With its fabulous emblem this car has affectionately been named "The Disco Car". The creator, Mr. Park, has programmed 3 different light settings for the torch. 1 of them is a static light, and the 2 others are different blinking patterns.

Mongolian coordinator Deeldar speeding over a bridge.

Local coordinators Padmasini and Uddyogini revise the schedule.

All the while, Josef sets off on his journey...

...And Jan hits the dance floor.

Pranlobha in great form.

Running along the road, we pull up at a little rest stop and the entire family there comes out for a spontaneous photo with the Harmony Run torch.  Such delight and joy!

Mridanga and Apaguha leg the last stretch before...

Mungyeong, a beautiful little village nestled in the mountains.

We have a chance to visit a traditional folk village in the mountains.  A man invites Pranlobha and me for a traditional tea ceremony, organized by his lovely wife. 

Selling lots of different wares. It is a special festival time.

At the entrance we meet the army.

Sasha sets off to perform the special task of running part of the route which passes over a mountain road where no cars can follow. He is to run 8 km uphill and 2 km downhill with the flaming torch, and then run all the way back to the cars again, a total of 20 km.

Part of the team will walk up a portion of the beautiful mountain road, while the rest set out to explore the village.

It's a party!

The tea is fragrant and sweet; on top float tiny white melon pieces cut out as stars, honouring the balance and harmony of nature.  Later we get to dress in traditional costumes and even try out the palanquin! What a way to travel!

As we prepare to go home (note: one car leaves early, leaving the other car to wait for Sasha's return), we ask two Korean girls to help us set our GPS.  The GPS systems help guide us through the confusing – for westerners – country roads.  Fortunately or unfortunately, the GPS is only in Korean, so we sometimes just grab passers-by for assistance.  Luckily, they are kind and often able to help.

Water has no boundaries, it flows all where.  So the spirit and joy will flow all where.

Sorting things out midieval style.

This scenic mountain road was the trail Sasha was supposed to follow.

However, Sasha's journey on this day provided a little more drama than we where expecting. Instead of following the intended path he ended up verging off on a steep mountain trail going far into the mountains.  (When he started running the place was jam-packed with people, and their were also many people walking down from the trail, so at the time it was an easy mistake to make. As it started to get dark and it became clear that he had taken the wrong way many of us started to get increasingly concerned and we prayed for his safe return. In fact, we and the park officials alerted 911 and set off scouts into the mountains. 5 hours after he started Hemabha got the call that Sasha had been found. On his way back he had fallen a few times and twisted his foot twice and so he arrived in an ambulance. However, he was very happy and as he jumped out of the ambulance he rushed (jumping on one foot) to the WHR van to get some fliers to give to his new friends, the ambulance men, and have pictures taken (unfortunately we do not have those pictures available at the moment). Luckily Sasha had oil and a lighter with him and found his way back by lighting the Harmony Run torch to light the way.

We are forever grateful that our prayers were answered and delighted to have our Sasha back safe.

– Jan Klaile, Nilpushpi White

Distance: 95 km

Team Members:
Alexandr Sasha Nikiforov (Russia), Akanda Norov (Mongolia), Apaguha Vesely (photo) (Czech Republic), Baltabek Nuzakhmetor (Kazakhstan), Bayanmunkh Batsukh (Mongolia), Deeldar Sedjav (photo) (Mongolia), Hemabha Jang (Korea), Jan Klaile (FInland), Josef Sverma (Czech Republic), Mridanga Spencer (video) (United Kingdom), Nilpushpi White (Canada), Padmasini Guillet (France), Pranlobha Kalagian (photo) (USA), Seth Feldman (Canada), Yura Taranik (photo) (Russia), Zinaida Tchopova (Russia)

Gallery: See more images!