A CROWD of spectators has gathered, waiting as Tom, one of the few foreigners to brave driving in Mongolia, prepares to make his move. It’s been 40 minutes of psyching up and watching nearly every vehicle, from logging trucks to motorbikes, stall and get stuck in a fast-flowing tributary of the Selenge River in north-west Mongolia. A superhero Landcruiser is on standby rescuing the less fortunate – or less capable – vehicles with a winch. But that’s not going to be us: Tom’s pride couldn’t bear it....