OverlandSphere
Overland Travel, Expedition & Adventure Information for 4x4, motorcycle and truck overlanders
The Ethiopian Embassy gave us a card with the date when to collect our Visas. The date was Friday 26 April 2013. The Sudanese Embassy said “any day after Thursday”. So we in our wisdom decided that MONDAY 29 April 2013 will SURELY be the date to pick up the Visas. But no…..Sure the Ethiopian Visas were ready after SIX…
Since last year I’ve been researching the visa requirements. I thought I’d describe the requirements for the outward leg of my journey. Ground work The research pointed to doing it a number of ways. Get the visas before I left or on the road. As I have an ambitious plan to see as many countries as possible allied to a…
We started our Visa route with the Austrian Embassy who chased us away to get everything on internet and to make an appointment. All we wanted to ask was information but so….. we made via internet an appointment for Thursday morning 9.25 which was accepted. Next was the Ethiopian Embassy where the “Keeper of the Gate” very friendly told me…
… or face-to-face with an entanglement of red tape for not just one, but three central Asian countries.We decided to apply for our Russian, Mongolian and Kazakhstan visas from the UK before we left to allow a few clear months of bureaucracy-free motoring. Good plan; more time in the wilds of Siberia. Bad plan; a month behind schedule while our…
Should one apply for the visas before actually starting the journey? Well, we decided to apply for the visas for the first three countries where we are going to need them from home. Mainly, because we have heard from other travelers that their applications have been rejected or that they had problems getting the visas for these countries. For India…
Whilst the date of departure is drawing closer – we are currently planning to leave April 1, 2012 –, our travel preparations are slowly but steadily progressing. This is a short update on what has happened during the last weeks of preparation. Vaccinations Once more, we have discussed and pondered about vaccinations and health issues in general. We both still…
By Paul Archer Another breathe taking Mosque In South West Iran, there is a small city called Yazd. One of the hottest places in the country, and what felt like the world, it was our destination after Shiraz. FLAGS! Heading along the sunbaked smooth road, we stopped at sundown; searching for a desert campsite we spied a mud fort and…
By Paul Archer It’s a bit deserty out Leigh has an unquenchable need to fix and fiddle with things. Based purely on a love of engineering of all forms, this admirable trait in a team mechanic occasionally backfires. In one particular case it involved plugging the most important bit of electrical equipment, the GPS unit tracking our progress for the…
Islamabad to Waga 22nd November It is a 70 mile journey from Abbottobad. In 1961 the capital was moved from Karachi to Islamabad. We arrive in Islamabad and on our way into town we stop at Toyota to book the car in for a service and to diagnose the intermittent gear box problems we are having. At first the service…
7th November We cross the Khunjerab Pass at a height of 4700 metres, crossing from China to Pakistan. We feel relieved to have made it this far but are apprehensive about the next 84km before we reach the main Pakistani immigration post as we do not have a Pakistani visa. We have heard that it is possible to obtain the…
UZBEKISTAN 18TH October The Border We pass from Turkmenistan very quickly to the Uzbekistan border. As we arrive we notice the border gate is closed. We stop behind another car in anticipation of them opening the gate. 30mins later there is no sign of any movement, so I jump out to have a look around. I find the customs office…
TURKMENISTAN We arrive in Turkmenistan, a country described by many as the “North Korea of Central Asia”. As a traveller it is one of the most difficult countries to travel freely in; you either need a transit visa, or a tourist visa which requires you to have a compulsory guide. Whichever visa you choose on arrival, the officials will agree…
GEORGIA Batumi 2nd October Entering Georgia, we head to Batumi, a Black Sea resort, which the LP suggests is a modern lively place. As we enter the town, we are met with dilapidated buildings, torrential rain, flooded streets, huge flooded potholes everywhere and traffic jams. The town feels like a war zone, not quite what we were expecting! Driving through…
Turkey Part 3 26th September We leave Fethiye and head for Ankara, saying farewell to my Dad and Pam over a nice roast beef dinner. We leave at 6:40pm, anticipating that the drive to Ankara will take about 10 hours. Along the route, again, some of the roads are under-construction and unfinished, which slows us down. After 5 hours of…
TURKEY 29 August – 5th September 29th August Crossing the border from Greece to Turkey, we arrive to find border guards with large assault rifles. We have our vehicle checked and registered, pay for visas, insurances stamped and we are off into Turkey. Car insurance costs €52 for 3 months. Our visas are €30. The fuel prices at the border…
Just a word of warning to those of you contemplating a similar trip; we had a few issues at the Indian visa office today. 1. You can’t get a full one year tourist visa unless you are an Indian national (why would you need one if you already have an Indian passport?!) or you have a full itinerary with exact…
Just another Visa done: Lebanon One final Visa missing: Nepal (but that’s not mandatory as I should be able to get this at the border as well We had a family dinner yesterday night. Very emotional moments for me. Everybody brought a talisman and wished me good luck for my long journey. I had to bring my collection of maps…
Have been to the Lebanese embassy today. Thought I’ll get the visa right away. Not a change, but will collect it tomorrow.…
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