Yes I bloody do and it stays in Lancelot with its batteries reversed - just in case!no bed side light ( luxury) you must have head torch
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To India and Beyond....
- Thread starter Lancelot
- Start date
There are more large Mercs here than Stuttgart.
We did see a Defender in the traffic and found a Range Rover specialist mechanic, should I have clutch issues to deal with....
We did see a Defender in the traffic and found a Range Rover specialist mechanic, should I have clutch issues to deal with....
A double rainbow! Must be two leprechaunsā¦
Thatāll be a Defender.
I can see chickens and cows in the picture, butā¦
One of Armeniaās oldest monasteries, near Dilijan.
Armenian Kachacurs, Memorial tablets.
The mountains we crossed later in the day.
The street we stayed on last night. The dog was crook-locked.
A simple roadside chapel.
Thatāll be a Defender.
I can see chickens and cows in the picture, butā¦
One of Armeniaās oldest monasteries, near Dilijan.
Armenian Kachacurs, Memorial tablets.
The mountains we crossed later in the day.
The street we stayed on last night. The dog was crook-locked.
A simple roadside chapel.
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We also saw Mt Ararat which the Turks swiped and although it was standing in a patch of clear blue sky the rain on our windscreen made a picture impossible, the forks of lightning were terrific. For Armenians Ararat is of huge religious importance, and all major roads in the capital are oriented towards it. To the Turks Ararat is simply a tall piece of somebody elseās land. Apparently Turkish archaeologists discovered Noahās Ark on the mountainā¦a number of archaeologists from other parts of the world suggested the boat might have been planted. No, never, surely!
You want to send them to have a look for the pots of gold under the ends of those lovely rainbows
They are probably already there....You want to send them to have a look for the pots of gold under the ends of those lovely rainbows
Of course I do...with batteries reversed and in Lancelot ready for emergencies...as you would expect, probably as per SOP!no bed side light ( luxury) you must have head torch
Othello may have said "Who steals my purse steals trash" yet it is still theft nonetheless!
Clearly the locals of Eastern Europe and Western Asia believe that drivers of rugged Land Rovers or indeed rugged Land Rover drivers are set to benefit personally from the $61 billion the US Senate recently voted to spend on supporting Ukraine. Well I am sorry you thieving shower of greedy bastards, you are wrong.
What has prompted this outburst you may ask? The price of rental property in Armenia. First we had the Russian Bounce effect (or rather Mammon benefitting from a target rich environment), in Hungary, then in Romania, then in every corner of Turkey and now Yerevan. Without even making the place cosy, clean or welcoming - in fact in most cases without even updating the decor and furniture of their late war-hero grandmother who died in 1975 - the average price of a two bedroom apartment in the city is over sixty Euros a night. We need to be here for seven weeks in order that GCSEs can be completed...thats a lot of diesel.
We arrived here, as you know, on Friday night and paid EURO 100, including a booking fee, for the weekend. Without that fee the price has gone up, rising again from Tuesday to E 81 per night and up again to over E 90 very soon after. We have been told that "high season begins on Monday". Being cynical I would say that is because thousands of members of the Armenian diaspora will come here for the Genocide memorial on the 24th...how cynical do you need to be to put the prices up in such a week?
Let us not even go near the subject of the cost of grocery shopping; suffice to say with peanut butter coming it at a healthy Ā£10 a jar and a pomegranate at Ā£3 we are chewing cardboard during the day and are considering renting the hound out as an emotional support dog. If you knew her you would know what a dodgy proposition this is.
"Maintain a sense of humour in the face of adversity"...although I fully appreciate that a certain member of the team has spent countless hours trawling the web for suitable places to live and her positivity and humour have been stretched to its limit.
Friday's double rainbow must have yielded gold, how else could the driver of the Bentley SUV we saw this morning afford to be on the road?
Clearly the locals of Eastern Europe and Western Asia believe that drivers of rugged Land Rovers or indeed rugged Land Rover drivers are set to benefit personally from the $61 billion the US Senate recently voted to spend on supporting Ukraine. Well I am sorry you thieving shower of greedy bastards, you are wrong.
What has prompted this outburst you may ask? The price of rental property in Armenia. First we had the Russian Bounce effect (or rather Mammon benefitting from a target rich environment), in Hungary, then in Romania, then in every corner of Turkey and now Yerevan. Without even making the place cosy, clean or welcoming - in fact in most cases without even updating the decor and furniture of their late war-hero grandmother who died in 1975 - the average price of a two bedroom apartment in the city is over sixty Euros a night. We need to be here for seven weeks in order that GCSEs can be completed...thats a lot of diesel.
