G
Guest
Guest
Hi Folks
Ah! Mongolia that sounds interesting and I wonder if the
terrain, its people & the landscape is as interesting as Africa.
One drawback might be, that it is not practical to use our
own vehicle.
Still, we may be looking for an alternative to Africa, until the
continent again becomes a bit more predictable, so perhaps
Asia next.
We have recently returned from Algeria where amongst
other things we hoped to cross The Grand Erg Oriental.
However, 7 Policemen had been captured in the region and
decapitated by Al-Qaeda just a few days before our crossing.
The Army would not allow us to cross the Erg without an
Escort consisting of Two Military Vehicles and 14 Troops
at a cost of 2000 Euros? per day for a crossing that would
take 4 to 5 day?s.
We did not pay, so we were confined to the roads with the
numerous checkpoints, plus we had to sleep in a Military
compound for our protection on our way down south.
Ones in Tuareg country, then everything was OK and we
were free to do as we pleased.
We learned later that a total of 4 Austrians (on two separate
occasions) had been taken hostage in the same region, also
by Al-Qaeda and at the time of our intended crossing.
So the Army?s decision, although disappointing at the time,
was probably the correct one.
Regards Jorgen
KDJ120 (UK)
Ah! Mongolia that sounds interesting and I wonder if the
terrain, its people & the landscape is as interesting as Africa.
One drawback might be, that it is not practical to use our
own vehicle.
Still, we may be looking for an alternative to Africa, until the
continent again becomes a bit more predictable, so perhaps
Asia next.
We have recently returned from Algeria where amongst
other things we hoped to cross The Grand Erg Oriental.
However, 7 Policemen had been captured in the region and
decapitated by Al-Qaeda just a few days before our crossing.
The Army would not allow us to cross the Erg without an
Escort consisting of Two Military Vehicles and 14 Troops
at a cost of 2000 Euros? per day for a crossing that would
take 4 to 5 day?s.
We did not pay, so we were confined to the roads with the
numerous checkpoints, plus we had to sleep in a Military
compound for our protection on our way down south.
Ones in Tuareg country, then everything was OK and we
were free to do as we pleased.
We learned later that a total of 4 Austrians (on two separate
occasions) had been taken hostage in the same region, also
by Al-Qaeda and at the time of our intended crossing.
So the Army?s decision, although disappointing at the time,
was probably the correct one.
Regards Jorgen
KDJ120 (UK)
