The Mojo Diaries
Part Four - Bordering Madness
Man made borders not to limit himself, but to have something to cross - Anonymous
While traveling there's no place that puts us to the test like a land border. During my journey to drive across Europe and Asia on the Mongol Rally my co-pilot Steve and I learned this the hard way. The hours of waiting, the angry border guards, the makeshift bathrooms all create memories that live with us forever. I write about these experiences in the FREE e-book The Mojo Diaries
Sometimes when you travel by road everything begins to meld together, but border crossings force you to stop, which can be a blessing in disguise. They force us to connect with people. They humble us by reminding us that everyone else in the borderline is just as important. I have highlighted some of these humbling experiences in a series of short Mojo Tips.
On day 3 of being stuck at the Mongolian border (aka The Mongolian Cow Pen) we made new friends and managed to piss off the border guards. Our punishment? They decided to confiscate our cameras and erase the past 3 days worth of filming. We of course promised we would no longer film and then proceeded to start filming immediately after that. You might think this was a risky move but the whole point of this trip was to document it for the world to see. You should always have a goal, and a plan to achieve that goal.
Once we finally made it across the border something happened. We were expecting the people in the country to be as angry as the border guards but instead it was the opposite. They smiled and laughed; we smiled and laughed right back. They had no idea what we had just been through and they didn't care. When traveling to a new place you should always remember to check your ego at the door.
Not long after this the road melding began once more and before we knew it we were lost...again. By some stroke of luck and after hours of trying to get our bearings a local van came to the rescue! Not just any van but the 9989 van! Now this phrase may not make any sense to you but after hours of driving alone on a dirt road the 9989 van was our version of divine intervention. It's important that while traveling you always expect the unexpected
So chaps it's your turn to go cross that border in your life, when you do the next blog post will be waiting...