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Uk to india or China - any / all advice welcome
Hi,
I am planning a mammoth motorbike trip from the uk to China this summer in about 100 days. I have some plans but I am aware I need to get going sorting out documents and other stuff ASAP. What I would like is some help / advice upon Visas, insurance, cost, currency, route and sites to see. So here goes for the route (this is the longest route i am considering, i may shorten it considerably but i thought selling the 'worst case' scenario would be best) Uk to Netherlands (by ferry) Germany Aachen Wurzberg residence Down romantic road Neuschwanstein castle Kehlsteinhaus Austria Salzburg Halstatt Semmering railway Graz Hungary Lake Balaton & keszthely Budapest Eger Aggtelek caves Romania Transylvania Sibiu Transfaragas highway Bucharest Constanta Bulgaria Varna Nessebar From here til East Asia I haven't really planned a great deal Turkey Istanbul Georgia Azerbaijan Ferry across the caspian sea Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Tajikstan Pamir Highway China Just a dip in to get to pakistan Pakistan Karakoum Highway Islamabad Lahore India Agra - Taj Mahal May tour alot or not much around the country, depends on time Nepal Kathmandu China Lhasa - Tibet Laos Thailand Bangkok Cambodia Angkor wat Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Hoi An Hue Phong Nha caves? Hanoi Ha Long Bay Sapa China Work my way to probably Shanghai, get the bike shipped back and fly home. I believe that this route is possible ie all of these borders are open, although the tajik/chinese border seems a little dodgy (no-one seems to know if it is open to foreigners). I know I will need a vignette for austria, hungary and romania, but i don't know about the others yet, however I know its just a matter of buying on the border. The bike I was planning on getting for the trip is a Honda deauville (storage and security, reliable, comfortable, not too highly powered). However I am not so sure now having heard bad things about the amount of room in the panniers. What would anyone recommend? I have done a rough break down of cost as well, I have tried to overestimate to leave contingency but let me know if any aren't realistic. bike training and license 1000 bike 1500 bike service and accesories such as top box 500 full international bike insurance 1000 Carnet ???? Visas 1500 full internation travel insurance 500 jabs innoculations 1000 new camera 200 ferry out 100 ferry across caspian sea 100 plane back 500 bike shipping back 1000 vignettes 100 + 100 days at accom 15 1500 petrol 15 1500 food sightseeing 25 2500 presents 10 1000 =15500 I also need to get an internation driving permit. What I am really worried about is visas, ie organising them, on my count i will need 13 visas with china's being multiple entry(for the longest route). Is this feasible to organise my self should I use an agent. I know some are valid for only 3 months from issue, which might cause me problems as i won't get to vietnam until about 2 and a half months in. Also I am aware that some regions within countries need permits enter. I know a region of uzbekistan, tajikstan,india and china (tibet) all need these, is this just a formality. Also does anyone have experience of borders, ie how diffcult/corrupt can they be. I understand it is possible to get some visas at the border or certain border crossings, how easy is this? what borders can you do this for? Is having a bike going to make it alot more difficult? Also anything people can tell me about a carnet and innoculations would be brill. I am aware this is alot to do in 100 days and i may shorten the trip. I have also heard all the warnings about my complete lack of experience, but it won't change my mind. I may be proved stupid etc but thats part of the adventure. Sorry it is such a long post but it is a rather complicated journey. Thanks for your help!! |
Looks like you haven't read much on these pages yet, or you would know from many previous posts that you need an organised "tour" through China ($$$$) and that the Vietnam border is closed to foreign vehicles, unless you have a letter from the president or some other similar document. A tour co. might be able to help you there, too. China will blow your budget, I fear.
Happy planning. |
Well, don't leave China out.
Have a look here, These two places are very nice, and very close Yantai, easy 50 minute flight from Seoul Yantai Travel Guide: City Map, Shandong China Qingdao, Easy 1 hour 20 fly from Busan = Chinas Biggest brewery = Tsingtao Brewry Qingdao Travel Guide: China Qingdao Hotel, City Map Harbin Ice Festival = up towards North East China towards Russia harbin ice - Google Search Mount Huangshan = South China Mount Huangshan, Anhui, China More Mount Huangshan mount huangshan - Google Search Guilin = South to Middle China = Fly to Guangzhou, then take 2 hour train north. Guilin Travel Guide: China Guilin Tour, Guilin Hotel, Map, Tips More Guilin guilin - Google Search Pearl River Cruise in Guangzhou warm Southern China Guangzhou Pearl River Cruise More Pearl River Cruise in Guangzhou = direct flight from Busan pearl river cruise - Google Search Xian – Terracotta army = Hot summer in Central China Xian Travel Guide: China Xi’an Tour, Xian Hotel, City Map, Dining, Nightlife More Xian – Terracotta army xian - Google Search This is just Beijing below. = Good all the time = direct flights from Busan The Great Wall the great wall - Google Search The Forbidden City the forbidden city - Google Search The Lama Temple the larma temple - Google Search Hutong Tour hutong tour - Google Search The Summer Palace the summer palace - Google Search The Temple of Heaven the temple of heaven - Google Search Fragrant Hill fragrent hill - Google Search Cherry Blossom Valley cherry blossom vally - Google Search Tiananmen Square Tiananmen Square - Google Search The Beijing Zoo The Beijing Zoo - Google Search The Ming Tombs The Ming Tombs - Google Search Olympic stadium China Olympic stadium - Google Search China High speed rail great way to trave, and very cheap China high speed trains - Google Search Tibet Train to Tibet - Google Search Tibet Train = direct flight from Busan to Beijing = Train direct to Lhasa (Tibet Capital ) train is about $130 each way, 2 days, 2 nights, luxury sleeper cars. Train to Tibet. China Tibet Train. Qinghai Tibet train. Lhasa Express Train travel planning and prices Train travel in China - a beginner's guide Here is another great link to think of places to go visit. China Travel | China destinations 'vette |
+1 for china being a pain in backside. Depending on how much of China you want to see there are a couple of groups on the hubb getting together to reduce costs - I'm part of one looking to do the 6 day crossing via Kashgar to the KKH in mid-August.
