, but no problem, the 3pm gave us all time to catch our breath.
Taking the Ferry and seeing The White Cliffs of Dover have been on my TO DO list for MANY years! Neither one disappointed.
On Board, I met 2 wonderful older ladies from Cheshire who were headed to France to go see Versailles and Monet’s Gardens for the very first time. It reminded me very much of my Grandmother who had always dreamed of seeing Monet’s Gardens but never did get the chance. One day, I will get there for the both of us!
The Sea Gulls were having their fun soaring in the Ferry’s wind wake – occasionally making a landing on various railings. Folks were trying to either feed them or be photographed with them. Not sure whether the gulls or the people were the more entertaining.
The ferry docked in Calais, and for the 2nd time in my life I am on French soil for Bastille Day (essentially the French version of oour 4th of July). It is after 5pm, and we are trying to make a campground in Cologne, Germany for the night, so there was no time to dally and partake in any of the country’s festivities, With no repeat visit for me to the presidential palace in Paris, we are in Belgium in a blink of an eye.
We arrive at a very dark and locked up campground in Cologne around 12:30am. After rousing management we are told in a very UNPOLITE fashion that “This is NOT a reasonable hour” and we are denied entry. Exhausted from a long day, Don drives us down to the end of the road to a small park adjacent to the campground, underneath a bridge overpass of the Rhine River, where 20 or so teenagers are partying it up under the bridge. Hmm…we’re a bit put off, but they are a harmless Belgian boy scout troop – so up the tents go.
(There’s the campground!)
Final country count for today = 5 : UK/France/Belgium/Netherlands/Germany
Contrary to initial plans, word came from The Adventurists that…”the plonkers at English Heritage decided that despite confirming all was OK and telling us we should announce it to you fine folks; that they were a little scared of the great Mongol Rally and wimped out.”
I guess something about 400 (??) crazy ralliers romping about their fine castle gave them pause – and 2nd thoughts – so Don, Sarah, and I , along with Amber – from the Canadian team Bro’s & Khans headed off to see this historic castle for ourselves.
According to the guidebook: “Dover Castle is considered to be one of the mightiest fortresses in Western Europe. Henry II began building the present version of Dover Castle in the 1180’s. The Castle is located at the shortest sea crossing between England and France, giving it significant strategic importance. Over the following 800 years, the castle’s buildings and defences were adapted to meet the changing demands of weapons and warfare.”
Arriving via the local coastal bus, we walked up the hill atop the white cliffs of Dover and toured the castle, climbed up the great tower for magnificent views, saw the old roman lighthouse (built circa 2nd cent A.D.) and walked though some of the incredible network of tunnels which were used during WWII as a medic hospital, and the direction of the British evacuation from the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940.
I valiantly looked for and finally inquired about 2 cannons my friend Greta said might be at the castle – “The Queen of France” & “The General Wayne” – The cannons were 3# & 6# wrought iron, built by a William Denning around the early 1780’s for the US Army. One of her ancestors, a William Ferguson, assisted in the making of the carriages for the cannons. Word was they were later acquired by the British and installed at Dover Castle. Sadly I was not able to find out any more information from the docents on-site.
On the way home, I got off the bus at The Battle of Britain War Memorial, It opened 20 years ago this Sunday, to commemorate and honor those airmen who flew so valiantly against Germany in this historic and important air battle over the English Channel during WWII, from July to October of 1940.
Winston Churchil is quoted as saying on August 20, 1940:
“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few”.
The War Memorial, has a beautiful commemorative wall of those lives lost, full size replicas of a Supermarine Spitfire MK 1 and a Hawker Hurricane MK 1 & aircraft, a statue and commanding views of the famous White Cliffs of Dover.
From the War Memorial, it was a short 15 min walk along a cliffside pathway that led right down into the Little Switzerland Campground.
4 more of our teammates arrived throughout the afternoon: Sarita, Jan, Lina, and Johnny. It was great to finally meet some more of our team and spend our last evening sitting around our LED lantern “campfire” next to the bus with them, and the canadian, norwegian, and finland teams. Off to Bodiam Castle in the morning.
The Mongol rally is ALL about raising money for Charity and my fellow team mates and I have been busy busy!
We’re excited to get our hands dirty for you!!
For a mere $15 you too can add “your” handprint onto the bus and travel with us!!
I am very blessed and grateful to SO many of my AMAZING friends and family who have donated so generously of their time, money, and most of all their support of me, for this adventure I am about to embark on. (check out the sponsors page on the team website to see your name!)
I am SO excited to say that I have a lot of catching up to do since the April fundraiser party in Charleston. I have over 30 handprints to add to the bus!!! I am gonna be a busy girl with those paints once I get to Dover – but NO WORRIES – there is always room for more, so bring it on!!
The Offical Mongol Rally charity is:
Cool Earth. They are an organization that is working tirelessly with local communities to save rainforests around the world. According to their website: “So far 330,000 acres of rainforest that sit directly in the path of chainsaws and bulldozers have been saved.”
Team Dixie Chickens is also raising money for:
Lotus Children’s Centre, an orphanage in Mongolia that is a home and centre for development for around 100 vulnerable and special needs Mongolian children. (They were the official Rally charity last year) Once we arrive at the finish line, we plan to stay in their guesthouse and volunteer at the orphanage for a few days.
And what would a school bus be without school supplies? Well, with thanks to my friend Dale, we will not have to find out. Dale has generously donated a HUGE box of school supplies for us to hand out to the kids we meet along the way and for donating to the orphanage!! WHOO HOO! (And via other amazing & generous folks, we’ve also got inflatable globes, sports equipment, & dental supplies!)
Bookmark this cool map if you want to know where we are in relation to the other teams once the rally starts. The nice guys at Mongol Kart 13 – Mongol Rally 2013 set it up! More teams should be adding themselves soon!
Off The Rhumb Line 