AKIPRESS.COM - Illegal fuel houses, being plied with vodka and negotiating bribes to cross borders – these Co Down pals had quite an adventure all in the name of charity, says Belfast Live.

Matthew Gourley, Jordan Barr and Andrew Bennett, all 21, have raised thousands for Tiny Life after completing the 2015 Mongol Rally.

The three friends embarked on the journey of a lifetime in July from Northern Ireland to Mongolia and back – in a Nissan Micra.

And the trio certainly returned with a few interesting stories to tell following their travels.

In Uzbekistan, the friends discovered petrol was largely only available on the black market through illegal fuel houses.

Soon after filling up, they were met by two old men carrying an array of food ingredients that included bread and ice cream, together with a bottle of vodka. The food was prepared for them on the bonnet of the car whilst they were forced to drink the vodka.

However, with a border crossing to make, the lads finally escaped with Jordan escaping the alcohol drinking exercise as he was on driving duties.

The team also revealed that some of the border crossings took several hours with some taking up to 12 hours. The friends said bribery was rife with so called 'fines' being issued. But once they threatened to call the British Embassy, the fines were soon revoked.

Calling themselves 'Car of the County Down' they drove around 16,093 kilometers and traversed several mountain ranges before arriving at the Mongolia finish line.

By the time they returned to Belfast, they had travelled more than 25,700 kilometers.

"It was partly because of the price of the several flights required," said Matthew. "When we worked it out, it was cheaper to drive and split the fuel costs. It was also a chance for us to see a lot of countries that we didn’t get to see on the way to Mongolia. We were able to spend a lot more time in Russia and stopped off in Moscow. We also spent time in Berlin and Amsterdam which was a great experience."

The team raised more than $3,000 for their nominated charity, Tiny Life.

"Thank you to everyone who donated to what is a great cause," said Matthew. "We would also like to thank all of our sponsors as well as a few individuals that helped with the car, not to mention our friends and family for putting up with us. Each and every one of them helped us out in some way which we really appreciate."