As for the Carnet, I can't predict exactly how much you'll pay but we're using the insurance funded route on similarly priced bikes (£1600) and are looking at £800 each of which half is returnable at the end of the trip - give Paul Gowan at the RAC a call and he'll answer all of your questions. As for visas, best to have a look at the different posts on this site and contact the relevant embassies for info on timing and pricing your visa applications. Note that Turkmenistan is also a pain and requires guides unless you opt for the transit visa which allows i think a maximum of 5 days in country. You'll also need to have your visas for your exit and entry countries before you can apply for Turkmen visa. The most urgent thing is to get going on china: if you want to do it as it is time consuming, if you want to get in on any of the other groups doing this be aware that they'll starting to confirm final arrangements and numbers now to send off to the agencies in china. One last thing, if you want to conserve your budget I'd drop most of the stuff in western europe as it'll wipe out a disproportionate part of your budget. Best to shoot through, adn get to where it's cheaper asap, the money you save will go way further when you're in Asia. This trip will allow you to see things and visit places you know you'd never ordinarily visit , whereas western europe is right on your doorstep and accesible for a weekend etc any time you want. |
uk_vette: in what way do your links help with getting a bike into China?
Bobduro: very good advice. One last work on group trips: you will be stuck with the people you travel with. Consider this carefully before embarking on a longer trip. After 45 days through Tibet & China I know what I'm talking about. If the majority want to do things one way and you don't you won't have a choice but go along with whatever is decided. You can't stop, you can't leave. :funmeterno: |
JamesAllen
First welcome to Horizons:smiliex: Beddhist, I am as confused with the uk_vette's post as you are- still it does have heaps of touristy info for China so could be useful! Horizons is crammed full of information provided my many travellers- The best way is to use the SEARCH function (click my signature!) as most questions have been asked (some over and over again:blushing:). By searching, you will find the latest info:thumbup1: Part of the joy of a long trip is the adventure and many things will not happen quite as you had planned so try not to get too bogged down in detail! routes change as weather/places to see/fatigue/breakdowns etc all come into play! as long as you are heading east, it's the right way! look for the sun in the morning, point that way and have a great ride! and don't expect others to answer all your questions either!! Planning is fun! |
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Cheers |
Something similar gets posted here about once a week... it´s easy to draw lines into a map, but travel-wise, Asia is NOT like Europe, or the US.
There are countries, that you can practically drop from your itinerary (or at least forget about getting your bike inside) like Burma and North Korea. A handful of independent travellers, probably less than 5, have managed to do Burma with a vehicle in the past decade, but this really does not mean that you would be highly likely to succeed. Officially it is not possible. Then there are countries, that can be arranged, like China, but it seems VERY expensive. Vietnam used to be a no-go (even though the net is full of wild rumours, most of them false).. but just lately it seems Vietnam is do-able in a somewhat similar way as China. So its not cheap to get there, either. And both will require huge paperwork months in advance. You also have to keep in mind, that the highest mountains on the planet are in this region, so you probably can´t do those routes in the winter. There are also carnet-countries, so if planning a longer tour in Asia, that´ll probably be something to arrange from your Automobile Association. Once again, this website is a great source of info about this, too. Even if it seems complicated, there are also many countries, that you´re free to roam, and generally it is cheap, exotic and warm (even in midwinter, if you go south enough), and people are very friendly, so there´s every reason to go! I´m also with the idea of getting there (or at least getting out of Europe) as fast as I could, so I could spend more time in Asia. Europe will be easy to get back to some day. This would help with the budget, too. |
UK to India
Hi James, good luck with all the planning etc, I am one of three blokes who are planning a trip overland to India next year. I cant begin to express how brilliant this site is, have a good old dig around and you will find everything you possibly need to know. There are loads of beat up old war dogs on here that have "been there, done that", and are more than willing to help out etc etc...
The three of Us are hardy GS riders but We have all bought Ebay XL 600's for the trip, I personaly am bursting with excitement and am currently wishing My life away....!!! Regards MEZ :funmeteryes: :scooter: |
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