…or which way should I head back to Europe?!
First of all a short review how my trip around the World was planned:
Australia, New Zealand, Chile to Alaska (Panamericana), Russia and then through Europe back home.
And here how I have implemented this plan so far:
Australia, East-Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam (without my bike) and then back to Thailand. (these countries haven’t been done yet)
Plans are here to be changed. End of December we will be finished with travelling South-East Asia and the big question remains; where will head next? To travel South-East Asia on your own bike has a big disadvantage; it’s not possible to leave this part of the planet by road. Ok, China would be possible but only with a huge amount of money and approximately 4 months preparation time. Burma (Myanmar) is not possible, not even with lots of money. So the only way out is by Ship or plane and therefore the journey can be continued from any place on mother Earth. Travellers heading for Europe generally choose to fly the bikes from Bangkok to Kathmandu and then continue via India, Pakistan and Iran back to Europe.
We gave this option some thoughts but there are lots of reasons against it. I don’t want to list them all but I didn’t want to get cold on the trip so the southern part of the planet would be the only option. Australia has been visited, South America is to far away and my (our) Budget will not be enough anymore to cover the Panamericana. Hence South Africa! Why not cross Africa on our way home?
The plan is fixed and we have already booked our flight tickets.We’ll fly on X-mas Eve from Bangkok to Johannesburg and will spend X-mas day with Pieter and his family. Pieter has served together with me in UNMEE and lives near Pretoria. Together with Aki (a finish colleague of mine) I visited him in 2003 and spent a great time down in SA.
Ruth and I are planning to follow the East cost of Africa towards Europe. The exact route is not fixed yet but we will be able to visit some friends along the way.
I’m curious about your recommendations and hints to Africa.
Claudio
Hey guys.
You have been getting around quite a bit havent you?
We are now on the move north, the plan is changing everyday.
Are you flying with your bikes?
What shipping agent are you using?
Take care and hope to meet you before you fly out.
N+A
Hey guys
yep, we really covered some miles around south east asia. But enough is enough and Africa is calling.
After a few cost estimations and calculations we have decided to ship the bikes with TRANSPEED. A company based here in Bangkok and they know what they are doing. They are shipping bikes all the time. But keeping in mind that yours will be much lighter than our bike, flying will be much cheaper in the long run.
Stay in touch and hope to meet you guys before we leave BKK.
Claudio