China crisis..........Mongolian madness

Had some news that might put the trip in jeopardy. China has now banned trans-Xinjiang province self-drive (but intra-Xinjiang is OK?!?!) just as we were due to arrive. The Chinese, being Chinese are absolutely intransigent. So after much back and forth between all group members (a task in itself, as we are scattered throughout Russia and various `Stans), and many possible solutions. The most practical amongst a spread of impracticalities is a ride from Kyrgyzstan through Xinjiang to Mongolia to get to UB for a new aChinese visa and then re-enter China at Erenhot. A Mongolian detour? Hmmmmm? The only other practical solution would be to junk China (tempted!) and freight to Bangkok and carry on around South-East Asia. But, this would mean my tyres leaving the ground and the blog being a misnomer, can't have that! Soundtrack: Rage Against The Machine - Bullet in the head