Tibet is open
 

Hi all. I`m in Lhasa now with my Honda Africa Twin! I have Chinese visa only. I do not have any permits, chinese number plate, driving license, guide and so on. No problems with police. But only one road to Lasa is open for foringer tourists. It`s 215 road via Golmud.
Alex

verry good, did you get your visum at the border or somewhere else? and dit you come from nepal or india, sorry cant find Golud on my map.

Tibet
 

I got chinese visa in moscow. I came from kazakhstan. Golmud is situated 1100km from Lhasa towards north. It`s chinese city. Tomorrow I plan to go to everest base camp with bike. Bun the weather is not so good and everest may be hidden.
Alex

Hi Alex,

which border crossing Kazakhstan/China did you use?

Cheers,
John

border
 

Druzhba-Alashankol border crossing was used by me. I asked chinese policeman about entering china at Jeminay-Maikapchigay border crossing and he told me "NO"!

hello alex

as we are planing to go to china next year please tell me:

where did you leave china? any problems?

thank you very much

ralph

Hi. I know only one place where you can try to get in China. It`s a Druzhba-Alashankol pass. If you be succeed in border crossing it means your trip is go right. I did not have any problem inside China and Tibet with PSB. Also no problem when I was leaving China at the Jeminay-Maikapchigay pass. I did not have any guids in Tibet. In china are two big problems only: navigation (hieroglyphs) and meals. Dream courageously and all will be OK!

Alex

Join our convoy thru China,Tibet 2007
 

Exciting as it undoubtedly is, there are inherent risks in entering China without the regulation paperwork. An alternative is to join our convoy of 4WD vehicles and make a major saving on the extortionate cost of a guide.
We plan on entering China from Laos around end of May 2007 and spending approx 6 weeks before exiting at the Kunjerab Pass into Pakistan.
Anyone interested?

Interested in your progress and experiences
 

Hi there Hone41,

Although I won't be joining you I'm interested in your experiences as I hope to be going into China for 6 weeks in 2009, possible sharing a guide also. Can you keep us posted.

Great

Alex, you are real hero!
Do you have any journal or report? English or Russian languague.
It is incredible, that you are not needed any permists for motorbikes.

This year I planed Mongolia, this trip I must canceled and I was in Lybia:
report: http://www.weber.cz/bebaweb/Libye/Report/report.html
photos: http://www.weber.cz/beba/2006_Lybie/

For next year I plainig Kazachstan-China-Pakistan (Karakoram Higway)
or
Kazachstan-Kyrgystan-Uzbekistan (Pamir trakt)

Thanks for the compliment)) I have a report in russian. If you can read it I will send you. rubtsov_alex@mail.ru If you whant to get in China from Kaz and go to Pak after that you can not see China. An idea to get in from Kaz and to go to Mongolia border (Erenhott) is better. I have been in Mongolia last year. It was very hard) The next plan is around africa, but I don`t know when.

Alex

Well done!
 

I´m in almaty, Kazakh, waiting untill mid March to head into China. I will use that pass. Last summer Angela B passed the same crossing point without problems.
If you return via kaz, before mid march, please let me know!!
Ride safe,
All the best
fer

hello fer

we are planing to enter china on the same point this year. (june 2007)
please let me know wether you had problems or not.

thanx ralph

Will do
 

Hopefully, by that time I'll be in china!
but, I will try to keep in touch.
My websie is www.nomadpodcast.com
It has not been updated since last summer because my computer broke and...
It is working now but I need to dedicae it the time to get it up and running again. By mid march I hope o ride int china and update it regularly.

All the best!

f

Which way do you whant to take in China? If your aim is Tibet you should get ready for low temperature in march-april there.

Nice one Alex! 10 years ago I tried to get to lhasa by road from chengdu and was sent packing back to Chonching at some place on the plateau called Litang after 3 days on busses.

will it be as cold as in antartica? wow Simmo what are u up to?
 

I have an Allroad rukka outfit, recomended by Rukka, who along Turatech( great and essential stuff for the bike whren out there) and Shoei sponsored part of my trip.

I wear a pair of Gaerne Fastback boots provided by Malcolm Rathmell sports; there are off-road boots and I wonder how are they going to perform in extreme cold. I've been on the bike a couple of times in the Almaty, Kaz winter (when the snow cleared) but it wasn't long to tell how cold my feet will get on long runs.

I need to get a new pair of gloves for propper cold weather and probably heated socks. If anyone has any recomendations, please let me know!

Also, I carry merino wool top-to-toe underwear! But my favourite gadget is my Exo 2 heated vest. You can get them with a thermostat, mine, i just pull the battery plug when I get too hot! It really is the solution for long rides in winter and cold nights!

Also I carry a North Face 23 tent, not for extreme weather, but I dont like to camp if it is very cold after long rides, and a minus20 plus sleeping bag.

other than the boots/socks and gloves, I think I'm well prepared.
Again, comments and recomentdations will be received with gratitude!

I forgot
 

..and , yes, of course, I dont want to miss the 215 via Golmud (thanks again Alex)
Crossin int China from Kaz; Urumqi, maybe Kashgar, then east again t Xian (terracota warriors, I have to see that..) then probably south.

Her's where it will be nice to have some advice and debate. I met several people from or living in the PRC and all told me that the coast is the least worthwhile place to visit. Too industrial, poluted... Everyone talks wonders aboyt Beijing but sem to think that the ride all the way there is not so ineresting. (I wish Angela will drop us a line; last time I see her was on her waty there and last time i heard from her was near Beijin).

From there, down the cost... no idea, no one has comented.

But throught the central provinces zigzaging south seems to be the real rural China doted with historic cities. Then west again towards Lasha and Nepal.

I do have a guide (not with me now) . I will buy a new one (bcause is soked in oil) and if I can a chinese phrase book. I remember Angela saying that progress was very difficult because of the language. I gave her a map with names both in roman characteres and in chines and she commented that it was essential to have one.
f