Plans have been firming up since I received my Russian visa from David at STANtours. I can now enter and leave Russia as needed to finish up this trip. David is one of the most helpful people to procure visas in that part of the world, and I really appreciate his help.
As it stands now, my itinerary looks like this:
Depart Anchorage for Washington. D.C., on Wednesday, June 3. I have to stop in Washington (also known as Sodom on the Potomac) for a ceremony at the Department of Justice on June 4.
Depart Washington, D.C. from Baltimore Airport June 6 on BA Fl 228 for London.
Depart London on June 7 on BA Fl 680 for Istanbul, overnighting at the Istanbul Airport Hotel.
Depart Istanbul on June 8 on Turkish Airlines TK360 for Osh.
Arrive Osh, Kyrgyzstan on June 9 at 0405 local time.
My jet lag will be epic, so I have reserved a room at the Biy Ordo Guest House until Friday, June 12. If I am still not quite up to riding off into the wilds, I will extend my stay a little until I am up for more adventure. I also have to reload the bike, etc. The folks at MuzToo say it will be ready.
From Osh, my route will lie north and east, through the rest of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and into Mongolia. The precise route will be determined later, but that is where you can expect to see me headed.
What comes after Mongolia? I don't know yet. I admit I am not looking forward to riding back through Russia, so I may go on to Vladivostok, and ship the bike to L.A. from there. Also, I may try to take the train from Ulaanbaatar through China and into Nepal, with the bike going as freight. I have to look into that some more. Then I could go south into India, and maybe even into Myanmar. My options are open. What we do know is wherever the front wheel points, that's where I will end up.
A point I must impress on readers, however, is that I fully intend to visit Issyk-Kul Lake in Northern Kyrgyzstan. If I don't, Romaniac will howl a complaint and send lightning bolts thundering towards me. And also realize that the reason I must go is because he decided not to. It's a boy thing . . .
Just for the record, I paid a British Adventure Travel company thousands of dollars to guide me and my mountain bike to Lake Issyk-kul among other Kazakh and Kyrgyz places. They, however, did not live up to their end of the bargain and bypassed the lake to save time.
ReplyDeleteAs for your impending South America adventure, I assume you will be attending a Subaru head-gasket changing school prior to your trip.
Glad to see you got your visa, and plans are firming up.
ReplyDelete