We arrived here, as you know, on Friday night and paid EURO 100, including a booking fee, for the weekend. Without that fee the price has gone up, rising again from Tuesday to E 81 per night and up again to over E 90 very soon after. We have been told that "high season begins on Monday". Being cynical I would say that is because thousands of members of the Armenian diaspora will come here for the Genocide memorial on the 24th...how cynical do you need to be to put the prices up in such a week?
Let us not even go near the subject of the cost of grocery shopping; suffice to say with peanut butter coming it at a healthy Ā£10 a jar and a pomegranate at Ā£3 we are chewing cardboard during the day and are considering renting the hound out as an emotional support dog. If you knew her you would know what a dodgy proposition this is.
"Maintain a sense of humour in the face of adversity"...although I fully appreciate that a certain member of the team has spent countless hours trawling the web for suitable places to live and her positivity and humour have been stretched to its limit.
Friday's double rainbow must have yielded gold, how else could the driver of the Bentley SUV we saw this morning afford to be on the road?
This guy is busy enticing customers into a city restaurant
One of the few surviving pre-Soviet era colonades, of which there were many until the older parts of town were demolished from the 30s onwards to make way for concrete blocks of immeasurable ugliness. When I first came her pin the early 90s there were many old buildings still standing. Now blocks of flats stand in their stead. The present day Armenian-Italian Cultural Heritage society stands in one of the few remaining buildings of the early 19th Century.
Artists in a park dedicated to the memorial of famous Armenian artist whose name cannot be read unless you read Armenian.
The first bacon in six months! It looks rather like a screaming skull, which was entirely unintentional but apposite considering the price of accommodation (ibid).
One of the few surviving pre-Soviet era colonades, of which there were many until the older parts of town were demolished from the 30s onwards to make way for concrete blocks of immeasurable ugliness. When I first came her pin the early 90s there were many old buildings still standing. Now blocks of flats stand in their stead. The present day Armenian-Italian Cultural Heritage society stands in one of the few remaining buildings of the early 19th Century.
Artists in a park dedicated to the memorial of famous Armenian artist whose name cannot be read unless you read Armenian.
The first bacon in six months! It looks rather like a screaming skull, which was entirely unintentional but apposite considering the price of accommodation (ibid).
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Tried AirBnB..?
www.airbnb.com
Airbnb | Yerevan - Vacation Rentals & Places to Stay
Rent from people in Yerevan, Armenia from ā¬ 19/night. Find unique places to stay with local hosts in 191 countries. Belong anywhere with Airbnb.
www.airbnb.com
Oh yes... we are very familiar with it, Thank you all the same!Tried AirBnB..?
Airbnb | Yerevan - Vacation Rentals & Places to Stay
Rent from people in Yerevan, Armenia from ā¬ 19/night. Find unique places to stay with local hosts in 191 countries. Belong anywhere with Airbnb.
Interestingly enough he prices are very different herre - this afternoon as I was looking at a property its price rose from 38 a day to 62!
Onwards and upwards!
Some stunning scenery there ..
First and reverse gear .. are the gears that will indicate a clutch fault first ... now it could be down to hydraulics ..but i suspect a clutch wear fault ... the thing is where on your route is the best place to have it done .. being on a mountain road in the middle of nowhere .. when you lose all drive is not going to be good for you .. i can hear the ear ache you will get from here .. but if you are lucky you will still get drive but will not be able to change gear ... no real problem if that happens .. just start the vehicle in gear and with patience and throttle control you will be able to change gears whilst driving with out the clutch .. just a bit of a bugger when having too stop .. and then having to start the engine in gear to start moving off again.. as for border crossings .. a silly girl i was with going from Zambia to Malawi .. told them she was a journalist .. as her occupation it went down well with the border officials .. me .. well my occupation was a lorry driver ... no threat to them... enjoying reading your adventures .. keeping on going and good speed ...
@madmechanic 954 thank you for that very useful response! I have thought as much; for some time The Chief has had an issue with fourth gear and I put that down to the idiosyncrasies of a Defender and that fact that being built like a Challenger tank I can overcome a synchromesh by brute force (and considerable ignorance) alone.
