Hello there.

Do you need to travel through China on August 2010?. We are putting up a group on August 2010, from Torugart (around Aug. 18th) to Pakistan (4-5 days later). Interesting discounts. PM welcome.

Hello, my girlfriend and I are planning a route from the UK to NZ, leaving in May 2010 on 2 bikes.

We're very interested in joining your party through China and into Pakistan as this is a part of the world we are very interested in seeing.

Let me know what the plans are.

Regards
Carl

[quote=CarlM;270981]Hello, my girlfriend and I are planning a route from the UK to NZ, leaving in May 2010 on 2 bikes.

We're very interested in joining your party through China and into Pakistan as this is a part of the world we are very interested in seeing.

Let me know what the plans are.

Regards
Carl[/quote
whats your route Carl ?????
trying to plan our route so others that are already planned are interesting to me.

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Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.

hi there,
i'm in touch with saliadarunavuelta to share the costs to get through china. our plan is to reach the torugart pass on august 18, then ride to kashgar, tashkorgan and let china through the khunjerab pass 3 days later. if it is sounds interesting for you plans, it will be more for the costs: more people, less money to spend on it. i'm already in touch with a couple of local agent to manage the china leg. i didn't yet confirm anything to them, waiting for other mates to involve in it. so, if you're looking for best/cheap solution..., mail or pm me!

regards

www.lungastrada.it

HI Guys

Just a word of advise for you on this tour via china. I did the same route last August, we were 4 bikers and a landrover in total we payed something about 2500 USD for a 6 day trip without hotel.

We were given itinenary about places we were going to visit but it turned out to be a complete disaster , as the tour guide kept taking us to expensive resorts. For exemple we were ment to ride to the Taklamatan desert . Instead they took us to a "desert resort" near the desert with a man made lake!!!

Make sure to get specifics about the places you want to visit , make sure you spend one Sunday in Kashgar (sunday market) we missed that because of bad planing. Kashgar is a fantastic city to be in. The Otak Glacier is ok, its on the Begining of The KKH . If you want to stay at Karakol lake near Muztagh ata make sure not to stay at the chinese resorts. There are many Kyrgyz Yurts on the way and they are dirt cheap to stay in. But you will have to pay a 10 USD national park fee this is mandatory if you are spotted.

One more thing ; when you pass through the second custom control into china. Your bikes will be sprayed with something and you will have to pay for this , you will also get a receip!!!! MAKE SURE TO SAVE THE RECEIP.

We were held for almost 1,5 hour when exiting china in Tashxorgan customs just because we did not have these receips, crazy but fact.

Good Luck and have fun , Xjinjiang is Beautiful KKH is A fantastic ride, just be aware that the entire KKH from Kunjerab pass to Gilgit is a massive building site , the road is in very bad state as the Chinese are refurbishing the KKH.

Dont forget to Visit Skardu and Loop bacK to KKH via Desaoi Plains and The Astor Valley in Pakistan ,Probably one of the Greatest route in the world

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There's some great advice there which I greatly appreciate!

Our plans are to leave UK on 17 April for a 2 week trip with friends to Morocco, then return to Spain beginning of May. We're then free to start moving East.

Our basic plan is to enjoy as much time in countries which are interesting and welcoming. Have done alot of reading and we're now at the stage of researching the timing for visa applications for the first few countries where they are required.

Our original plan was to go through Iran & Pakistan, however there seems to be some negativity on that front, so our preference now is to go through Ukraine, Russia, Kazakstan, then down towards KKH, through into India and then to Nepal. From there we'll air freight to Thailand and continue moving south to be in Austraila in time for Christmas.

Any advice on the current situation with navigating through these countries, visa timing and tips on what to see would be gratefully appreciated.

We're spending the next 7 days pouring over maps and doing research so will be around to discuss routes and timing.

All the best

Carl

Hi Carl Have you found any prices for the air freight yet and where have you seen the negativity about Iran etc

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Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.

Hi, I'm waiting to hear back from a freighting company to quote for air travel from Kathmandu to Bangkok.

Regarding Iran, my feeling is down to current political climate with the UK. My preference is to travel through Kazakhstan, and if there is a possibility of doing this and also being able to travel through China to join up with the KKH then this is where we'll go.

It sounds like there are a couple of groups planning something similar, so there is good probability we'll be able to get something sorted out.

Carl

If you're on a budget, make sure to also get quotes for entering China via the Irkeshtam pass. It will probably be cheaper and a lot easier to organize, as it's a first class border crossing, whereas the Tourgat - without special permits etc - is normally closed to foreigners and thus more expensive.

Hello there.

It seems that we are doing a very similar trip. Please email me with details to yo (a) saliadarunavuelta.com

Thanks,

F.

kebabtomten, thank you so much for this info. I surely had underestimated this part of the trip.

Shipping from kathmandu is very easy, there are houndreds of shipping agents in Thamel. The prices are roughly the same I payed 800 USd to shipp my 1200gs. The volume and the weight of the box were exactly the same , so we put 500kg as this price category is cheaper(saved me abut 80usd) with Thai Airways. I used DAS cargo they have a coumpound next to the Pilgrim hotel in north Thamel, which was perfect I left the bike there for almost 3 weeks and went trekking. Thai airways only have one flight a day and it leaves at noon and arrives in bangkok at about 1900 same day.

Clearing the bike in Bangkok takes a lot of time , but its were easy as everyone helps you out all the time , but still its time consuming it took me about 7 hours to clear the bike.



Air tickets for your self is very cheap its cost about 150usd with Royal nepal airlines.

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www.uk2sydney.blogspot.com

you are a star - thanks for that!

Just read that after I'd received an email from the freighting company I'd enquired with saying that they didn't have any agents in Nepal...

Thanks again.
Carl

glad to help out a fellow traveller. Just send me a message if you want to know anything else about routes or anything else as you will probably go the same route as I did .

cheers

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We were given itinenary about places we were going to visit but it turned out to be a complete disaster , as the tour guide kept taking us to expensive resorts. For exemple we were ment to ride to the Taklamatan desert . Instead they took us to a "desert resort" near the desert with a man made lake!!!
—— I guess your quote did not include much for your guide, so the guide have to do this to earn his part. Sometimes the guide even takes you to the shops where he can get the commission.


Your bikes will be sprayed with something and you will have to pay for this , you will also get a receip!!!! MAKE SURE TO SAVE THE RECEIP.

—— It’s a kind of disinfection. Certainly you have to keep every piece of paper in China. You know it costs much!