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The Plan

Plans.. If you’ve talked to me about my trip you know how well plans have worked out for me for this first leg of the trip.  For posterity sake, I’m going to outline a plan.

The Plan:

  • Start off in Bangkok, Thailand and head up to Chiang Mai.  From there I’m going to take a couple of weeks and finish a programming contract I have that is based in the USA.
  • Either get a flight or bus up north to China
  • Take trains around China towards Szechuan.  Why Szechuan?  Because I hear that is where China’s spiciest food is from.
  • Figure out when Chinese New Year traffic starts and make sure that I’m out of China before then otherwise I’ll get stuck
  • 30th January 2012 make sure I’m at the starting line for The Ride For Cambodia.  It is a charity event that I’m coorganizing in Cambodia where a group of us are buying scooters (yeah Scoots!!) and will ride across the country for about 2 weeks.
  • Upon surviving the ride, head back to Spain to pick up the bike
  • Spend a couple of weeks in Spain in the Basque Country near Bilbao
  • Either head up to London via ferry to work on visas for the rest of the trip or just…
  • Travel through Europe eventually getting to Turkey.  Get any visas that I don’t already have for the rest of the trip
  • Ride through Azerbaijan frantically with the short transit visa to get the bike into customs to cross the Caspian Sea
  • Take a boat across the Caspian
  • Frantically ride across Turkmenistan because of their short transit visa
  • Check out the other ‘stans as time allows
  • Tour north to Kazahstan and Mongolia
  • Enter Russia and ride the “old summer road of bones” to Magadan!

That’s it.  That’s the plan.  What do you think?   I have a rough timeline to follow where I need to go late enough in the year that the river levels are low enough from snow melt but then the ambient temperature isn’t so cold that it is snowing.  Basically, I have to be done by August. Pond fishing is a great hobby, especially for those who enjoy the great outdoors. It is also an enjoyable activity to do with friends or family. While it does not require any fancy equipment, there are a few things that you will need before you head out to the Pond. If you are interested in learning more about pond fishing but don’t know where to start, pond fishing for beginners will guide you through the basics and provide some tips to make your first experience a good one.

Today I’ve made it to Chiang Mai, Thailand and am staying at Rider’s Corner.  I started their website last year and it is great to be back!   Not only is it  a good restaurant, they have tons of excellent information about motorcycling for Thailand.  What do you think of that google??

9 Comments

  1. gary says:

    Are you taunting the google or just trying to do some SEO?

  2. daveg says:

    just a little SEO :)

  3. Clive Hale says:

    Dave – make sure to look me up when you get to the UK. I have ridden London to Siberia and know all about the Caspian crossing and the ‘Stans visas local “foibles” et al
    Regards
    Clive

  4. daveg says:

    Hey Clive! Good to see you’re still tuning in. Did you get all your visas in London?

  5. Smitty says:

    Sounds like a good plan Dave.

    I’ve got 2 more years before I can take early retirement ( I turn 62 in 2013. Damn I hate getting old!!!). My plan is to move to Europe, probably Ireland, since I have Irish citizenship… explore Scandanavia, eastern Europe and north Africa for a year or two… then head east.

    Be safe,
    Smitty

  6. daveg says:

    Smitty, that’d be great, esp with irish citizenship. I think you’re less limited to which countries you can visit than with USA.

  7. Ben says:

    YES YES YES, Rock on buddy! I can’t wait to read about your adventures and see all your wonderful photos!

  8. First of all, I really hope that, somehow, we see you some time in 2012.

    Secondly, Northern France, central and Southern Germany and at least *parts* of Eastern Europe are a MUST for your trip. You can do all that in two months if you rush. It will all blow you away, I promise. It’s fantastic riding, and amazing amazing sites. Stefan has all our routes online, and I highly recommend them. And on another trip, you have to go back and do Norway, Scotland and Iceland (you’d need another two months for those).

    Thirdly, GET ON TWITTER. And link Twitter to your blog. And then we can all at least know where you are (and other riders can more easily find you as well). Become a Twit on Twitter, dude!

  9. Erdem says:

    When you get to Azerbaijan from Georgia, try not to use the (Kızılköprü) Red Bridge border post. It’s infamous for bribe demanding officers. They give you a few days anyway…

    Don’t worry about making it on the ferry before your bike permit expires. You only need to make it to the customs area at the ferry and check the bike in. The bike is considered “out of the country” as long as it stays there. Noone knows when the ferry will show up anyway.

    You can even camp at the customs zone. It’s probably the cheapest and safest accommodation in Baku. The only danger is the officers. If they ask for money, you can tell them that you gave all of it at the border crossing.

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