Hello,

I am intending to travel on a bike for the first time. I've been fortunate enough to backpack a fair bit. I am hoping to head off on this mamouth adventure in Feb 09.

Is there anyone out there that can advise me on this route. Border crossing (open/closed), Visa'a etc.

I am from England and I hope to head off throough Europe which shouldn't be a problem.

then:
Hungury, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria
Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal (may be Bangladesh and Buthan)

Then returning on a similar path. i would love to head through the middle east and north Africa and back into Europe. I am not sure if this is to much of a headache with all the tension in the area?

Any and all advice is gratefully recieved. Thanks for taking the time out.

Toby

North Africa .. not possible between Morocco and Libia ..

You need to consider the weather .. it snows over Turkey/Iran so while you might get out coming back could be very cold .. unless you get the timing right .. oh and in Pakistan the KKH needs to be considered too .. start reading books on it. Chrises' 'Adventure Motorcycling Handbook' would be a good overall start .. then look for things like the overland route .. read up peoples blogs who have done it here on the Hubb.. go to a HU meeting..

On the timing thing .. if you took 2 years to do it you could have very good timing .. In one year you'll be rushed.

__________________
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Regards Frank Warner
motorcycles BMW R80 G/S 1981, BMW K11LT 1993, BMW K75 G/S

Brilliant, Thanks for the advice Frank. I need to get my finger out and plan the route I want to take. I know I'm going, just been unsure of the route.

Any idea when the snow has melted enough and is a joy to ride again in these places?

I was maybe going to spend about 2 months on the run through to Turkey, which would end up about April time. Then spend the majority of the trip in the Middle east, India, Sri Lanka etc.

I have sorted visas out in the UK before my previous travels. I have just got a copy of Chris' book and am going through it now. Many people have sorted visa's out on the border. Do you know from my route if I will encouter any problems doing it this way?

I was kind of hoping to just head out and see where the wind takes me. Do you think this is very unwise? Should I be more organised? I have no real set time to go or be back.

Once again, thanks for the advice.

No. But you must match that with

the time table = no time limit. That way if the path in front is blocked you can sit and wait .. go backwards or sideways ..

the finances ....

__________________
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Regards Frank Warner
motorcycles BMW R80 G/S 1981, BMW K11LT 1993, BMW K75 G/S

I went from Turkey to Iran at the end of October last year, and it was just about the last days/weeks, when you could do it without a machine capable of winter conditions.

The snow level on the mountains was real close, and it was very cold, but nothing like how cold it might get there. The roads around Erzurum and Lake Van area go quite high, so on a bike they are probably impassable in midwinter.

I dont know, when exactly they would be ok in the spring, but I live in south Finland, and here you can normally ride at about mid-March. I would be surprised, if eastern Turkey were much colder around that time, could actually be warmer earlier, but that probably depends on the year as well.

For your bike, you will need a carnet de passage for Pakistan and India (and officially for Iran, too, though Iran may be do-able without it)

I spoke to somebody who has connections to the Royal Enfield factory in Chennai, about going to Sri Lanka with a bike, and he thought its a big problem. You would probably have to fly it in, as going by sea would be too dangerous because of military operations there. He did not think there are any passenger ferries from India.

Brilliant. thanks for all the help guys. I know there is a lot of info about Carnets on here, but from my understanding you get a book of carnets. Is this right? So those countries that need them get a copy and those that don't are fine without. Is that right? So for the sake of £100 or so, it is worth getting.

Any advice on maps? Is there a good, cheap place to go? At the moment, I am hearing all these names of places and I don't really like Google maps etc. I much prefer the oldskool paper.

Thanks again

The carnet is a leaflet, where the details of you bike such as frame number and engine number, will be printed on each page. When you enter a country, thats in the carnet-system, such as Iran, the customs will give an entry stamp, and so your bike is allowed temporary import into this country. When you exit, the customs will give an exit stamp, and you need to make sure you´ll get it, as otherwise there may be problems.

There´s usually a considerable bond, which you need to leave to get the carnet, becaus in case your bike will not leave a carnet country, they will contact the issuer, and demand all taxes and duties be paid. In Finland, this bond was 5000 euros minimum, could be a bit cheaper elsewhere. Usually it can be handled as a bank bond, like a loan which you take, but it will be kept in an account that you´ll have no access until the carnet & bike have returned home.

You get the carnet from the automobile association in your country, so if you plan to go to Pakistan & India, better contact them straight away. I dont think you can do those countries without it (Iran you maybe could, but it wont help much, because your biking-trip will end at the Pakistani border). Some have reported doing Pakistan without a carnet, but not riding, rather putting the bikes on trucks or trains, plus a huuuuuuuge hassle, that wouldnt really fit my idea of a motorbike-tour, or holiday.

I used a "Silk Road" map, sorry I dont remember the publisher and Ive already lost it. But it showed the area from around Ankara to Delhi, and was good enough for me, because I didnt take many side roads in East Turkey, Iran or Pakistan. It is a good idea to buy maps beforehand, for route planning, and also because sometimes it might be hard to find good ones on the road.