World trip, but Thailand messed up my plan
 

Hi, great adventurers.

I've been planning a trip around the world for some years now. I've got the money and the vehicle, just needs to grow the balls for it.
Thought they were big enough now, and was looking into shipping alternatives when I discovered that one needs a GUIDE for Thailand now?! Wtf?
I was planning driving through China and do this group-thing there with the guide and everything, but Thailand too?
I was really looking forward to drive my own car in Asia, after my holidays there, but the cost and impracticality with a guide all the way through china and Thailand seems to much.

I joined this wonderful forum because it must be a source of great knowledge and inspiration. So I would like to get suggestions to alternative routes.
I'm starting off from Norway, and will go east and ship my car from somewhere to USA. I was thinking Bangkok to USA. But now??
Maybe go Mongolia, China to Korea?! Can I ship from Korea to USA?

Would love suggestions on this :)


Peace and love, Eirik. Driving a Citroën 2CV.

Don’t give up yet. The situation is easing. Join this Facebook group for up to date advice. Thailand- new regulation affecting overland travellers. It’s mega expensive to ship from Bangkok. KL is better.


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Others have shipped to USA from Korea, but I think that also involves getting to Korea by ferry first

I have been following the situation in Thailand quite closely. I am a member of several facebook groups that discuss the matter and I spend a couple of months in Thailand each year. I have also overlanded through China and Thailand and spent a good bit of time there.

The situation right now as I understand it:

Coming from Myanmar and into Thailand: No way around the new rules about mandatory permits and guides!

Coming from Laos and into Thailand: Difficult but some travellers have been able to come through without permits and guides. There are many different bordercrossings to try.

From Cambodia and into Thailand: Seems pretty easy nowadays, at least if you choose the smaller border crossings. Easy as meaning without guides and permits.

From Malaysia and into Thailand: As Cambodia, seems pretty easy to get into Thailand from Malaysia without permits and guides.

Of course nobody knows how this will work out in a 6 months or a year or two from now but for the moment it seems possible to get into Thailand from several directions without permits and guides. You will get a 30 day TIP as before this bullshit rules about mandatory guiding and permits.

Also note that if one cannot get into Thailand from Laos you can get into Cambodia from Laos relativly easy - although there seem to be a little permit thing goin on at that border too for the moment, but relatively easy to obtain. And from Cambodia it seems easy to get into Thailand - for the moment.

If I was to decide if to do a overland trip now through Thailand I would probably have done it. But I would have had to make a back up plan...

I'm sorry for being dumb, but by KL you mean....?

And thanks to all for the replies. Appreciated.
I don't think I'll gamble on these things. Not at least start out as a gamble, I'd like to start with a good plan, and then the gambling starts if the good plan fails.

I like sun and heat much more than the cold, so that's why I am aiming at Asia instead of the northern route through Mongolia and Russia maybe, and ship to USA from there.
But I also don't want to be driving on time-limits and constantly worrying about guides and costs. A normal Visum is "stressful" enough.

Any suggestions about good places to ship to USA from, if not Thailand?

KL = Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)

I figured, just wanted to be sure.

I guess shipping from Malaysia would satisfy my wish to drive in Asia. Going China, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia, before shipping to USA sounds nice. But those damn "guides"....

The reason for thinking China is because I wanted to avoid Pakistan and India because of safety issues. Or is that just wrong thinking so?

I'll look into a northern alternative like Mongolia/Russia and find somewhere to ship from in Russia or China.

Well Pakistan is never ideal, but you can cross it with reasonable low risk (you're getting free police escort).
India is usually not such a big deal if you are a man, safety is more an issue in terms of driving, or if you are a woman travelling alone.

The other route, you could go over Mongolia to Vladivistok (not through China) and ship with ferry to Japan or Korea. And then further, but you would have to check it out.

Northern Pakistan and the KKH is fairly safe, I went through China from Kyrgyzstan (5 days through China, keeps costs down as opposed to crossing all of China) . KKH was the highlight of my trip. India if you are not keen can be crossed from Lahore in Pakistan to the Nepalese border in 3 to 6 days, however it is well worth doing Leh, Ladakh if the time of year is right, and the Corbett National Park. Nepal was also a highlight of my UK to NZ trip. Like India 'Light'. The culture and colour of India but without the hassle.

What are your safety concerns about Pakistan and India? There is a small risk of separatist violence in Kashmir but is still a major tourism destination. As mentioned above driving standards are interesting but similar to what I encountered in Istanbul, Thessaloniki, and Tehran. As a solo female traveller I experienced hassle in India but managed to shrug most of this off, the men that hassled me were not a patch on the Turkish men that hassled me, spiked my drinks and grabbed me.

Pakistan, we all know that passing from Iran into Pakistan is dodgy through Baluchistan, and up the KKH there are places where you need to ride in convoy with the local cops, but I wouldn't write off the whole country because of one region. There have been more people killed in London terrorist attacks than tourists on the KKH in a decade. Doesn't mean I avoid London.

Thanks Lovetheworld and Fern.

I guess my safety concerns with Pakistan is my safety ;)
Well, I mean I don't want to take high risks, but I can see that maybe the risk is not as high as I think. But I will need to know what I'm doing, and be up to date on the events there.

What India goes.... When reading blogs, and from the tv-programs I've seen, it just doesn't appeal to me. Although I realize that the biggest challenges, might give the most important memories. So, yeah, I don't know what to think.

Even though if I don't do china and take the lower route through Pakistan and India instead, its still the problem with Thailand and more of the countries in that part of the world. Shipping would be nice from Thailand or Malaysia.

I think, for the moment, I will look into two routes simultaneously. The Asian route, and the northern route through Mongolia, shipping from somewhere around Vladivostok.

You need a guide for Myanmar too.

True thats why its more inteligent travel trough India, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia etc by plain and Bus and just rent local bikes for just 4 dollars per day. This way exploring the beauti of Asia is very cheap: http://schoene-motorradreisen.de/?re...ok&design=dark