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Route Planning Where to go, when, what are the interesting places to see
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  #1  
Old 13 Oct 2017
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Warin View Post
Which ever way you go .. you going to have to ship the bike to Australia.
Well yes, it can't swim or fly sadly :P

Quote:
Originally Posted by Warin View Post
You could ship from Cape Town to Australia...
Or India, or Turkey, or Vladivostok .. the are lots of way.
Not all of them involve Iran with its high carnet charges.
Any number of routes available .. while shipping costs might be higher for some, so are the route costs higher for others.
Chose your route to suit what you want to see?
I'm driving through Asia to get there. Just not sure what do do between Turkey and India. Would like to visit Kazahkstan, Tajikistan etc. and don't mind China but I don't like taking a very expensive guide who tells you where to go and sleep.

Pakistan seems a no-go area for 100km zone from it's border with India right now.

I've read about the Wakhan Corridor but can't find any up to date information if you can safely cross from Tajikistan into India through the corridor and the rest of Pakistan / Jammu and Kashmir.
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Old 14 Oct 2017
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Originally Posted by Bento View Post
I've read about the Wakhan Corridor but can't find any up to date information if you can safely cross from Tajikistan into India through the corridor and the rest of Pakistan / Jammu and Kashmir.
This question has been fascinating me, this is what I've managed to uncover so far:

Here's a map of taliban activity in Afghanistan, so the good thing is they don't seem to be active in the corridor
Interactive map of new from Afghanistan - Taliban and Islamic State - afghanistan.liveuamap.com

the second thing I've found is a list of border crossings in Afghanistan. Unfortunately it looks like the only border crossing open to foreigners heading into Pakistan is Torkham pass, but that information is dated, and looking at the other map it's right in the middle of ISIS controlled territory. I'm not sure how accurate the rest of the information is, you might have to call up your local Pakistan embassy to try to find out the border crossing situation.
Afghanistan border crossings | Caravanistan
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Old 14 Oct 2017
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Originally Posted by hsinclai View Post
the second thing I've found is a list of border crossings in Afghanistan. Unfortunately it looks like the only border crossing open to foreigners heading into Pakistan is Torkham pass, but that information is dated, and looking at the other map it's right in the middle of ISIS controlled territory. I'm not sure how accurate the rest of the information is, you might have to call up your local Pakistan embassy to try to find out the border crossing situation.
Afghanistan border crossings | Caravanistan
Heh yeah, been looking at that site too. I guess China is inevitable at this point, that Taliban map doesn't give me a lot peace of mind so to speak :P

Or maybe I'm just not adventurous enough?
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  #4  
Old 15 Oct 2017
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Did it the other direction 2 years ago. Afghanistan was too "adventurous" for me, although there are areas that are fine and people who've done it. In the end we did the KKH through Pakistan, then a 4 day crossing of China and into Kyrgyzstan.

Loved northern Pakistan, particularly the Hunza Valley, loved Kyrgyzstan. Hated China - way over the top border guards, expensive guide, and it was sad to see the ancient silk road city of Kashgar almost totally bulldozed.

Be aware that the KKH is only open at limited times of the year, and can be closed with short notice - we got stuck for a week and missed our entry date into China (thus had to redo the permits, more $$$) because a storm washed part of the road away.

Check out The Path Less Ridden – Two-wheeled wandering… to see our trajectory in that part of the world. Don't miss out on Central Asia, it was by far our favourite part of the trip.
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Old 15 Oct 2017
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Originally Posted by PathLessRidden View Post
Check out The Path Less Ridden – Two-wheeled wandering… to see our trajectory in that part of the world. Don't miss out on Central Asia, it was by far our favourite part of the trip.
Cheers, will take a look at the site. I'm now contemplating another option which is riding through Iran to Bandar Abbas and take the Ro/Ro ferry to Dubai. Spent a few days there and have the bike shipped to Mumbai.

That will cause me to miss "The Stans" but also China and northern Pakistan. China I can't really be that bothered about but it's a tough choice picking either Iran or the Stans.
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  #6  
Old 16 Oct 2017
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We crossed Turkmenistan between Uzbekistan and Iran and thus did both, but the Turkmen transit visa is completely luck as to whether you get it - 50% chance it'll be refused for no reason. Check Caravanistan for the most recent updates.

That leg is the most difficult to organise in terms of visas, route etc, but there's always a way. People we travelled (same East => West direction) with included:
- A couple who couldn't get Iran visas (UK citizen) so took the Black Sea ferry from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan
- A couple who couldn't get Pakistan visas so shipped the bike from Mumbai to Dubai and took the ferry across to Iran
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  #7  
Old 24 Oct 2017
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Bento, there is another couple willing to cross China in September 2018.

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...n-2018-a-93261

Best, Lukasz
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Old 28 Oct 2017
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If you take the Iran, Pakistan, India route, you can go up north, up the KKH as well and simply return. That is what we did. In December, so it is still possible to drive the KKH in that season (but we had a Landcruiser). But you can't go into all the valleys because of snow etc.

I haven't been following any late updates, we did our trip in 2011-2012. I guess if the lake is still there on the KKH then that is a good turning point (that was what we did). Otherwise a bike is easy to get over with the boats.

I'm not sure what you mean that the border area between India and Pakistan is not safe. In the south it is only desert, and in the mountains it was never so safe I think? But it is more important if you can cross the Lahore/Amritsar crossing without any issues.

South of Pakistan will be with police escort, assuming nothing changed. If you don't want to see anything of Pakistan, you could just cross it in 5 days or so, but it would be a shame. At least stop shortly in Lahore.

The Stans should be nice, although annoying with visas. Would love to go to Tadjikistan. China could be nice if it wasn't so annoying or expensive to arrange. From what I've heard, Myanmar is possible now, much in the same way as China.
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  #9  
Old 28 Oct 2017
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Dutch Foreign Affairs Ministry says it's unsafe for travel. Now I now you should take some advice with a grain of salt but it has me a little worried.





Same for the UK Foreign Affairs:


Thanks for all the information though!
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