Hi all

My name is Taf, I’m eighteen and I am hoping to take a solo trip that will see me ride a bike from Kuala Lumpur back to my home town in Wales…………..

At least that was the plan 33 years ago.

I’m now 51, no longer live in Wales, but instead am happily living in QLD Australia, and with life having thrown a few speed bumps under the wheels, I never actually got to do the trip………...until now.

The plan is to buy an Enfield Himalayan next year ( or later this year if I can swing it with the boss( wife)) , ship the bike from Brisbane to KL in early 2020, and then ride it back to Wales over the course of a couple of months. I won’t be doing a lot of site seeing along the way, and I won’t be riding for huge hours each day, or at speed, and I won’t be trying to break any records. The intention is to try and stay in hostels/home stays etc. rather than camping, as while I know that this will increase the costs, at my age I am not averse to a hot shower, a hot meal and a comfortable bed each night after hours in the saddle. I know that’s not exactly hard core but I just want to finally complete the trip I have been thinking about for 33 years.

At the moment I am trying to decide between the china route or the India Pakistan route; both have their advantages and disadvantages.

Option one

• Malaysia
• Thailand
• Myanmar
• India
• Pakistan
• Iran
• Turkey
• Then across Europe to the United Kingdom and finishing in Wales.

Option Two

• Malaysia
• Thailand
• Laos
• Vietnam
• China
• Kazakhstan
• Russia
• Ukraine
• Then across Europe to the United Kingdom and finishing in Wales

These are rough ideas at present, and will possibly evolve once I get closer to final dates and departure information

It’s been a long time coming, but I can finally see light shining on the start line which is at the end of the tunnel, but there is a lot of planning and preparation to go before I board that flight to KL.

If anyone has any suggestions/advice or links to useful sites, I would very much appreciate hearing from you.

I will also endeavor to post any useful information I find on this thread for the benefit of others who may be planning to do something similar themselves.

Cheers all

Taf

Look forward to hearing about your trip back to blighty. I too am in a similar boat and although I don't have the money or the time to do a trip like this yet, I hope one day I will

I feel your story . Hitchhiked to Australia in the 1980s because I didn't have the money for a bike and then waited many years until I could fulfill the bike dream.

There is an Option 3 which you may wish to consider- though not as Enfield friendly

Ship bike to South Korea, get ferry to Vladivostok, Russia then ride to Europe. I did this for in 2011 and it was a very straightforward option. (See awayonmybike@blogspot.com)

Advantage of this option is there are no compulsory guide issues (China, Myanmar) and no carnet requirements (India, Pakistan).

I presume the reference to a "couple of months" is just shorthand - I suggest you need a minimum of three.

Have fun getting ready - and good luck in achieving the ambition.



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__________________
Martin

finally back on the road again


http://awayonmybike.blogspot.com/

Looking into our plans either riding into or out of China is a no go as the amount of time it takes to get the correct licences and paperwork for the vehicle we could be over the border into kazakhstan by then plus many of the cities are clamping down on motorcycles as they are seen as impoverished transport so they don't want them on their streets

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