Allright, here goes:

We can take 6 months leave from work and off course we want to go traveling with the bikes again. But we don't really know where to go...

We live in Belgium and my primary idea was going to SEA or in that direction (Russia, the 'Stans...). So I am primarily looking for people who did this in approx. the same amount of time and that have some good suggestions. I would like to go East just to cut the costs (cheaper than EU and no ferry's, boats or planes) and because I am attracted to that part of the world.

6 months to go and come back, doable? Or better take the 6 months to go and ship the bikes back and fly back?

So, any help, ideas, suggestions are more than welcome!
We are two, and can choose of riding 2up on the BMW R1200GS Adventure or going both on our DRZ-E's. The DRZ screams for off road riding, so we are more than interested in paths/offroad roads in that part of the world.

It's an open question, so please, feel free to post whatever comment you have!

Thx! Seb

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Hi,

I live in switzerland and took 6 month to go to Mongolia through Russia and go back through the stans! 34'000km.

here is my blog:

zimiontheloose.ch | Rock'n'roll Motorcycle Adventure!

it's in french, but if you are belgium, I suppose it's not a problem for you.

For Russia, the road is pretty long and boring. The GS1200 would be much better than the DRZ. For mongolia, and the stans, the DRZ would be really cool!!

By the way I think about my next trip. Flying the bike to Ulaanbataar (DRZ) and driving only in Mongolia and eastern Russia, on cool dirt roads)

Thank you, I will definitely read your site! I'll get in touch with you later then, when I finished reading it all... ;-)

Et non, je n'ai pas de problème pour lire le français... ;-)

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6 months should give you plenty of time to tour around Asia.

But if you´ve followed this forum, then you must be aware of the problems (namely China & Burma), that get in your way, if you want to go from Europe to Southeast Asia. But the road should be more or less open west & north of those countries, so there is plenty to choose from, even if you decide to skip them. And from many places, you can also send the bike home at the end of your trip, if you like (even though freighting is a bit of a pain).

I did Europe to Oz with my GF as a pillion in 6 months almost 4 years ago, and while that´s do-able, the costs really started to pile up, after we left India. Plus I think 2-3 more months for that route would´ve been ok for us. I do not regret, that we went that far, though!
More about our trip here:
MOTO1 - Matkalla

(Oh yeah, and I just saw a book about two Finnish riders, who went to Vladivostok and back, visiting Mongolia on the way, and did the whole trip in just about 2 months – so I guess the pace at which people want to travel, can differ a lot!)

Hello,

I will start a similar trip at the end of April 2012. Plan is around 150 day, 60 USD/day, and around 30.000 km.

My plan for 2012:
Departure from Romania: end of april 2012
Turkey – Georgia – Armenia – Georgia – Azerbaijan
Entering Turmenistan from Azerbaijan by ferry: mid may 2012
The Stans – 4 to 5 weeks
Entering Mongolia from Russia (Tashanta): end of June 2012
Vladivostok – end of July, ship the bike by boat to Magadan and fly there.
Magadan: beginning of August 2012
Road of Bones maybe Old Summer Road
Yakutsk – mid August 2012
Irkutsk – beginning of September 2012
In beginning of September coming back home from Russia via Transiberian Highway, Volvograd – Kiev – Chisinau – Bucharest.

We can share info along the way and perhaps ride some parts together.

Best,
Adrian

Hi Adrian!

I am interested about your trip from Vladivostok to Irkutsk. I am thinking about shipping my bike to Mongolia per plane, ride to Vladivostok, then use the same option as you do and then from somewhere in Russia or Mongolia, send my bike back or sell it in the country..

Do you have any information about the prices to send the bike o Magadan?
Do you know if it's better to do this way, or the other way, Yakutsk to Magadan?

Will you have a blog? I am interested to follow this, as I might do the same in 2012 or 2013.

David
zimiontheloose.ch | Rock'n'roll Motorcycle Adventure!

@ pecha72: thx for the info and your site, will give me a few extra things to read... ;-)

at this moment the decision is almost made to do the following; departure from Belgium in 2013, going to Turkey,Iraq, Iran, the 'stand (I don't know yet how and which ones), India, Nepal,Bangladesh, and then Burma (I didn't know there was a problem, have to check this out), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam.If we could we would go to Malaysia and ship the bikes out from Singapore and fly home. This is a roughly preliminary road.

The China problem I knew of, Burma I didn't... Time to check this out in the appropriate place!

@ Adrian, as you've read above, we slightly changed our travel plans, so I'm afraid we're not going to do the same route... maybe a bit in the beginning or so? Anyways, once you have a site/blog, keep us informed, our info you can find on Wanderingsouls.be maybe we can still catch up somewhere.

@ Zimi; Man, I really have to thank you... I've been reading your story and filtered the CS stories... Made an account and already had a US couple here last night and others will follow shortly.

Anyways, I am putting the dots on google maps where we want to go, once we have a line from home to wherever (Singapore?) I will definitely keep you posted and put this also in the appropriate sub forum to get some feedback from more experienced travelers.

btw, we are going on a "short" 2 months trip in June/july 2012 to Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lietuva, Poland etc...

