Steppe on it! - Mongolia Rally 2008

As Mongol, the 'untold story of Genghis Khan', hits the cinemas, three fearless warriors from Edinburgh and Midlothian will be preparing for their own Mongolian epic: 2008's Mongolia Rally, a pan-continental drive from London to Mongolia. Asif Rashid, Zaheer Aslam and Hafiz Ahmed's preferred mode of transport is, fortunately for them, not on horseback but in a considerably more comfortable 11 year old Subaru Impreza.

The route they have chosen is considered one of 'the most dangerous and challenging' of the suggested rally routes. It involves crossing five mountain ranges, two deserts and driving through Turkey, which the team, undeterred, declare has one of the worlds highest number of deaths caused by road accidents. They will be avoiding a war zone on the border of Azerbaijan and Armenia, and crossing the Caspian sea on a ferry that is believed to have had cars fall off it. Finally, after five weeks and 10,000 miles, they will end up in Mongolia which boasts only 50 signposts in the whole country outside of the capital.

This epic adventure is all in the name of charity. The team, named 'Silk Road Express' after the ancient trade route they are closely following, will be raising money for the British Lung Foundation, Places2Be - a charity focusing on children's emotional health - and the Cambridge Mongolian Disaster Appeal. At the end of the journey the car will be donated to a charitable foundation in Mongolia - if it's still in one piece and rust free - as, according to the rally's organizers Charity Rallies, a rusty car is unacceptable in Mongolia.

All of us here at The Skinny wish the Silk Road Express team a safe and peril free journey.