Giving up on Motorcycle $$, Cycling London to Philippines
 

Morning,

Very long time since I have been on the HUBB, and for the life of me I cannot remember my old log in or email..

It is that time again where the travel itch has firmly got me but this time it may well not be using a motorcycle, my current situation is that I have ties now to the Philippines and my wife who is of Filipino heritage is looking to leave London UK (As am I) as she works in med tech and has been offered a very good career extension course which will take 3 years back in PH.. This is obviously a perfect excuse for a overland trip and I thought I was all ready to go with just a few visa requirements and loose ends to tie up but honestly having looked further into the route I would take across Asian it just looks like I would be pi$$ing money into the wind trying to get my bike through, that is before I come to the impossible task of attempting to get my fully kitted BMW R1100GS into the Philippines which I have been informed by copious sources as "near impossible" or you need to be "a very rich man sir"... I am not!!!!!....


So it was with that I actually started to think that cycling may be the option, the last 3 years I have done a ton of cycling, around 8000 miles a year (non commuting miles that is :innocent:) and as such I have lost 3 1/2 stone, look the part in lycra and feel a million dollars/peso...


Taking the extreme fatigue out of the equation, also the elements you face on a self propelled lump of metal I am struggling to see why this would not be the most viable option given my situation at the current time..

No import fee's, no issues flying into Manila then onto my province in PH, No long winded border crossing BS with vexed officials (well maybe some). But the overall cost of getting myself and motorcycle to even Vietnam or Malaysia just seems over welling at the moment.


My route I have looked at is London to Istanbul to cover Europe, then through turkey and onto Azerbaijan (Baku), ferry across Caspian sea Turkmenistan looks to be fairly hard to get across in the time allowed on a transit visa but my plan is to get to Almaty in Kazakhstan then I think I will wimp out and fly into China somewhere as the thought of cycling across a desert for thousands of Klm is not that appealing then head down through Vietnam,Laos, Cambodia and Thailand and if I get to Kuala Lumpur I can get a short flight into the Philippines and home in time for tea...


The visa situation seems to be changing for the Stans as some require a visa and others do not but then I think Kazakhstan is visa free until the end of the year after that I cannot find any info. I think I will need two passports due to China and their visa application process, estimated time for the trip is around 8 months- 1 year as a loose estimate.

The only other option was to ride the R1100 to say Malaysia if it is possible then do the unthinkable and leave it there, honestly not going to happen.. I love the bike to much and I would only ever off load to another person who would care for her as I have..

I have a Genesis equilibrium bike built ready for the task, I did a quick London to Paris shake down ride as a quick test a few weeks back and it was very enjoyable, although it did high light the issues I will face with getting a good supply of food and that is a real worry..

I am at the stage with my job where I wake up and hate the thought of going in (first world problem granted), but is around this time I think it is best to bit the bullet..

I have just started this thread as a Place to store my plans and of course if anyone can chim in with route ideas mainly for the central asia leg I would be very grateful, I have cycled thousands of Miles in Thailand and Philippines previous so I know what I will be facing traffic and environmentally wise but central Asian for me is a total unknown..


I am fixed that this route will be the next trip as I really do need to get out to PH as we have a few ongoing projects otherwise I would simply head to say Canada and back down South America if it was just a case of wanting a long tour..

Thailand is a total unknown now with their import situation for foreign vehicles although I have heard of a fix for this if you have a UK plate and V5..

China is a minefield and looks to cost a ton, cycling should not be a issue however.


Regards

Sounds like a great trip to me. A potential great trip at least. Just go for it man - I look forward to read your trip report... :-)

Theres a ferry from Sandakan on the eastern tip of malaysian Borneo to Zamboanga in southwest Mindanano on the Phillipines - so you could go all the way maybe? Travellers have even been taking big motorbikes on that ferry. Then again Mindanao is maybe not the safest place to travel in for the moment...

Central Asia - Kazakhstan is a lot of semidesert and looong stretches of totally flat landscape. Can get very hot during summer, maybe best avoided on a bicycle during the hottest period? Also long stretches without any settlements. But great for camping if you carry supplies. Kyrgizstan has mountain ranges up to 3-4000 meters in altitude, I guess that can also be challenging on a bicycle...?
Havent been to the other "stans" so dont know about them.

Sounds like a great trip, the other saving is on travel insurance as most policies cover you for cycling but not motorcycling, but do check you are covered for cycle touring. I have done a couple of longer trips and found the biggest problem was getting enough good food in remote places but the advantage of a bicycle is you can put it on a bus or train if you want.
Keep us informed about your plans and good luck.

Sounds like quite the adventure. Please keep us up-to-date!

The only issues I could see would be that central Asia section, It would be great to do a unbroken trip but honestly I do not fancy Pakistan, Tibet etc etc who knows..

The packing list is fairly straight forward, I have most of the kit ready but I will be substituting my Alpine research Bivy that I normally use for a decent lightweight 2 man tent. I will use a bar bag, rear panniers and that will be about it. I hate cycling with front panniers so I am doing everything I can to avoid that.

I think I will be doing one more trip prior maybe London to Copenhagen as a final shake down before I set a firm leaving date, it is kinda in the hands of the misses to be honest. I have 14 days free in July for something like that.

Indeed food will be a issue, I am more or less a veggie and I can see that being a problem, I will eat chicken if needed but no red meat and I know from people that have travelled in the central regions before that they had issues finding lean food. When I cycle long distances I need a ton of carbs so a endless supply of rice with sauces and bread would be perfect for me.