Hello,

I recently discovered this forum and I have to admit I am a bit overwhelmed by the huge amount of information.

I am planning to do a little trip next year, starting in April, I’ll be heading east from Greece. I am living in Germany now.

Crossing Turkey to Georgia and Azerbaijan, after that north of Iran and the Stan-Lands (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan,Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan).
Once there, my intention is to go to Nepal, through China, and from there to Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.

From there, I’ll head south, probably visiting also the Philippines and Indonesia, to Malaysia, Singapore, Papua New Guinea and finally to Australia.

I intentionally didn’t mention any date, as I don’t have a time plan. I have 10 months and I’d ride as far as I can, once the time is up, I’ll fly back from wherever I am.

Bearing this in mind, I have a few questions:

I gathered information with regards to the visas I need, some of them I assume I will have to apply on the way, if they need an exact date of entry/leaving the country. Is that correct? Would it be possible to have all paperwork ready in advance?

My understanding is that for China (and it seems that for Thailand too) it is needed to have a guide with you the whole time you are in the country, when riding a motorcycle. But I don’t have any information of how expensive that could be, nor any agency offering such services.
Maybe it would be possible to join a group in order to save/split expenses. Any ideas/suggestions?

If China is a no-go, I have thought of 2 possibilities, either going south through Tajikistan and North of Pakistan, but I am not sure if this is feasible. Anyone has more information or know where to find it?
The second option would be to go north to Mongolia and fly from Ulanbaatar to Kathmandu. Pro: Visiting Mongolia, cons: flight expenses. Any thoughts?

Do you see any other problems/issues that I haven’t think of?

I’d really appreciate any advice/suggestions you may have regarding the route, paperwork, security, etc. any help is always welcome.

Thanks in advance!


For information: I ride a Honda Africa Twin and have some experience riding enduro (I also have an old CBR600RR for race track and a KTM 450EXC)