Let the stories begin. Who got the most lost? Who nearly got arrested? Where was the craziest place they slept? Who held their car together with the most duct tape? Who nearly crashed into a camel?

Saturday, August 15 marked the official last day of the ‘09 Mongol Rally and the finish line party fired up in Ulaanbataar with the over 100 teams who made it in time. Six outstanding teams were awarded with prizes and a much deserved bottle of champagne, followed by a number of musical acts and contortionists. At nearly 5am, with few left standing and coherent, there apparently was rumors of the cops coming, so things finally got shut down – leaving many to suddenly face the fact that all of their hard work was now done and they now have to figure out how they were getting back home.

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Some of my favorite updates during the Rally:

“Stopped by jovial Kazakh police officer for speeding, but let off with a stern reminder that our car ‘not porsche’.”
– The Peoples’ Republic of Sheffield

“By the time we rocked up, as usual, the campsite was shut. Somewhat irked by this, we all set up camp on a nearby roundabout underneath a sign that said “campieren verboten” which we most certainly did not understand… After a nice kip, we awoke to the sound of remarks being shouted in German from passing cars. They were obviously compliments about how attractive we all were, but sadly we did not understand them.”
– The Yak Street Boys

“arrived in astana, stopped by police again… According to kasakstani cops, we have insurance for submarine! Fun fun! Looking for russia”
– Batlimo

“the on board computer has restricted Tony to 45mph. My dad tells me it’s in ‘limp home mode’. Does it know home is now 6,000 miles away?”
– I Mongol’d ya Mum

“slept in a field last night, near miss with combine harvester”
– Kernow Pirates

… more to comes as teams return home