Month: May 2014

I have been researching routes and software to store the routes and help with the planning. I think I will use tripit as it gets good reviews and having played around with it it would seem to do what I need.
Routes across europe are plentiful. After that most people seem to choose going through russia rather than Iran. I have read several blogs from people taking both ways and at the moment I think I prefer Turkey, Iran and the Stans (look at a map to see what the Stans are) with the current tension with Russia over Ukraine I think avoiding that area is best.
The next bit is where it gets tricky. Travelling through or anywhere near Afghanistan is a non starter. The only viable overland from here is to enter China. From there you can get to the top of Pakistan and then into India. Alternatively you can go across the top of Tibet and into Laos. China insists all foreigners are escorted so that means riding in a group and handing over lots of money. The problems get worse on the other side of India because you cannot get into Burma to get into Thailand again entering China and being escorted is the only overland option.
I have found a uk company offering escorts through China in September 2015 but the price is about ┬ú3k for a dash across to Laos or ┬ú6k for a month long tour in China finishing in Thailand. I don’t know how much it costs for an escort to Pakistan but I think I read about ┬ú 800 somewhere.
If I go the Pakistan route I could opt to get the bike shipped to Bangkok from Calcutta or even ship it home and fly to Perth.
Hmmmm. I need to think about this.