Trying to find a way around the log-jam of Yerevan's Friday night traffic we came across a back street mechanic with a huge inter compound, the size of a couple of tennis courts, with many 4 x 4 vehicles, mostly Range Rovers and a Disco' or two. That will be my first port-of-call on Friday, for an exploratory look and an estimate. I have changed a Series II gearbox and clutch (I am still scarred by the experience - learning by doing
) but am in uncharted territory when it comes to a Defender clutch; can it be done without a pit or the vehicle being raised? Either way, we are then firm in Yerevan for at least month so here is the place to do it before Kazakhstan at least and not on the open road. I can also check the battery condition and the alternator. If the parts are expensive here we can also order the from an excellent chap in Germany, although the courier might be a high fee. For anybody in Europe who wants excellent service and a vast array of spares and parts grab Tobias:
Tobias KĆ¼hnemund
Parts Manager
[email protected]
Phone: +49 5507 847
Perhaps we need a section on here for trusted or recommended suppliers/mechanics around the world? There probably already is one I just have not looked in the right place.
Do you remember which border you crossed in Malawi? Was it at Kapita or Chitumbi? The latter crossing closed bang on 1800 hrs and we had to stop and spend the night with the usual bunch of border ne'er do wells hanging around. We were conducting anti-poaching operations, teaching the Malawi-Zambian military (who signed a cooperation accord in the 80's and of course, Kaunda the President was of Malawian descent) so armed and dangerous but low-key. The worst thing was the beer shortage, which has happened on numerous occasions in Zambia. You may have drunk the brew, Mosi Ya Tunya, Smoke That Thunders, named after the Vic' Falls.
Neither of us has been asked about our professions, former or present which is good, frankly! Something like carpenter always goes down well!
Thanks again and I will keep you updated on progress.
PS Much more to come on Lycia later this week, with real-time observations of Armenian Genocide Memorial Day on the 24th.
T x
Trying to find a way around the log-jam of Yerevan's Friday night traffic we came across a back street mechanic with a huge inter compound, the size of a couple of tennis courts, with many 4 x 4 vehicles, mostly Range Rovers and a Disco' or two. That will be my first port-of-call on Friday, for an exploratory look and an estimate. I have changed a Series II gearbox and clutch (I am still scarred by the experience - learning by doing
) but am in uncharted territory when it comes to a Defender clutch; can it be done without a pit or the vehicle being raised? Either way, we are then firm in Yerevan for at least month so here is the place to do it before Kazakhstan at least and not on the open road. I can also check the battery condition and the alternator. If the parts are expensive here we can also order the from an excellent chap in Germany, although the courier might be a high fee. For anybody in Europe who wants excellent service and a vast array of spares and parts grab Tobias:Tobias KĆ¼hnemund
Parts Manager
[email protected]
Phone: +49 5507 847
Perhaps we need a section on here for trusted or recommended suppliers/mechanics around the world? There probably already is one I just have not looked in the right place.
Do you remember which border you crossed in Malawi? Was it at Kapita or Chitumbi? The latter crossing closed bang on 1800 hrs and we had to stop and spend the night with the usual bunch of border ne'er do wells hanging around. We were conducting anti-poaching operations, teaching the Malawi-Zambian military (who signed a cooperation accord in the 80's and of course, Kaunda the President was of Malawian descent) so armed and dangerous but low-key. The worst thing was the beer shortage, which has happened on numerous occasions in Zambia. You may have drunk the brew, Mosi Ya Tunya, Smoke That Thunders, named after the Vic' Falls.
Neither of us has been asked about our professions, former or present which is good, frankly! Something like carpenter always goes down well!
Thanks again and I will keep you updated on progress.
PS Much more to come on Lycia later this week, with real-time observations of Armenian Genocide Memorial Day on the 24th.
T x
Butter. What can I say? Being a boy from Devon and having an absence of Country Life...oh the trials of travel!
Butter here, like the apartments, is an incredible price, that's just the way it is. If you can find shops selling Russian goods they are half the price of other imports. The butter we purchased on Friday is NZ Anchor in an Armenian/Russian packet, its 500g Russian equivalents are Ā£2.50.
At only 75 pence a packet is this spreadable chocolate...250 g of dark stuff that tastes like that awful Neapolitan chocolate that began to appear on Britain's shelves around Christmas time in the 70s, yet, if you are sixteen year old boy missing Nutella it's probably close to heaven.
Butter here, like the apartments, is an incredible price, that's just the way it is. If you can find shops selling Russian goods they are half the price of other imports. The butter we purchased on Friday is NZ Anchor in an Armenian/Russian packet, its 500g Russian equivalents are Ā£2.50.
At only 75 pence a packet is this spreadable chocolate...250 g of dark stuff that tastes like that awful Neapolitan chocolate that began to appear on Britain's shelves around Christmas time in the 70s, yet, if you are sixteen year old boy missing Nutella it's probably close to heaven.
