16,000 kilometres in the new Touareg – Rainer Zietlow reports from Mongolia and China
A road trip to the world première in Beijing
In early March, world record-holding driver Rainer Zietlow left the Bratislava factory in Slovakia in a new Touareg – still in camouflage – and set his sights on China. The 16,000-kilometre route passes through eleven countries. The SUV has been built in Bratislava since 2002; the new Touareg will celebrate its world première in Beijing on 23 March. Read his journal here.
Wednesday, 21 March: A land of contrasts
"Mongolia never ceases to amaze. The past, present and future are all closely interlinked here. Mongolians do not use cash. All payments are made with a bank card or transfer. And if you want to give one of the Buddhist monks a little bit of money, he will gladly give you the monastery's account number and the name of the bank so that you can transfer the money directly. During this chat, he will be dressed in traditional robes with a bag slung over his shoulder holding a laptop inside.
A Buddhist monk in traditional robes poses enthusiastically next to our Touareg
In the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar the people still live in yurts, the traditional nomadic tents. Theirs, however, are equipped with modern furnishings
It is a land of contrasts. In the centre of Mongolia's capital city, Ulaanbaatar, 1350 metres above sea level and home to 1.4 million residents, the futuristic high-rises twinkle in the sunlight. At night, the illuminated advertisements seem to be in competition to see which can glow the brightest, and expensive shops and chic hotels line the main streets. In the outlying districts, the people still live in simple yurts, the traditional tents used by the nomads. A resettlement project resulted in a large swathe of the nomadic community coming to the city. Due to a lack of funds, they were unable to build houses on the properties allotted to them. So they live in traditional tents just as their ancestors did. Visitors are usually amazed by the modern furnishings: refrigerator, washing machine, television – it's all there. And a large wood-burning stove for heat.
The largest memorial to Genghis Khan
In the minds of the people, Genghis Khan still keeps watch over Mongolia. About 55 kilometres southeast of Ulaanbaatar, at Tsonjin Boldog, stands the largest of many memorials dedicated to the wild conqueror. Built in 2008, it is 40 metres high. Standing next to this steel giant, it's hard not to feel like an ant. Of course, that's how it is supposed to be. It is not only tourists who are carted here in droves, the country's residents flock here too.
We make a stop to see Genghis Khan, or rather the largest statue of the conquerer, standing at 40 metres tall
Sundown approaches as we set out for the next stage – the Touareg's adaptive light illuminates the roads perfectly
After visiting Khan, it is time to drive to the Chinese border. Before the long journey, we want to have another taste of the Mongolian cuisine, though it is not all that easy to find a suitable restaurant. Our tour guide advises us to avoid the establishments located along the road that leads out of town. The risk is too great that we will be served spoiled meat. So we return to the city centre and order "dry goods" for the drive. On the 600-kilometre stretch from the capital city to the border, there are only two small towns. We're hoping that everything will run smoothly. The chances of finding a suitable workshop in the event of an emergency seem rather slim.
After sundown, everyone here drives with their headlights on full beam. That makes driving quite arduous. Permanently dazzled, the eyes get tired quickly. The only thing that helps is to stop briefly and allow your eyes to rest in an area free of streetlights. The oncoming traffic has it somewhat easier; the adaptive main beam on our Volkswagen Touareg ensures that only the road is optimally illuminated and not the cockpits of the cars coming the other way. Those drivers are left unbothered by the light.
Forced stop at the Chinese border
And then we are in China and thus almost at our destination, but unfortunately we can't just drive to Beijing. The temporary import of our Volkswagen Touareg into the People's Republic of China requires a plethora of paperwork and plenty of time for processing. While the customs formalities run their course, we try to go to a nearby city. The problem: the car is not allowed to leave the customs post. This border crossing is only for cars and is not to be crossed on foot. So we have to improvise: our guide stops a gnarled SUV of the well-known Russian brand UAZ and asks the driver to take us to the next city. The man agrees and indicates with his thumb that we should take a seat in the back. Aha, but where? The driver's cab is completely clean and clear, and there is just one seat – which the driver is sitting on. And that is how we end up on our first ride sitting on the bare floor panel of a Russian SUV. There is a first time for everything.
We take a seat in a Russian UAZ, in which the driver's cabin has been completely cleared out… where are the rest of the seats?
Loaded up to the roof with items. That describes most of the vehicles in the area
The city where we wait for our customs documents is actually more like a village by Chinese standards. There is only one medium-sized skyscraper, 50,000 inhabitants, no airport, and no place name sign in our alphabet. We seriously don't even know the name of the city! But since the traffic at the border is increasing, growth will not be far behind. Today this place is teeming with Mongolian shoppers. They buy local goods in large supply and then take it all back to Mongolia to sell on there. The cars are packed to the roof. Now we understand why our UAZ didn't have any seats.
Hardly any cars on the road
Away from the trading posts, it is quiet and perfectly peaceful. There are virtually no cars on the road, the sellers at the stands scattered across the market square seem bored, and the restaurants only open in the evening. The locals' main recreational activity appears to be playing cards. The people gather in small groups and go for broke, gesticulating wildly and shouting loudly as part of this passionate "card fight", which we cannot seem to understand no matter how hard we try.
No trace of any other cars for miles around… but we aren't alone
As we look for a restaurant we are always met with a smile by the locals
That evening we go into one of the many restaurants. We want to try the local cuisine. The menu is illustrated, which gives us hope. But without Mr Wong, our patient tour guide, we probably still wouldn't have known what we were ordering. I'd like to take a minute to extend our heartfelt thanks to Mr Wong once again for his support during our journey. Out of habit we each order several dishes. We learn our lesson: the portions are huge. The waiters can't even fit everything on the tables that we have lined up. We learn that Chinese portions are enough for a small European company party.
Despite the over-abundance, we do not want to go without dessert. But something sweet after a meal? That is not normal around here. Letting guests go home unsatisfied is not either. A couple of minutes later, we have ice-cream, watermelon and other fruits on the table – all from the little shop around the corner. Where there's a will, there's a way. The perfect motto for the last 600 kilometres to the world première of the Touareg in Beijing on Friday, 23 March. We can do it!"
Rainer Zietlow
Touareg: This close-to-production-study has not yet gone on sale.