London to Thailand route decisions
 

I'm coming up to crunch time. I'm planning to head off to Thailand in about 3-4 months and it's time to start organising the paperwork. With the troubles in the middle east I'm having a crisis of conscience. I'm worried about the possible problems out there escalating so that I end up not getting the visa issued or worse, having the borders close while I'm on my way. From what I'm hearing the chances of getting a visa through Pakistan are not great either. I really do want to see India but I want to see a lot of other places too. The only real alternative is Russia through to Mongolia. Now I've not put any research into this but the knee jerk reaction when I mention this possibility is the dangers of crossing Russia, both human and environmental. I'm not looking for an easy ride but not looking to get killed the first day out either.
I know I'm going to have to fly the bike the final leg into Bangkok but what are the differences between freighting the bike from India or from Mongolia? Is either one easier or more difficult, is either impossible?
What about routs and visas through Russia, is there a relatively safe option? Is there anything I've missed?

Thanks guys.

Turkey: If you are a British citizen, you can easily get your visa at the border gate for 90 days.If you need more information about Turkey,dont hesitate to ask and visit our club when you are here for welcome drinks,adventure talks and get your maps for turkey and istanbul.

We advice you not to miss meeting good people,exciting routes,cultures, in Turkey,İran,Pakistan and India. You will meet many riders on this route
to change informations,experiences and advices.

The two bad news are;
1- gasoline is 700 now instead of 100 for foreigners in İran.
2-Gasoline very expensive in Turkey. (about 1,80 euros)
A very cheap alternative is there is a train from İstanbul to Tehran which you
can use completely or partly.
There is no security problem as long as you obey the traditions,dont take any photos of the protesting groups (Better keep yourself away from main squares and mosques after FRIDAY MIDDAY prayings in mosques.

Two friends of our club has got some photos with protesting groups but were let free after some hours with a prize.(5 Packets of macaroni.)Police escorts both in İran and Pakistan are both friendly and even share their bread and milky tea with foreigners.(This is the only food they are given by their government.)In Dalbandin ask for escort police Mustafa.Give him the selams of Turkish Search and Rescue team members, İsmail, Burak,Adil,Mehmet (me).

While you are following the Toyota pick up,with escort polices having AK-47 guns,15 km.after Dalbandin you will meet a road sign :
“Sandy Area Ahead, Pass With Your Own Risk”
Is there anything more to say about the adventure you will share?

wish you all the best.
MEHMET Z.AVAR

Wow, what an amazing reply. I wasn't so concerned about Turkey, more the Iran and Pakistan. I'm not keen to follow escorts but that is the way of the world. I've heard how friendly the people are and how amazing the experience is which is why I want to do this route.
The price of fuel in Turkey is ok, it's roughly that in the UK now anyway and my bike is very economical to run so I can handle that and feel I would miss out on a lot if i took the train.
You make it sound like it's the route to take and many thanks for replying.

1,80 a litre in Turkey - that´s probably the world record, am I right? Currently about 1,50-1,60 in Finland, and nothing´s ever cheap here, nevermind fuel!!

Southeastern part of Iran (east from Bam), and Baluchistan desert & Quetta in Pakistan are somewhat dodgy areas... but many travellers go through there without problems, and you don´t have to spend a long time there, unless you want. There are certainly more risky areas in NW Pakistan, for example.

Only the escorts were extremely slow-going, especially in Iran, and in Pakistan they had a better speed, but that´s not necessarily the case any more (was there in Nov-2007).

Freighting the bike is _not_ easy from India, but can be done if you´ve got the nerves! From what I´ve read it seems might be easier to send from Kathmandu. From Mongolia, I don´t know.

We've just done a similar route to yours in 2010 and are currently trying to get through the flooding in southern Thailand.

Obviously a lot of countries to go through and my internet/electricity connection isn't great so I'll be very brief. If you go the 'borders' section on our blog you should get an idea of what paperwork requirements you can expect.

As for security, i wouldn't worry about it too much (it's easy to do when watching the news!) but obviously be aware of things. The chances are you won't encounter any hint of a problem on your route. As for visas being issued, just make sure you've got Iran and Pakistan sorted when you leave and the rest you can pick up on the way.

Don't worry, you'll love every second of it.

Better to choose door to door freightening....
 

when looking for the freight company in somewhere, ask for what are included in the price given to you.
5 days ago 2 British Friends have sent their bikes from Katmandu to İstanbul by Eagle Eyes via Pakistan Airlines and they had to pay extra charges here.
(400 usd) and they had to spend a whole day in the customs for formalities even we were together.Better to choose door to door.If you need an address
in İstanbul, give our club address.Your crate will be brought here while we are
having coffees. This is a friendly volunteer club offer for foreign riders as we know what it is to be alone.
So thats the message we have got from them finally.

Good morning Mehmet,

It was wonderful to meet you all last night and we can't thank you enough for helping us in this new country. It is the most wonderful welcome that we've had in all 29 countries!

Matthew Anita Count.

You are welcome friends.We are always ready to be helpful to you with all our powers.

My friends, I almost hate to ask the question... But while we're on the topic, how is the "climate" in your recommended area for Americans? (Please pardon if this is a completely ridiculous question.)

Turkey sunny!!!!
For other countries worldwide, ı will advice you to check some links.

Country Specific Information
FCO travel advice mapped: the world according to Britain's diplomats | News | guardian.co.uk

Best Wishes.
mehmet zeki avar

Well fuel is pushing to £1.40 in parts of england now so that's about 150-160 euros so I'm not too worried about that.
I guess then the tricky bit is shipping the bike the last leg to Bangkok. Has anyone any experience? Air or sea?

Hi there JTW000 Please keep this thread updated I am leaving Manchester on the 2nd of October 2011 by motorbike and am travelling to Singapore VIA Thailand. My route sounds very similar to yours through Europe into Turkey, Iran, Pakistan. into India and from there because of the difficulties with China and Burma I expect to ship my Bike to Bangkok tour round Thailand then onto Penang, Kuala, and finally Singapore before turning round and doing it all in reverse I am hoping to complete this trip in just 6 months? i dont know how feasble this is so will be very intrested to follow your progress and acquire any tips knowledge I can.
Regards and best wishes Billy

For shipping from Kathmandu to Bangkok we used Suraj at Eagle Exports. He's a lovely guy, and offers a decent price. The actual process of shipping was incredibly quick and easy and was all done within 48 hours of our arrival in the city. Definitely give him a shout.

Happy Wanderer, it is possible to do UK to Singapore and back in 6 months - we met some Malaysians in Uzbekistan who did a run from KL to London in just 2 months! (rather them than us!) You'll be doing a lot of very big days though and won't give yourself much time for 'seeing' anything along the way. Also, make sure you plan margins of error for the 'unplanned' - illness, rest days, mechanical problems, paperwork issues, etc etc.

Yep, it might be possible to do that, but would it make any sense? I´m wondering, because you would most likely have to ship the bike back from SE Asia to India, and fly yourself anyway.... so why not plan the trip to be 6 months (one way) and then ship & fly home from SE Asia? Would give you much more time to explore in each country, much less hassle and costs with the visas, etc., and just about the same amount of hassle with shipping. The total cost might also be cheaper that way I think.