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India to the UK. Dep June/July 2008. Help Please India to the UK. Dep June/July 2008. Help Please
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West and South Asia From Turkey to Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Ladakh and Bangladesh
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  #1  
Old 21 May 2008
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Question India to the UK. Dep June/July 2008. Help Please
Hi everyone,

We are 2 UK bikers planning to set off from India to the UK in June/July of this year.

Both are sporting the modern technology of the classic 350cc Bullet. Suspension et al! I have been doing research using this valuable forum and other sources. At the moment there are a few concerns (read too many) i have about the trip.

1. The official paperwork we have consists of only proof of purchase (from Delhi). What problems will we have due to this?
2. Will the above problem become harder as we cross boarders in Europe and eventually back into the UK?
3. How 'open' is the route from India==> Turkey (Pak/Iran)?
4. What time scale would the travel take? (obviously boarders can throw everything out)

I have been keeping an eye on Joe's thread "Pakistan info please" and it sounds like it is all possible, with the right touch.


Thanks a lot in advance to you all!
G + J

P.S- If you're planning to go India==>Europe around the same time get in contact!
P.P.S We will also be doing the Manali ==> Leh road @ start of June.
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  #2  
Old 21 May 2008
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You will need a Carnet de passages en douane, document that allows to temporarily import your vehicles into Pakistan and Iran (India uses the same, but naturally you wont need it for India, if you buy from there).

There are some reports of people doing this route without a carnet, but very complicated, especially with Pakistan. Might not be able to do it at all without a carnet. Iran could be easier, but officially they require the carnet, too.

Maybe someone can give better information, but I think there could be some problem getting a carnet for a bike bought in India. Hope Im wrong, though.

If you got your paperwork sorted, the route itself is normally fine. The situation in Pakistan changes almost every day, and it is a troubled country, so its good to keep an eye on that. Police seemed to take good care of tourists there, wont let you enter any dangerous areas. And if you only intend to ride through the country, usually there are no problems. Iran is great, wonderful people. Only the southeastern part is a bit suspicious, you might have police escort for some time after the Mir Javeh border.
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  #3  
Old 22 May 2008
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I doubt you will be able to take your bike out of India, except into Nepal. You seem to have missed the important info on buying bikes in India right here on HUBB.

If you do get your carnet sorted then you still have to get a Pak visa, and that can be a challenge for some nationals, too. Pak embassies demand a letter from your embassy and several EU embassies now refuse to deliver it for reasons of 'safety'.

God luck.
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Europe to NZ 2006-10
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  #4  
Old 22 May 2008
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Thanks so far..
Quote:
Originally Posted by beddhist View Post
I doubt you will be able to take your bike out of India, except into Nepal. You seem to have missed the important info on buying bikes in India right here on HUBB.

If you do get your carnet sorted then you still have to get a Pak visa, and that can be a challenge for some nationals, too. Pak embassies demand a letter from your embassy and several EU embassies now refuse to deliver it for reasons of 'safety'.

God luck.
Yeh i know i should have bought my Bike for an extortionate amount in Nepal and have the carnet to show for it... But it's not how things have worked out unfortunately.

All I can say is that we will be trying our best to get our bikes back to the UK. We are prepared to fight for a letter from the Embassy and the CBR in Pak to get through.

Can i get conformation that once we are through Pak + Iran the lack of documents will be ok through the other countries?

Obviously if we cant get the Pak and Iran Visas it will all go out the window, but ATM we have a month and a bit ahead of us to try our hardest hey?

Thanks for your replies, any more help... keep it coming please!

G + J
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  #5  
Old 22 May 2008
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Shipping India-->Iran?
At the time we were planning to ride from Europe to India, the situation in Pakistan seemed to go from bad to worse all the time, so I thought about other options. Someone mentioned here, that it shoulde be possible to ship between Bandar Abbas (Iran) and Mumbai, or any big Indian seaport. Then you wouldnt have to go to Pakistan. You´ll probably have to fly to Tehran, then take another flight or bus or train to get to Bandar Abbas.

So if you manage to get the carnets but no Pakistani visas, that could be an option. Sorry I have no experience, how would entering Iran work without a carnet. At a seaport Im afraid it could get a little complicated, though...

Now I remember: a bunch of Finns, who bought many Enfields from Chennai in 1998, then rode them up to Pakistani border, and got turned back. They returned to Delhi, and arranged the carnets for eveybody (sent to them by courier mail) from the Automobile Association in Finland, and then they were able to ride all the way to Europe with them.

So they managed to get carnets for Indian-plated bikes. But not enter Pakistan without a carnet.
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  #6  
Old 23 May 2008
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Thanks Pecha for the suggestions.
Unfortunately it seems that since 2001 (i think) it is not possible to get a carnet for bikes boutght in India :-(
Is shipping without a carnet possible tho?
I will look into it

G + J
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  #7  
Old 28 May 2008
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Pakistan is pretty peachy inchallah at the moment, i'm having a great time. No tourists about at all. Carnet and Pak seems a pain in the ass...no carnet no ride... anywhere else no problems...met an aussie guy with an africa twin who bribed everyone in sight at border and still got put on the train, the iranians are more cooperative.

Saying that there was a bloke no a minsk coming via vietnam who had ridden with no paperwork at all in Pak but i oculdnt work out how! Up the Karakorum tommorow...in Islamabad tourist camping now!
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  #8  
Old 28 May 2008
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Thanks for that Joe. Sounds like Pak is worth trying for.

Just got to Katmandu, Nepal, off to have my 1st proper steak in 7 months!

So if we cant ride through Pak it is possible to get stuck on a train and get thru like that yeh? I've been looking for conformation of this but can't find anything about that....

Ride safe bud.

G
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  #9  
Old 31 May 2008
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hello !

My friend Jules and i went from India to europe on 2 enfields without the carnet. Here is how it went and what we had to do to make it happen.

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/davenport/

we had to put the bike on the train to Quetta, but we rode after that. No way to get down the train somewhere, the custom guys sent all the paperwork straight to Quetta.

Go for it and be patient...very patient

Cheers !!
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