Our plan for Indonesia was to follow the surf along the south coast via the typical overlander’s island hopping route: West Timor – Flores – Sumbawa – Lombok – Bali – Java – Sumatra. With over 17,000 islands – 6,000 of which are inhabited – and hundreds of native groups, this archipelago seems more of a…

Comprehensive route through Malaysia Comprehensive route through Malaysia We can’t comment on a Malaysia experience except say that Penang represented a significant milestone: our gateway to mainland Asia. We urgently had to get visas rolling in Bangkok so collected our bikes and bee lined for the Thailand border… we weren’t even in country for a…

Thailand Actual Route ENTER BANGKOK We had started to think that we were getting pretty deadly on the navigation front… enter Bangkok. We couldn’t have made more of a dog’s breakfast riding into that place. There was one very critical piece of information we didn’t have – motorbikes aren’t allowed on their expressways. Murphy would…

Our route through MyanmarMyanmar Provinces APPROVAL TO OVERLAND Myanmar is not the easiest country to overland in terms of access… but we made the effort and were rewarded by a very interesting place. To cross Myanmar in your own vehicle it is compulsory to have a ministry approved itinerary and entourage including: 1) government officer…

Two things strike you when you arrive at the North-East Indian border town Moreh – the jungle would overtake the town if given a chance, and some serious rioting had been going on in the streets.The Seven Sister States plus Sikkim that make up North-East India.Seven nights from Moreh to Panitanki History The British annexed the…

Nepal Route Unknown to us, we were entering Nepal at a significant moment in history. The promulgation of the Constitution of Nepal was five years overdue and it was to be brought into effect any moment. Protests had been ongoing over the previous month with at least 45 people killed, including 8 security personnel. Although…

The window was closing to ride the Himalayas. Winter was coming. Brendan, a retired Aussie and wealth of information on riding Royal Enfields up rough roads who we bumped into in Nepal, rated the Ladakh region up there with the best. We had a quick diversion to Delhi for an Iranian visa, then we beelined…

Pakistan is a major fork in the road for overlanders. There are three international border crossing points: 1) India via Lahore, Punjab Province; 2) China via the scenic Karakoram Mountains, Gilgit-Baltistan Province; and 3) Iran via Taftan under police escort through sketchy Baluchistan Province. Our original Brisbane to Europe one-year-plan had a November departure, which allows…

End of Escort Police escort is mandatory until Bam which puts you clear of Balochistan, the territory that overlaps Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. From Bam you ride free. The 400km leg from Dalbandin (Pakistan) to Zahedan (Iran) turned into a 14 hour day… not to mention we were already on the back end of a…

Third time’s a charm. We breathed a sigh of relief as we passed customs on our third attempted Turkish border crossing. There was even a woman at the departure window not wearing a shawl. The times were changing. We rode to Dogubayazit for a room that night. More women not wearing headscarves, but also more…