Has anybody flown their bikes and themselves from Central Asia to Nepal/India?

[mark manley]

I have more or less planned a trip from the UK to Mongolia next summer but was wondering what to do when I get there. I have no interest in carrying on to Vladivostok so the options seem to be turn around and come back via a different route or preferably get to India for the winter. This would involve teaming up to travel through China to Pakistan which would be my first choice but as I am travelling on a Honda XR 125 with a cruising speed of 45-50 mph cannot see anybody wanting me with them. Alternatively flying my bike and myself to Kathmandu or Delhi from a Central Asia airport, does anybody have experience of the latter? I cannot find any direct flights between Central Asian cities and either India or Nepal, any suggestions?

[chris]

Hi Mark
There must be direct flights between Almaty and India. Quite a few people ship from Vlad to SE Asia. Or ride Kyrg to Pakistan via Karakorum, or ride from Mongolia to Laos via China (guides and bs).

Whatever you do, it won't be cheap.

I recall hubber "Mika" did India to C Asia by plane a long time ago. He might have some input. send him a PM?

Lets drink some s soon,
Chris

[mark manley]

Hi Chris and thanks for this I will contact Mika for any information he might have.
I am up for putting my bike on a truck to Pakistan or Nepal if that is possible but don't think it is.
A sounds good sometime although I am not headed your way anytime soon but might be in UB when you are, know any good bars there?

[craig.iedema]

TravellingStrom Airfreighted from UB to Thailand. The guy he used ships to a number of places IIRC. Might be worth contacting him.

He did have some hassles but got it all sorted in the end.

[Panny]

Try these:
- KLM (I know one person, who flew a bike from Alamty to Kathmandu with them)
- International Vehicle Shipping | Nex Worldwide Express (I saved that link, because somebody used them from Kathmandu to Almaty)
- ask Suray (eagleandsunnepal@gmail.com) at eagle export. He has a real outstanding reputation amongst mc-travellers. He himself only exports OUT OF Nepal, but he might be able to recommend someone for the other direction.

Anyway: from what I took from people`s experiences so far: ship to Nepal not to India! India SUCKS!
I would be happy to hear differing opinions!

Mark: it would be kind to share your experiences, since we might have to airfreight the other way!

Cheers

Panny

[Gecko]

Keep it relevant please
Thank you

[Mehmet Zeki Avar]

@panny
your recommendations are the best and current information...So many friends did the same way since last 3-4 years..And less paperwork and time loss in Nepal..(to/from)
Also so many helpful local friends always available in HUB communities which make HU. best forum worldwide..

Wish you all the best.
mehmet zeki avar

[mark manley]

Originally Posted by Panny

Try these:
- KLM (I know one person, who flew a bike from Alamty to Kathmandu with them)
- International Vehicle Shipping | Nex Worldwide Express (I saved that link, because somebody used them from Kathmandu to Almaty)
- ask Suray (eagleandsunnepal@gmail.com) at eagle export. He has a real outstanding reputation amongst mc-travellers. He himself only exports OUT OF Nepal, but he might be able to recommend someone for the other direction.

Anyway: from what I took from people`s experiences so far: ship to Nepal not to India! India SUCKS!
I would be happy to hear differing opinions!

Mark: it would be kind to share your experiences, since we might have to airfreight the other way!

Cheers

Panny

Thanks for this Panny,
yes I am aware Kathmandu is better than Delhi, I flew myself and bike from there to Bangkok 16 years ago and it went very smoothly.
If and when I do this I will let you know how it goes, I would like to travel through China to Pakistan but am looking into a plan B and this is it.
Mark

[Panny]

Originally Posted by mark manley

I would like to travel through China to Pakistan but am looking into a plan B and this is it.
Mark

I can understand, that you are looking for a plan B. The "new" lake crossing is not to tempting. And each day we find out new bad news about the visa application procedure for Pakistan. Might be impossible for us to get one from here/in time.

Greetings from Thailand

Panny

[niello8]

When we had to follow the guide in china, they went very slowly driving us nuts...all of the variable surfaces before, during, & after western china do not invite speed. if you can handle altitude, off road & water you could be ok with some big bikes. lake Attabad on the KKH was a bit nerve wracking with the loading but a small bike would be no sweat.

[mark manley]

Originally Posted by niello8

When we had to follow the guide in china, they went very slowly driving us nuts...all of the variable surfaces before, during, & after western china do not invite speed. if you can handle altitude, off road & water you could be ok with some big bikes. lake Attabad on the KKH was a bit nerve wracking with the loading but a small bike would be no sweat.

That is interesting to know, I was aware that the road through China was good and presumed groups would be cruising at 90-100 kph. I am hoping to be there at the end of August to the start of September and have been on the look out for groups crossing at that time, I also missed the KKH the last time I was in Pakistan and really would like to ride it.
The other thought has been if somebody is crossing with a truck of some sort and would take both me and my bike as a paying passenger.
Thanks for your input.

[niello8]

ooh I should qualify that. some of the roads in china were definitely good modern tarmac. some were just decent but with a surprise rough chunk so caution is warranted. i think the only bad road in china was somewhere near the border (which is nowhere near immigration - its all no mans land). I remember black wet giant craters & one of our riding companions had his shock collapse. the total distance in western china kyrg-pak is fairly short and its not a huge amount of riding over the 5 days.

[Kayjay]

I want to Ship / Fly my Bike from Nepal to Kyrgyzstan.
No one can do that so far. I have talked to as many as 14 service providers in Nepal. They all say that there is no connection from there. Air Astana flies Nepal via China to Kyrgyzstan but does not take Bikes as the air crafts are too small. I confirmed that with the airlines official cargo service provider in New Delhi.
So India, Mumbai is the best place to fly your bike from Mumbai (India) to Kyrgyzstan. Just got a quote for AIR Cargo fro Mumbai - India to Kyrgyzstan (Osh International Airport) its frightfully expensive, RS 4.50 lakhs ie something like $7820 per bike. Now am looking for the SHIPPING option which shall be cheaper for sure but will take a lot of time too.
Can any one help solve this ?

[Panny]

Hi Kayjay,

I just contacted approximately 30 airfreight forwarders in Kathmandu.
8 to 10 replied, but none came with a real offer.
Two said it´s impossible.
One gave a very rough offer of about 2.000 EUR for airfreight via Istanbul.
Most likely only pure airfreight without any other fees.

Several said the (price) situation might be different in a few month, when we want to fly. No idea if this is true or if they just want to keep us hooked.

When do you want to transport your bikes to the STANs?

By the way: what do you mean with SHIPPING OPTION to Kyrgyzstan?

If you like to exchange further infos, please sent me an email.

Greetings from Cambodia

Panny

[Outback rider]

Hi guys , i am doing the central asia rally in june and need to fly my bike to astrakhan . Any advice be appreciated. mike