After an amazing week in the Gobi desert we went back to Ulaanbaatar for a little less than a week. We then prepared to head west through Mongolia before going back into China for a week in order to get to Kyrgyzstan. So we got on a 48 hour bus with our giant packs, ready spirits, and a package of 16 large jars of honey under every seat (we still don’t understand this).
Two hours in I was throwing up and continued that way for the next 14 hours. Talk about rough. A lot of bags were randomly thrown into the desert. You do what you have to!
Oh, remember that 48 hour bus ride? It turned out to be 36. So instead of arriving at 1pm we arrived at 12:30am into a small border town. We unloaded and two of our teammates went to go look for a place to stay while we watched our bus and all the other passengers drive away.
Half an hour later they return with news that the hotels locked their doors and turned off their lights as they were walking up
So what do we do in this small town at 1am where all the businesses have closed?!
We jump the gate and break into the park, of course! There’s a patch of grass there and we have tents! So we set up camp, we undo our sleeping mats and bags, pray together and get ready to sleep.
Thats when the police come in. Essentially they translated 3 things.
1. You will starve.
2. There are thieves.
3. You will be attacked.
Then they told us to pack up and that we weren’t allowed to stay there. Luckily they didn’t just kick us out of the park but walked us to a hotel and made them give us a room. The woman wasn’t too happy but understandably, it was 2am. The next day she was a gem!!
It’s amazing to see how the Lord shows up in unexpected ways. We couldn’t find housing so we were going to make do and then He provided the most unexpected guides to give it to us. He gave us protection and provision. We also ended up having a great time in that hotel!!
All that to say, home means a very different thing on the race. It’s not about where I stay because so far I’ve stayed in 22 different places. That’s not counting the overnight planes, trains, buses or the night we spent outside the train station because that adds another 11 places! Home is where my family is, my team, my ‘Ohana’ as we have taken to saying.
My team has been with me through all the crazy adventures, amazing moments and hard times during the last 4 months. In 3 days we will be split up for gender month. After that we will have new teams within our squad. This is hard. It’s saying goodbye to the culture we have built for ourselves on the race. It’s learning to be open with new people again and in a way, starting over. It’s the inside jokes not being as funny. It’s missing people who you are on the same journey with still but don’t see daily anymore.
I’m super excited for what’s in store and I know these new teams and opportunities will be incredible. But goodbye is still hard. My first World Race family will always hold a special place in my heart.
All my love, Ashley
