The London cab before its modification In the caring hands of Lenham Sports Cars, Ltd. Charles poses atop the improved taxicab Marianna, Viscountess Monckton of Brenchley, Ed’s grandmother, is among the sponsors of Teamdesertaxi Charles, Ed, and Max, about to set off

Three Britons are driving an old London taxicab they purchased off eBay from Hyde Park all the way across the Eurasian landmass to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Ed Monckton, Max Firman, and Charles Oliver — or “Teamdesertaxi” — are just one team among the scores taking part in this year’s “Mongol Rally” in order to raise money for MercyCorps Mongolia.

Teamdesertaxi found the old, dark blue London cab on eBay and had it specially modified for the route of many thousands of miles through England, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Slovakia (an unintentional detour), Hungary, Serbia, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Mongolia. The route covers two continents as well as crossing three deserts and eleven mountain ranges.

Ed Monckton, a 20-year-old Art History student at University College London, is the ringleader of Teamdesertaxi, but participating in the Mongol Rally wasn’t actually his idea. “Jimmy Walker, an American journalist I met in Belgrade, emailed me in November last year and suggested it.”

Walker, 68, reported for ABC News for over twenty years. He became familiar with the charitable efforts of MercyCorps while teaching journalism in Mongolia.

“I decided that I would make sure that it happened rather than leaving it as a wild idea,” Ed explained. “Two school mates quickly jumped on board and here we are on the brink of doom I fear.”

The two school friends are Max Firman, an aeronautical engineering student at Bristol University, and Charles Oliver, studying astrophysics at UCL. “Max went to school with Ed where they skilfully perfected the art of getting in and out of trouble,” the Teamdesertaxi website explains, while “Charles is our resident linguist/spiv and will hopefully negotiate us out of any bribes or prison cells, furthering our efforts to raise sacks of cash”.

Eighteen countries, deserts, mountains — in a journey of eight thousand miles, what will be the greatest obstacle? “I think the hardest part will be the Gobi desert,” offered Ed. “Diesel stops are four hundred miles apart and we don’t have nearly that range. Last year more than half of the cars dropped out in the last thousand miles before Ulaanbaatar.”

And the most alluring? “I am definitely looking forward to Iran the most,” says Ed. “It should be quite an extraordinary experience and probably our last opportunity in a long time to go there. I cannot wait to get to Esfahan, the cradle of the Persian civilisation.”

While MercyCorps are the official charity of the Mongol Rally, Ed, Max, and Charles are also raising money for Help for Heroes, the charity only recently set up to help support Great Britain’s wounded servicemen that has attracted widespread support.

“Help for Heroes is a cause that is very close to us,” Ed told Norumbega. “We all are hoping to join the Army and two of us are in the ULOTC (University of London Officer Training Corps).” Ed explained that “the British public do not appreciate, respect, or support their servicemen in the same way that the U.S. public does.” Help for Heroes “is a wonderful charity aiming to change that, and to ensure that injured servicemen are looked after upon their return to the U.K.”