Initially I had up to 3 months to take a bike trip. I was mainly thinking of the States, maybe a bit up and down the west coast and then across to NYC. This would have been mainly to complete the loop of cycling around the world, which although is something I want to complete I just wasn't feeling it at this point in time.
What was it I liked about my last trip? Where do I really want to go? Where did I really want to go on my last trip but couldn't? .... The answers were mountains, Tibet and Tibet. Solo travel is not permitted in Tibet so it would have to be a group trip. I looked into the UK tour providers and they were expensive and the dates did not match my schedule. Looking around the internet I found a local Nepalese company called Makalu Adventure. So I got in touch, paid my deposit, booked my flights and paid my highly expensive insurance to cover high altitude mountain evacuation! The tour was only 3 weeks so I had an extra week at the start and a few days at the end just so I could see a bit of Kathmandu. As it turns out it is very lucky (due to me being unlucky) that I booked a 1 month trip and not a 3 month trip but that is another story and not for this blog.
So what to do in Kathmandu?
What to do outside of Kathmandu?
.. and then after an amazing few days it was time to fly into Lhasa at 3600m altitude and spend a few days acclimatising before setting of on the 16 day bike ride. The ride would be ~1200km, with 10% off road and 6 >5000m mountain passes and included a trip up to Everest basecamp. Without doubt it was to be the highest I had ever been. Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, is a great city and it would not be complete without a visit to the Potala Palace.
... A great day out ...
So I am now back in the UK and totally un-surprised (but disappointed) in the lack of success by the England football team in this years world cup.
So over the next week or so, I will do a couple of blog posts to outline the bike trip. It brought back so many memories of my last trip (which had started to feel like a distant dream) ...
Oh .. and since I just mentioned my last trip I will return to it quickly. I mentioned in the last blog post that I may do a blog on equipment and visa issues to help other cycle tourists as other peoples blogs had been a help to me. In terms of equipment, I pretty much used the standard issue stuff, Steel framed bike, Rolhoff (though optional, conventional gears are fine), free standing tent, multi-fuel stove, power gorilla for charging, android phone (vital for downloading google maps), Schwalbe tires (VITAL!!!!), chess set, thermarest sleeping mat, down sleeping bag (vital if near freezing conditions), small net book, diary and Ortileb panniers (vital). There were one or 2 occasions where I posted things home as you learn to know what you need and what you don't need. One of the lessons of the trip was to eliminate every unnecessary item from your life as certain things (and people) just drag you down.
So as sad as it is... a tribute to my bike and gear ....
Built to Last!
So onto the awkward issue of visas. A potential nightmare. Everywhere is pretty straight forward and can be obtained on arrival apart from China (unless entering from HK), Vietnam and central Asia. China and Vietnam are pretty straight forward as all neighboring and nearby countries have embassies where they can be obtained. I got my Vietnamese visa in KL, and my Chinese visa in Hanoi, with just a few days wait each time. I had to extend my Chinese visa in Lanzhou which took a working week.
Central Asia is a totally different ball game and is constantly changing. Basically I used the information from the excellent Caravanistan website which had lots of up to date information on the application process and waiting times etc. and tips for dealing with the embassies. Information on how long visas would take with or without a letter of invitation (LOI) was useful as then it determined if one was needed or not. If one was needed I then used Stantours, which again were excellent. At the time I was a bit cautious about using them as their website was out of date, but with so many positive recommendations from other cyclists and travelers I decided to give them a try. Upon contacting them they were very helpful. They explained what I needed and by when and in a very clear manner and always promptly replied to emails.
So in summary ....
- Kazakhstan - Visa obtained in Urumqi, China
- Kyrgyzstan - 60 day Visa free on arrival - HURRAH !!!
- Tajikistan - Obtained Visa in 1 day in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. My mistake was that I only put down 30 days. If you are cycling the Pamir highway they allocate 45 days for the same price but I did not know this. I left Tajikistan the day my visa expired due to waiting for my Turkmenistan visa. If my passport was delayed at the Turkmenistan embassy I would have been in an awkward situation. If cycling the Pamir highway also remember to obtain the GBAO permit at the same time for a few dollars more.
- Uzbekistan - Obtained visa in 1 day (with LOI) in Bishkek. It is only a few days longer without an LOI, but I wanted my passport back on the same day so I could then get it in to the Iranian embassy. It is annoying how all of these visas have to be done sequentially. The only embassy which did not require the passport whilst processing the visa was the Turkmenistan embassy, but by that point it was the last visa needed.
- Turkmenistan - 5 days stated, but was Monday to Monday. Obtained in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. In other embassies (such as in Tashkent, Uzbekistan) a lot longer processing time is needed.
- Iran - A 2 staged process. First of all you have to apply to see you are eligible for a visa. This was done through Stantours. If successful then an LOI is sent to your embassy of choice. I picked mine up in Bishkek. A general courtesy tip is not to wear shorts in the Iranian embassy.
In total I spent almost $1000 US on visas, LOI's and bank transfer fees. Visas should not be over looked in your budgeting plans.
Anyway .... coming soon .... THE RIDE TO EVEREST!
