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Photo by Andy Miller, UK, Taking a rest, Jokulsarlon, Iceland

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Andy Miller, UK,
Taking a rest,
Jokulsarlon, Iceland



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  #1  
Old 20 Jun 2003
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Biking Saudi Arabia as a woman
Hi mates,
as far as I know, women are not allowed to drive cars in Saudi Arabia. Does anyone know wether female tourists are allowed to ride motorbikes?

Randy Whorton, are you still following the board? May you help us with an invitation to Saudi?

Thanks a lot for your replies!

Dirk


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  #2  
Old 21 Jun 2003
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I'm afriad that's not possible.

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OasisPhoto.com – Images from the Magical Sahara.
ShortWheelbase.com – Jeep preparations.
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OasisPhoto.com – Images from the Magical Sahara.
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  #3  
Old 23 Jun 2003
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Hi Ahmed,
thanks and shokran for your reply. We've been afraid, that it won't be possible...

We're now after a shipping connection from Iran to UAE.

Good pictures on your website ;-)

Dirk

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  #4  
Old 25 Jun 2003
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That shouldn't be difficult. There is loads of shipping between the UAE and Iran. The main Iranian port is Bandar Abbas but Bandar Lengeh also has crossings.

I will dig out my shipping documents from last summer and give you the details if I can find them.

When do you expect to be in the UAE?
Stephano
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Old 25 Jun 2003
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Hi Stephano,
that would be great!
We're going to leave Germay in October 03, speed a bit, to avoid winter in Eastern Turkey and Northertn Iran. Hmmm, might be early December to reach UAE.

I'll be happy to hear from you

Dirk
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  #6  
Old 26 Jun 2003
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The company I shipped from Dubai to Bandar Lengeh with was Valfajre-8.

Have a look at these links:
http://www.vesc.net/
http://www.iran-export.com/exporter/company/shipping/

They have an e-mail address on the website.

Let me know when you arrive in the UAE, you should be here for the best weather.

I'm heading the other way tomorrow via Jordan & Syria. Have a good trip.
Stephano
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  #7  
Old 27 Jun 2003
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Thank you for the information.

Have a safe trip as well

Dirk
www.motorradkarawane.de
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  #8  
Old 13 Jun 2004
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Benka Pulko was apparently the first and only woman that travelled U.A.E. on her motorcycle...

Benka Pulko - 1 Woman, 1 Motorcycle, 1 World
Last edited by Grant Johnson; 15 Nov 2007 at 17:20. Reason: corrected url
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  #9  
Old 13 Jun 2004
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Cool trip, although the UAE is not Saudi Arabia. There are no issues concerning women riding bikes in the UAE - although local women would get strange looks!
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  #10  
Old 30 Jun 2004
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Hi Guys,
Just a little update: Benka crossed the Red Sea from Port Sudan to Jeddah, and rode her bike up to Jordan, disguised as a man. Only at the Jordanian border did they discover, who was hiding under the chador. How and where she received her Saudi visa I don't know, probably in Khartoum.
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  #11  
Old 1 Jul 2004
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I just rode from Jordan to Jeddah, across to Riyadh and exit to UAE. I must say that I'm not keen on going back. People generally don't like people from the west was our impression, although the western part (from Riyadh to UAE) was a lot more friendly than the rest. Sandstorms were plenty and fierce (me bike got statically electrically loaded and I kept getting electric shocks from the grips...)

We also used Valfarje to ship bikes from UAE to Iran. Everything went smooth except for importing the bikes into Iran. That took us 8 hours in the harbour, including police men trying to steal money from us. I bet it's easier when you ship TO UAE than the other way.

If you need any more info, let me know.
Erik
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  #12  
Old 2 Jul 2004
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Erik
Sorry about your bad experience in the Iranian harbour but I'd like to offer the other side of the coin.

I found leaving Dubai’s port for Iran was unnecessarily expensive when I did it in 2002. For the services provided, the official charges were excessive (and someone even tried to relieve us of 140 dollars each for ‘helping’ with paperwork for half an hour).

These high fees are now replicated at Dubai Airport where you currently pay 130 US dollars in tax to use the airport. These are not all fuel and security surcharges. Abu Dhabi is currently charging 55 US dollars.

On the other hand, from the time we disembarked in Bandar Lengeh in the south to when we left at the Turkish border, we paid nothing to anybody; and no one ever asked us for anything.

Stephan
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