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Photo by Marc Gibaud, Clouds on Tres Cerros and Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia

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Photo by Marc Gibaud,
Clouds on Tres Cerros and
Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia



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  #1  
Old 29 May 2011
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tannu_Tuva View Post
I drove from the UK to the Chernobyl infected region of Belarus a couple of summers ago, it is a fascinating region.

This is a link to my trip report:

Desolation Travel: Dead Lands of Belarus: Travels Along A Desolate Border by Ben Rich

Thanks for sharing your report, I really loved to read it!
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Old 30 May 2011
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Originally Posted by Knight of the Holy Graal View Post
Thanks for sharing your report, I really loved to read it!
You're welcome, glad you liked it.
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  #3  
Old 30 May 2011
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I have always used a visa agent in the UK for my visas and they sort out the invitation letter. Although my wife is Belorusan I take this as the prefered option rather than using her mothers address. because of the political situation there I prefer to try and distance myself administratively from her familly.
be advised the political situation is very difficult at the moment in Belarus. there are also problems getting any foreign currency in the country so you may not be able to change your rubbles back into anything else when you leave, so try not to overbuy
I'm off to Belarus and Ukraine at the end of june driving the support vehicle for 10 motorbikes visiting the Belorusan Orphanages. so far none of the bikers has had problems with visas, despite the governments dislike of charity trips.
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Old 1 Jun 2011
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The devaluation of the Belorusian Ruble whilst being a disaster for the locals and their savings ( although most had their savings in foreign currency ) is great for travellers. I think the official bank rate for the GBP is 8100 right now. However a note to British readers: not every bank will exchange pounds especially in the sticks. Therefore take Euros which have the best exchange rate on the black market too,hitting over 9000 according to friends in Minsk. Agree about not being able to buy back hard currency.

Moggy: I did'nt understand your comment about not using your mother-in-law's address because of the political situation. I'm sure you know belarus as well as I do,but do you mean because of your connection to a charity? I've used the mother-in-law's address for 5 years with no hint of a problem. No point paying for an invitation when there is no need to mate, the government don't worry about small fry like us, in fact I would say being foreign gives us a lot of leeway: I've been drunk on vodka with friends in Minsk's main square singing "Death to Lukashenko!" ( yeah it seemed a good idea at the time! )a policeman came over and said to my Belarusian friends "take the foreigner home lads" and sent us on our way. One thing those cops respect in the former USSR is a paralytic man
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Old 5 Jun 2011
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Question Belarussian visa

Hello,

we finally got our belarussian visa. So, we soon will do a motorcycle trip to Belarus!


It was not easy to get visa, because they changed the rules, perhaps only for germans. I don't know. For our purposes, they officially only grant visas for tourists (prereqs: book all nights in advance and get a voucher) or have a written and confirmed invitation of someone from belorus for private visum. It is not sufficient to have only an address of someone. There are exceptions. Our visa agent managed to get us private visas without an invitation.

Tannu_Tuva, moggy 1968, Declan or others: Can you give us perhaps few hints about Belarus. We are interested in border crossing, registration, special traffic rules, are there camping sites (found nothing in the internet), small accomodation in countrysite (i. e. "Turbasa"), cheap hotel in minsk, gps coords?

Thanks in advance!

Marc
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Old 6 Jun 2011
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We rode to Belarus last summer. It was one of the most interesting bike-trips I've made! The people of Belarus are extremely polite and gentle (except for the border-control guys...).

Here are pictures from that trip (the text is in Swedish but the pictures pretty much speak for themselves):

Belarus Motorcycle Adventure, July 2010

If you need GPS waypoints, just let me know!

Enjoy Belarus!
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Old 6 Jun 2011
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Originally Posted by Cider View Post
If you need GPS waypoints, just let me know!
Wow, cool photos. It looks like you really had fun there. :-) Can you recommend the hotel in Minsk (safe parking, how much for a night)?

I will try to translate your report with google.

We also plan to see Mir castle, Nesvizh castle, Vitebsk, Grodno, Brest, Stalins Line, have you been to Chatyn? I can not see it on your map screenshot.

I would love to have your GPS waypoint. I assume, you don't have camping coords. :-)

Marc
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Old 28 Feb 2015
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Hi Moggy, which visa agency do you use ?
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Old 4 Mar 2015
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Hi Moggy, which visa agency do you use ?

I used an agent based in Southsea. I lived there so it was a 5 minute walk from my house!!

http://www.freeindex.co.uk/profile%2...a%29_93388.htm
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