2012- Canada > Korea > Vladisvostok > Start in Magadan, and beyond....
 

hello,


My motorcycle is registered in Canada, will fly it to Korea, then ferry to Vladivostok, and ferry to Magadan.

plan is to start in magadan, drive the road of bones, drive the BAM road (and other great roads thanks to Colebatch and his ride reports), drive across Mongolia, back into Russia, would love to venture into Kazakhstan, south to Kyrgyzstan, into Tajikistan, cross into the Wakhan corridor (the pics have been amazing), back into Tajikistan, east to Uzbekistan, also interested to go to Turkmenistan, and then to Iran.
from there to ???
depends on how long it has taken me to get there.



hope this doesnt sound like daft questions,
aside from the bike, my riding and personal kit, what else do i need?

what paper work do i need to have done to fly into Korea?
then,
to ship it to Vladivostok?
pre booked ferry tickets?
aside from Russian visa, can i get the other visa en-route? travel with Canada and UK passports.
when/what month should i aim to be in Magadan?
how long should i allow myself?


please be kind :-)

thank you

Hi, most of the answers are on the forum for Korea try getting in touch with seouljoe, you may be better off trucking your bike to the ferry port in Korea, i am not sure get in touch with him, he does post a lot on the hubb
I do know that the ferry is vey small so pre booking would be an advantage and also as far as i know ( and i spent a month in Vladivostok) there is no ferry from Vladivostok to Magadan , you may have to either get a container, locate a "tramp steamer" and thumb a lift or ride your bike there !!! Yuri Melnikov is ya man in Vladivostok e mail him and ask for advice ymelnik <<AATT>> links-ltd [[DDOOTT]] com . He can sort out your custom's clearence and departure for you . Tell him Mark and Martin put you in touch and hi happy new year to you all .

cheers for that, have sent a a pm

and will email him later on.

cheers

Russia.
Documents -
Self - Passport, Visa and obtain Registration(s) along the way. Driving Licence + IDP. Consider Tick borne Encephilitis immunisation if camping.
Moto - Home Registration document + written permission of owner if not you, insurance (obtainable on entry or Green Card).

Time-
Its a balance between the early part of the riding season being very wet, river levels high and fast flowing from snow melt or late in the season when it is dryer, but the cold returns suddenly. Probably the best window is June to early September.

After Iran.
Iran sounds a bit risky right now - certainly for GB riders. But you can ride from there into Turkey and then into Europe.

Korea Transit
 

Hi ,,
You should not have any problem ,, bringing in your bike, to Korea, on temporary permit,,, for transit. (Though German registered bikes had problem,in July. In my minds eye there are no problems, no matter, which country you bring it from)
Make sure to bring all your paper work for the bike and international driving license. Make several copies of all your documents (passports, license, registration,,passport photos,, insurance,,) in advance as you will be asked at many points.
Find out what papers are needed from your side.
You will need to hire a customs agent,, HUBB uses Wendy Choi "wendychoi2(at)gmail.com" her mobile is +82 (0)17-213-3961.
She normally charges USD 100, for the clearance. She can also book a ferry for you,, but some how you have to pay her in advance,, as July - August ,, Russians are coming down en masse to enjoy the Korean summer. So you need to make early booking. http://www.dbsferry.com/main/main.asp
You will be getting your bike out of ICN cargo terminal,, which case you will have to take a ferry form the airport terminal, which is an island,,to city of Inchon,, a real pain in the butt,, or break the law and make a run for the Gimpo airport, where you can get off the motorway...(Make sure you run through the HiPass auto pay gates not the manual pay window. The penalty is USD 300 and a police arrest, so you have to show up for a court date. Or you can play dumb and dumber,, I am on my way to Russia etc)
Korean cops and customs guys have a chip on their shoulder ,, English language,, cultural ,, if you Kow Tow well as a white man,, doors will open fast.

Getting visas for most of the Silk Road countries takes three days, in Korea and their respective embassies are all here,, for Russia ,, don't do it in Korea,, it takes a long time for the invitation to arrive. Get it organized in your country. Mongolia is visa free for most of the OECD nationals.

Just because you are arriving and embarking on a great trip ,, don't think you are Edmund Hilary ,, many have done this trip and so have many Korean riders,,, act humble and don't take advantage of peoples hospitality,, and you will be welcomed every where you go.

For info on Magadan ,, and the Road of Bones ,, Colbatch and TonyP are your men.
It sounds like a great trip ,, God speed.

Edd:

Allow yourself at least 2 months to get a Russian visa. I just went through the process, and it is very troublesome. The Russian consulates in Canada will not accept applications via mail or courier, only in person. In practice, that means you need to go through a 'visa agent'. It's not cheap. Here is a link to the Russian Embassy Consular Section in Canada web page: click here. I'm not sure what the policies are of the Russian Consulate in the Kong, but I doubt if it is any more relaxed.

Getting the Russian visa will be the 'long pole in the tent' for your whole planning exercise, that is for sure. So, don't leave it till the last month, and don't take anything for granted.

I'm doing Canada - Alaska - Anadyr - Magaden - Vladivostok - Busan - Taiwan at the end of next week, and will be spending a day in each city. I'll try and collect whatever information I can and post it for you when I get back (roughly the end of the month).

Michael

PS: I am flying a plane on this trip, not riding my bike. :)

From: rusvisahk <<AT>> hknet.com
Subject: RE: Double or Multi Entry visa?
Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:07:19 +0800

Hello,

Processing time takes 1-3 days for urgent visa and 7 days for normal application.
Actually apply for a visa is possible not earlier than 90 days before you travel.


Best regards,
Denis Borodich
Third Secretary
Russian Consulate General in HKSAR

Tel. (852) 2877 7188
Fax (852) 2877 7166
www. russia.com.hk

Ed:

I just finished doing a trip from Canada to Alaska through Russia (Anadyr, Magadan, Vladivostok) and onwards to Busan Korea. I used an aircraft rather than a motorcycle, but maybe some of the things I learned along the way might apply to motorcycle travel.

I wrote a blog about it on a Canadian aviation forum, if you are interested, you can read it here.

Michael

Edd,

That response from RUS's HK Consulate is about the time they take, from you submitting the Application. Before that you need an Invitation - that takes more time.

The process for Business Visa (recommended - see my posts on other threads) Invitations is about a week, plus delivery time, from when the Inviting Organisation submits their Invitation Application at the Ministry to when they collect it from the Ministry. The Ministry issues the Invitation either in paper form to the Organisation or via Telex direct to the Embassy/Consulate. Telex incurrs an additional Fee, about equivalent to DHL's charge for delivering the paper one to you from the Inviting Organisation - but via Telex you do save time if in a hurry and can't wait for post (incredibly slow but fairly reliable in RUS) or a friend coming your way.
If by telex, you get a reference number to quote when submitting the Visa Application.