There and Back Again - The Route

Hi All

So here we are on the fourth instalment, and I haven’t even left yet..

Jabs..
Forgot to arrange the jabs!
Best get on that one..

Now admittedly it’s been a long while since I went abroad, but then it was a case of popping to the Doctors surgery having let them know where I was going, and getting jabbed by the Practice Nurse.
This time though, looks like I have to pay to have a consultation with a Pharmacy Travel Consultant who is supposed to tell me which jabs are needed.

..anyway.. Suppose it might be time to go over the route..

For a good portion of the trip I’ll not need a visa, and, apart from insurance, the only additional cost should be to secure a Vignette in those countries that require one.
A vignette is a form of short-term Road Tax or Toll.
Quite inexpensive in most countries as you can buy one to cover the trip.

Now France and Germany have no shortage of fascinating places I would like to visit, but the plan is to fly through Western Europe like I was being chased by a guy with a flame thrower.
This is simply because Western Europe is just too damned expensive for my tight budget.
I hope to spend the first night, after a very long ride, near Baden Baden in Germany, and the second night close to the Czech border.
I’m planning on overnight stays just before each border, as being processed can take a long, long while, so I figured it best to arrive at borders with the full day still ahead.

From there, the route will take me through the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and into Turkey. You’ll find me taking these places at a slightly more leisurely pace.

I had originally planned to ride through Iran, and maybe crossing to Oman and the UAE before taking ship for Pakistan. Really fancied doing the full ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ bit through the desert.
Regrettably though, Iran are proving to be a challenge when it comes to securing a visa, and I’ve had to amend the route to take me through Armenia and Azerbaijan before crossing the Caspian Sea to Kazakhstan. From here, through Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Pakistan.
I know very little about these places and look forward to changing that.
From here I enter India.
The original final goal, and still the place I most look forward to exploring.

I’ll cover the next stage a little later, since everything is kind of up in the air from Myanmar onwards.

Visas.
Did you know that if you re-arrange the letters in ‘visa’, it spells ‘Arrrggghhhhhh!’
OK, it doesn’t, but it damn well should do..

India were great. Once I figured out the procedure it was just a case of filling in the form and heading to the Consulate office in London.
Pakistan are another matter.
The form asked for a confirmation of a hotel booking, which I sent, but they asked for additional documents. Mainly, a confirmation of a hotel booking.
Didn’t I do that already?
They also want a detailed itinerary.
I’m a tourist doing tourist stuff….
The hotel failed to respond to emails, so I made a new hotel booking with a one that sent me a formal letter of invitation and credentials.
They also do motorcycle tours, so that might solve the itinerary issue.
Here’s hoping.
I also have to transit through a small bit of China between Tajikistan and Pakistan.
Apparently the white background on my visa photo isn’t white enough…
Tajikistan won’t even accept a form until I have a visa for China.

I’d best not say what I feel the word ‘Bureaucrat’ should be re-arranged into.

Still hoping to leave in a couple of weeks, but I guess there’s a fair bit of running around between here and there.

That’s it for the moment, while the photographer touches up the photo..

Have a good week.
With luck, another post or two should see me under way.

Until then, ride cheerfully.

Image source https://www.pinterest.com/pin/233272455668442636/