Tour route advice

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
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in4time
Posts: 219
Joined: 13 Jun 2010, 4:55pm

Tour route advice

Post by in4time »

All being well I’m looking forward to a long tour next year ie. UK to Singapore! I’m pretty comfortable planning, using the usual resources but wanted to reach out for any advices re best/worst/avoid routes.
TIA for anything :)
PT1029
Posts: 1744
Joined: 16 Apr 2012, 9:20pm

Re: Tour route advice

Post by PT1029 »

I expect quite a few tours/routes get posted/blogged on line, so a search might produce something.
A few years ago 2 friends cycled to Singapore, you can find their route and some pictures here :-

https://www.polarsteps.com/jamieandmari ... ew-zealand (takes a while to load)

Cycling through western China was quite legal, though the police could be obstructive/unhelpful, but were always polite (and even bought them dinner before driving them back the where they started that morning, saying there were no hotels for foreigners in their city despit camping beng legal as far as they could tell). They ended up catching a coach to get through the hassle (even then the coach had road checks at frequent intervals). SW China was no problem at all (except for a flood evacuation one night).

If you need a quicker route, another friend is currently crossing Turkey using a quicker route (D100 road, heading for Tehran). His photos (starting in the UK) are here :-

https://www.polarsteps.com/IrajMaghouna ... -to-tehran

Note the different routes into Istanbul. The route used by the Singapore bound cyclists avoids a long busy trudge through the edges of Istanbul. My friend currently cycling in Turkey used the train for some bits of Istanbul to avoid the busy roads.

I guess you will need some Covid documents or other.
simonhill
Posts: 5226
Joined: 13 Jan 2007, 11:28am
Location: Essex

Re: Tour route advice

Post by simonhill »

You say next year. I presume that would be a spring set off, so in fact only 6 months away. Good luck with that as I can't see many countries having opened up by then.

Medium term, I see the biggest problem being what changes, implemented due to Covid, are retained. BC (Before Covid), I was pretty much up on Visas for S, SE and W Asia. These have all changed now, with most borders currently closed or severely restricted. Who knows what will happen once Covid eases and relying on what someone did 2 years ago could be fraught with danger. In fact regardless of Covid, I would advise that whenever asking for info, always ask for a date stamp. People often wax lyrically about their experience as if they were yesterday, when in fact it might have been 10 or 20 years ago. Did I tell you how easy it was to get a Chinese visa in Bangkok - oh sorry, I should have said it was 10years ago, not anymore.

Personally, I think that crossing borders could be a pain for the next few years.

Also, unless things have changed recently, Brits cannot get solo visas for Iran.

Sadly, the Lonely Planet Thorn tree forum has closed down. It was a great source of travel info from people on the ground. TripAdvisor is a poor substitute, but can be useful.

I would normally be in Asia for the winter. Obviously all cancelled for last year. I am having my pre Christmas tour in Europe this year and hoping to get somewhere in Asia in January. At the moment the only places looking open are India (with recently announced reciprocal restrictions), Sri Lanka and Thailand, but no border crossings to other countries.
jacobean
Posts: 120
Joined: 12 May 2009, 11:57pm

Re: Tour route advice

Post by jacobean »

>>TripAdvisor is a poor substitute, but can be useful.

TripAdvisor is great for finding frivolous reports from tourists who've found a hair on their pillow in their 3 or 4 star hotel but embellish it to make it sound like their room was a murder scene. :D

Seriously though, you're right the demise of Thorn Tree was a serious loss to the internet. TripAdvisor can be good for accommodation options but even then can be wildly misleading. For example, some very well-run establishments take a slating or don't get enough good reviews. While some of their most plastic / mediocre competition get inundated with glowing reviews.
simonhill
Posts: 5226
Joined: 13 Jan 2007, 11:28am
Location: Essex

Re: Tour route advice

Post by simonhill »

I was thinking of the TA forum.

Agreed there's lots of petty questions on it, but there can also be excellent up to date info on entry requirements. I've been following a few Asian countries and there is regular up to date info on things like visas, entry requirements, etc.

I've never particularly bothered with the reviews, etc.
in4time
Posts: 219
Joined: 13 Jun 2010, 4:55pm

Re: Tour route advice

Post by in4time »

Thanks so much for the advice, really appreciated.
As mentioned, some of the resources out there are quite dated and don’t reflect the changed and changing times we’re currently experiencing. Body swerving the C syndrome as it’s such an evolving issue.
Apart from the 90/180 rule for none EU citizens Europe will not present much other than a lot of fun 🤞. It’s beyond there that things get more interesting. I’ll plod on…!
Thanks again..
simonhill
Posts: 5226
Joined: 13 Jan 2007, 11:28am
Location: Essex

Re: Tour route advice

Post by simonhill »

Thanks for getting back - always nice to know it's actually read.

One thing you may want to mull over is are you prepared to fly over problem countries. Problems can be due to all sorts of things, but it usually boil down to not getting a visa.

For example, you could fly to India that has a 6 month visa and do plenty of cycling there, chasing the weather. Then if borders open via Myanmar to Thailand and down to Singapore. If Myanmar still closed post coup, then fly to Thai. Not ideal, but I always like a fall back up plan in my mind.

Whatever, good luck and enjoy.
in4time
Posts: 219
Joined: 13 Jun 2010, 4:55pm

Re: Tour route advice

Post by in4time »

Oh very much read and appreciated. I’ve downloaded Polarsteps too; a new and interesting app to me.

I’m approaching things with a healthy dose of realism and will fly to avoid unreasonable risk and officious border protocols.

SE Asia will be a wonderful experience as I head South to Singapore. Very tempted to revisit Indonesia, skip AU and have some fun on NZ South Island. We’ll see.

Thanks again 😀
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