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Your question on border crossing .. made me look it up .. and it was Chirundu border crossing... had just spent a few days at lake kariba and transited through Zambia on the way to lake Malawi and yes it was Chapita .. no problems going to Malawi .. but coming back through to go back to Zim ..( Tete corridor would have been easier for the return but the idea of being blown up or shot .. just did not turn me on for some unknown reason).. border guard tried his utmost to relieve me of money .. because of a yellow fever form that i should of had .. and he threatened to send me to Lilongwe to get the right paper work unless he was paid .. so i said ok i will go back and get the paper work .. after a while he gave up .. he did not get a Kwacha out of me but your right about border crossing time closures .. i think with me it was more about luck than timing getting through the same day and not having to spend the night stuck at the borders .. but the people are friendly and it would have made for an interesting night ..@madmechanic 954 thank you for that very useful response! I have thought as much; for some time The Chief has had an issue with fourth gear and I put that down to the idiosyncrasies of a Defender and that fact that being built like a Challenger tank I can overcome a synchromesh by brute force (and considerable ignorance) alone.
Trying to find a way around the log-jam of Yerevan's Friday night traffic we came across a back street mechanic with a huge inter compound, the size of a couple of tennis courts, with many 4 x 4 vehicles, mostly Range Rovers and a Disco' or two. That will be my first port-of-call on Friday, for an exploratory look and an estimate. I have changed a Series II gearbox and clutch (I am still scarred by the experience - learning by doing
Tobias KĆ¼hnemund
Parts Manager
[email protected]
Phone: +49 5507 847
Perhaps we need a section on here for trusted or recommended suppliers/mechanics around the world? There probably already is one I just have not looked in the right place.
Do you remember which border you crossed in Malawi? Was it at Kapita or Chitumbi? The latter crossing closed bang on 1800 hrs and we had to stop and spend the night with the usual bunch of border ne'er do wells hanging around. We were conducting anti-poaching operations, teaching the Malawi-Zambian military (who signed a cooperation accord in the 80's and of course, Kaunda the President was of Malawian descent) so armed and dangerous but low-key. The worst thing was the beer shortage, which has happened on numerous occasions in Zambia. You may have drunk the brew, Mosi Ya Tunya, Smoke That Thunders, named after the Vic' Falls.
Neither of us has been asked about our professions, former or present which is good, frankly! Something like carpenter always goes down well!
Thanks again and I will keep you updated on progress.
PS Much more to come on Lycia later this week, with real-time observations of Armenian Genocide Memorial Day on the 24th.
T x
As for the clutch parts you will need .. if the quality of parts in Yerevan are good then get them there ..but if at all in doubt .. then pay for them to come from Germany .. paying for the box to come out and the peace of mind that the parts are good .. you are driving shall we say a fair distance through parts that are not known for quality parts and for your clutch to fail in two months time because the guy in Yerevan could only supply lower quality ... well you know the way this conversation is going .. so i will let you finish it ..
Incredible! A small world! Some months later we were arrested by the Zambians because of a body in a bodybag in the back of the Rover - all legit officer honest! Anyway, a few days in Kafue Jail and a young British diplomat sent to spring us out and simpering apologies from our "hosts" - it makes for good story!
I will check out the parts, and agree completely. We have five-six weeks to do the job properly so a time-lag is no problem. I will need to ensure my skills are up to the job!
I will check out the parts, and agree completely. We have five-six weeks to do the job properly so a time-lag is no problem. I will need to ensure my skills are up to the job!
will the story make it into the next book ..???.. use the time when you have to take the box out to give it a service .. if you are getting the clutch from Germany .. well you might as well get service bits thrown in as well.. as for the box .. well the worst part is the weight .. as for every thing else it is just scraped skin and lots of bolts .. as too should you need to take those bolts out ..? well just because there is an easier way to do it you will be told later .. that will be some thing you will learn doing it for the first time .. you might take ten hours longer than some one who has done it before but .. as long as it is done and every thing is now fine and dandy.. and the wheels are turning .. so what if it took you longer or you removed some thing you did not need too ..good luck ... and i am sure some one on the forum will help you should you get stuck .. mmm.. now what is the cost of a ticket to Yerevan ..???.. oh hang on you have no money left now with the hourly increase in lodging costs ...and i do not feel like sticking a postage stamp on my fore head ... have you seen the price of a stamp lately...
I have booked you a flight, you need to be at Heathrow in an hour and bring your bleed pump please!
It might take time, but thatās something I have, along with eight intact knucklesā¦hell, I still have some permanent albeit tiny scars from the blasted FPR shenanigans in October!
Thanks for the top tips. I will investigate what I need for the job (servicing parts, clutch bits etc) order them and crack on. Gulp!
As for the border āincidentā it may well make it into a book, names changed to protect the guilty or erā¦innocent!