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To me, that seems mostly realistic (just be aware, that you are going to need the carnet to get to India, and probably Pakistan, too)... but I think there are a few things, that you may have to reconsider:

- Burma is almost impossible; even approaching its border from the Indian side would be a big problem, but still nothing compared to crossing the country all the way to Thailand. It´s not even a question of money – they don´t want you there with your own vehicle. So if you´re not an expert on the area, and don´t have unlimited time (and the patience of a saint!!) then the simple advice is to forget about it.

- Vietnam, from an overlanders point of view, is a bit like China, so basically you can do it, if you have lots of money to give them (and I mean a LOT, thousands of dollars)... plus it would have to be arranged months in advance. Doesn´t fit everyone´s budget, or idea of a good trip for that matter. Leaving your own bike somewhere, going to Vietnam by public transport, and renting something from there might sound complicated, but is probably still the cheapest way to do it on 2 wheels.

- It is complicated, and costly, to import your moto to Singapore. Kinda ridiculous, cos for one thing, it´s a very small island! So probably much easier to just leave the vehicle in Johor Bahru (in Malaysia, right next to Singapore), and go there with public transport, and then finally ship by sea out of Port Klang (or Kuala Lumpur by air), the distances aren´t that big, and there´s a fast motorway that connects them.

man, thank you for your info, it is most valuable to me.
We honestly don't have all the time or money to spare to see 'that' one country, so we are looking a bit the easier and cheaper way around....

As it's a plan that is updated everyday now almost by what I read everywhere on the net, I think that we are more going to do something like this (at this moment - can/will probably still change a few times...):

Belgium > Germany > Austria
Slovenia > Croatia > Bosnia
Montenegro > Serbia/Kosovo > Bulgaria
Turkey > Iraq > Iran
Turkmenistan > Uzbekistan > Tajikistan
Kyrgyzstan > Kazakhstan > Russia
Mongolia > Russia(/Kazakhstan) > Ukraine
Moldova > Romania > Hungary
Slovakia > Czech Republic > Germany > Belgium

If Iran is the only country where we will need a carnet, alternatively we could go from Turkey to Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and into Russia.

As I said, we already changed our mind a few times, depending on what the country requirements are and reading other travelers blogs. We prefer to go to the hassle free countries at first, so we can do another tour 2 years later or so to the countries we haven't been.

I think I will just have to look everything up for every country on my list and talk in the sub forums to the experts... or just attend a few HU meetings!

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Hi Adrian,

I got your PM but I can't message back as I've only posted 3 times (4 times now )

I'll be doing similar sections to you, but not completely the same. I'll be entering Romania end of April but cutting across to Russia via the Ukraine. We could possibly do the stans and Mongolia together, but from that point your route differs to mine. We'll keep in contact throughout the trip and hopefully we can meet along the way.

In Mongolia I may be meeting another member of the forum (cjvaughan) to do Road of Bones (west to east).

Craig

Hi Adrian,

Will you be coming along the Med coast in Turkey or following the Black Sea coast?

Cheers,

David

I cant believe that you are asking people where to go.

Well, this very site was probably the most valuable source of info for me, when I planned my "big trip" some years ago, so I´m just glad, if I´m now able to give something back, which in turn might help others, who are now in the same situation!

I don´t see the carnet as a really big problem. Also keep in mind, that this is something, that you typically arrange BEFORE you set off. Means that it should not be a headache during your trip (ok, keeping it safe, and making sure that it always gets properly stamped are of course something you will need to do!)

........what I mean by this, is that otherwise the road to Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bangladesh is open (this can be a good direction especially during winter months – just be aware, that traffic is simply horrible in many of those countries!!) But if you only go to Russia, Mongolia or the countries on the north side of Aghanistan, then you won´t need the carnet.

I´ve also heard claims, that Iran could be done without carnet, but cannot confirm this myself, because I had it, and used it at the Iranian border. I´d at least expect the crossing to be more problematic that way.

There´s also the option to NOT plan too much – I think you could even arrange the carnet for your bike, while on the road (can be more costly though)... But in this part of the world – and even more so in the ´Stans – getting proper permits and visas can be a headache, so especially if you want to go where the wind takes you, in this area you´ll really need to do your homework well.

I can't believe that you don't understand that...

There is a whole world to discover, I've done my bit already and I am looking to see more, so what's wrong to ask what anybody else did in 6 months time?

Some take a year, some a month. I just happens to have 6 months and was wondering what others did in that period of time departing from EU to anywhere in the world.
I am interested in reading what others think, figuring everything else out is the second part of the question, and I still have a few months time for that, and if you're an experienced traveler, you should want to tell (brag?) about your journeys, not posting a comment like you did... just my opinion. ;-)

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Hi Dave,

My plan so far is

Cannakalle – Troy - Bergama – Selcuk (Efes) - Aphrodisias /Geyre - Denizli – Pamukkale - Ankara - Caapdochia -Divrigi – Kemaliye – Arapkir – Malataya – Mt Nemrut - Tatvan – Dogubayazitir - Igdir – Kars - Ani -Cildir – Ardahan - Ardahan –Posof.

depending on the timeframe and visas I hope to make a detour down south, especially for you

@ GuiltyParty: send you a PM. When do you plan to enter thr stans and by which route. The same question goes for Mongolia and RoB.
I'm flexible and can change my plans. Wnat to ride The Old Summer Road but not alone. May we can hook up all 3 of us and do together the Rob.
For me the latest to start the Rob in this case will be end of july, since I have to come back via the new federal road, then on to Myrni and Lensk

Best,
Adrian