We experienced three flat tires (one in the dark) and frankly, I was shocked that the number wasn’t higher.
Those who live in the steppe are accustom to constantly repairing vehicles and are pretty much mechanical ninjas. Our driver Jackie was no exception.
After hours of driving and not seeing a single sign of civilization, Jackie spotted an abandoned van and pulled over to see if there were any spare parts he could collect for future use.
Just as we were pulling away, a motorcycle appeared, seemingly from nowhere.
Suddenly, our course changed and we were following the motorcycle in the opposite direction. 10km later, we saw our destination – in the middle of a river.
A truck was stranded in the icy water and had, we learned, been there for over six hours!
A man was barefoot in the river attempting to free the truck with absolutely no progress. We were all horrified that he was IN the river! His feet had turned a deep hue of purple and I got chills just thinking about how cold he must have been.
Jackie produced a rope that was attached to both vehicles and he attempted to pull the truck free. The rope snapped.
As a last ditch effort, the man in the river used his saffron, silk waist scarf as a rope. This was highly unusual because the scarf is seen as a sacred garment – he was THAT desperate!
After a few tries, the truck finally pulled free and made it to shore.
The whole encounter took only 30 minutes. All I could think about though was how long it would have taken if we hadn’t happened to be in the area as the motorcycle came by.
*Some photos contributed by Conor O’Brien & Jacqueline Simone Winston-Silk
