Want to plan first big trip - UK going East to Asia or South to Africa?
 

Good Evening everyone!

As the title states, I'm a 23 year old Brit and after years or dreaming of taking an extended trip on the bike, I find myself in the fortunate position of being able to embark on the journey next year through savings and coming into a bit of money following the passing of a family member.

I have travelled for work and pleasure through parts of Europe, Japan and small parts of the US, I love travel, history and want to see more of the world.

The idea of looking further afield into the likes of Asia or Africa seems incredibly exciting but slightly daunting. I understand going East as a Brit is quite difficult due to being unable to enter Iran so I've explored options to travel through the 'Stans and into Nepal through China by groups such as the "Overland through China" Facebook page.

At the same time following routes similar to Ted Simon or Chris Donaldson into Africa seems incredibly exciting but I know getting bikes into Egypt can be difficult and that currently parts of Africa are getting increasingly dodgy.

I guess what I'm asking is to see where everyone else started. I have a Royal Enfield Himalayan that I've started hitting the trails on and loving so at the end of the day I'd just love to swing a leg over it and head deep in the sticks but it seems to be increasingly difficult to find routes.

Any input massively appreciated.

Cheers
Oz

Hi Oz,

really nice ambitions!

Going either East into Asia or South into Africa were also things that appealed to me when I started riding longer trips: I liked the idea of starting 'at home' (NL for me) and travel far from there, seeing the world around me change day by day. It seems like you have similar route ideas in mind.

My first big trip was Europe -> Turkey -> Caucasus -> Stans -> back via Russia. Back then there were basically three route options to get from Caucasus to the Stans: 1. Russia, 2. Iran, 2. Ship from Azerbaijan to Kazakhstan (I took the latter). However, I understand that currently all of these options are either impossible or at least doubtful. Then getting from the Stans to South East Asia would require going through China (assuming Pakistan is no option), which would be the next challenge. No personal experience here, but I heard it can be difficult and expensive. But you probably know already more about that than me.

I can recommend looking into an Africa trip on the West side: Europe - Morocco - Mauritania - Senegal. I am doing this route right now, will cross from Senegal to Gambia in a couple of days :).
I underestimated the awesomeness of Morocco before I went there. I knew already it was popular among motorcyclists, but I didn't understand how nice it really is: The country is incredibly diverse and interesting to explore (especially by motorcycle). I think it is a great place to start, and I also think it can be a very good 'stepping stone' between Europe and Africa: It is on the African continent, but the infrastructure (hotels, roads, etc.) is very good, which makes travelling there easy and pleasant.

On the Asia trip I did some trails, but that was with two people. On the Africa trip I am alone, so I am sticking to roads with traffic, no remote offroad trails. Needlesly to say, if you want to go actual offroad in places like Western Sahara or Mauritania you really really need to know what you are doing, and you probably shouldn't be alone. That being said, if main roads are an option for you, I would definitely recommend looking into this route.

Good luck with choosing your route!

Best,
Saskia

I've done a few tours of Europe and had planned a long trip to Mongolia and back this year, passing through the central Asian loop and returning along the Silk Road. However part way into this I came to the conclusion that the dream and the reality were not the same and I was spending a lot of days alone just hammering down the road to do no more than get to the places I really wanted to visit. To me, motorcycle travel is about being able to experience places, and the sheer mileage of this trip meant I'd experience little but sitting on some road. So I came home the pretty way through southern Europe instead, determined to re-evaluate what was right for me.

And the question is, what is right for YOU? I'm not sure setting out on such a trip is a good idea if you haven't done some shorter trips (say 4-5,000 miles) to know what it feels like and how you cope with long periods in the saddle and away from home. It's an experience for sure, but for some it works and for others it doesn't.

As for routes if you do head for Asia, it's all doable. You do have to ride in Russia at some point, even if it's only the hop from Georgia to Kazakhstan, but you can easily get a tourist visa in London and from all accounts the Russians are hospitable towards travellers who remember they are guests. The people of a country are not the same as the government of a country! Just take plenty of USD to change into RUB as Russia is disconnected from SWIFT, and western cards don't work there. That will get you as far as the Stans, which is most definitely Asia. Have a read of caravanistan.com

If I was going to do it again I'd probably airfreight my bike out to Almaty and cut out a lot of "dead" mileage just droning down some dull highway. Also psychologically I'd know that every mile I did I'd be getting closer to home. And the cost of the air freight would be in the same ball park as the fuel, food and hotels to ride there.

Onward if you want to go to SE Asia is somewhat harder. China is large, difficult to travel due to bureaucracy, and expensive as you must have a guide and use tourist hotels along the way. If you do want to head SEA you pretty much have to go Iran-Pakistan-India then there are a bunch of restrictions on borders and what you can ride further down. Again, don't be frightened off by "hostile" governments, the Iranian people are incredibly warm and hospitable.

Based on Tomkats answer I have some additions to my previous post:

If you want to venture out of Europe, I think the Europe-Senegal route is a good one to look into, given that it is comparetively easy to access and reasonably safe. But indeed it depends on what you are looking for in motorcycle traveling and many other factors (how much time, budget, etc.).
I personally mainly like the motorcycling part of motorcycle travel and for me the best days are days spent on the bike all day, seeing ordinary things in the context of the country I am in: villages, the smaller roads, landscapes... Even the 'boring' rides (straigh, flat) don't feel boring to me. I genuinly enjoy just being in my own head for days. But that is not true for everyone.

So here the thing about my route suggestion: Western Sahara and Mauritania, when sticking to the main roads, are said to be boring to ride. I personally didn't experience it this way at all (in Mauritania I passed a wind farm and was busy for one hour being amazed by the fact that Mauritania has wind farms), but be aware that going there means many days of seeing just plain flat desert.

If you want to try out a smaller tour first to figure out your preferred 'mode' of travel (slow vs fast, camping vs guest houses, etc.), I think you cannot do anything wrong with a trip to Morocco!