I traveled through the rough, rocky terrain of Bayan-Olgii Province and Olgi City in a Russian van famously known as the Bukhanka, which, when translated from Russian, means “a loaf of bread.” The van indeed resembles a loaf of bread. This van was one of the toughest vehicles I have ever traveled in. It endured deep stress, navigated through rocks and boulders, and climbed steep cliffs and rough mountains with ease.
UAZ-452
I would sit quietly at the back, enjoying the music blaring out of the Bukhanka. It was a rocky ride as the van would reverberate. It felt like getting a natural massage; by the end of the journey, all my body parts had quite a workout. Also known as the UAZ-452, the Bukhanka was first manufactured in 1965 in Ulyanovsk, Russia. It is a four-wheel drive with a five-speed manual transmission, best suited for the rough mountains we had to navigate as we moved further into the wilderness of Mongolia.
This is no pretend truck made to instill a bogus sense of ruggedness — this is a rock-and-stick-simple Russian truck made to travel on bad roads to distant locations with primitive maintenance facilities.
I felt safe in this beast of a vehicle, and we were able to navigate the treacherous terrains of Mongolia with ease, thanks to the Bukhanka UAZ-452.
