Well it has been a long time
since the last blog and a lot has happened. I left Indonesia and arrived in
Singapore and then cycled into Malaysia to meet Mike in Kula Lumpur. During
this time there was some sad news from home. After spending a few days at Mike’s
cousin’s house (thanks again) we set of up peninsular Malaysia and into
Thailand. We met some interesting people along the way and had some great
riding. As usual it’s all in the video so take a look ...
As you can see from the video it
was getting hot. It was also time for a hair cut so went back to my roots
(literally) ...
Anyway we are now in Cambodia,
where the plan is to cycle up through Laos and into Vietnam. Mike leaves Hanoi
on the 25th of April and I’ll have to make my way home. I've currently done just over 10,000 km and anticipate another 2,000 km to Hanoi.
From there it will be between 12,000 and 15,000 km (route dependent) to Calais
to jump on a ferry and to see the white cliffs of Dover.
I’ll spend some time in Hanoi
sourcing visa and planning route options, but I basically have 4 options:
1: China -> Kazakhstan ->
Russia -> Europe
2: China -> Kazakhstan ->
Ferry across the Caspian sea -> Azerbaijan -> Georgia -> Europe
3: China -> Tajikistan ->
Uzbekistan -> Turkmenistan -> Iran - > Europe
4: Go to the Himalayas and then
fly into Europe and cycle back
All have their pro’s and con’s.
Option 1 is relatively straight
forward, apart from insects and potential swamp land in Russia. It could also
be a bit boring for long stretches. It is dependent on getting a Russia visa in
Hanoi, but there is an embassy there and loads of people must decide to go and
get the trans-Siberian train home and have to pick up a visa somewhere. China
and Kazakhstan visas should be relatively easy to obtain.
Option 2 is on paper quite straight
forward. The trouble is that you can only get a 30-day Kazakhstan visa. The route
to the ferry is not direct and additionally the ferry only leaves once a week
meaning I have to get there within 23 days. I may also need time in Kazakhstan
to obtain an Azerbaijan visa which makes things more tricky and tight on time frames.
Option 3 is the best but a visa
nightmare. The Pamir highway through Tajikistan is meant to be one of the
worlds cycling highlights but has recently been shut off to foreigners due to
civil unrest. Further on from there obtaining visas could be a headache.
Apparently they can be obtained at each neighboring country but at a time cost
of at least a week at a time. Due to the amount of countries I have to pass
through, time and cost will add up, plus the fact that I will arrive in Europe
in late autumn which is not ideal.
Option 4 was my original idea. I
have always wanted to cycle in the Himalayas and it is only possible to do it
during July, August and September. Tibet is also a no-go area for individual
foreign travel. It is possible, but highly risky, to enter by sneaking through
check points at night. If I went to the Himalayas I could either fly in to Nepal
and then into northern India (which would give me time to cycle south-east
China) or cycle across China to Kashgar and then south down the Karokaram Highway
into Islamabad. A big problem here is O’Bhamas drones and militants. Again, the
KKH is always cited as one of the worlds cycling highlights but isn’t really
practical at this point in history.
Basically I have until I enter
China to decide. It’s currently looking like option 1 and home for September.
Anyway, thanks for reading and
watching.
Take care, Neil
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