Countries
Germany
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| Germany |
We often think of the well built cycle paths, with asphalt, without traffic and emissions, noise and horning :) And how flat it was - we were mostly cycling along rivers: Neckar, Rems, Altmühl and Danube
We were here: March 2008
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| Austria |
We cycled along the Danube, left the cycle pass in Melk, went to St. Pölten and back to the Danube in Tulln. The danube cycle pass was a little boring to us, but we did not see the supposingly nicest part of it, the Wachau, due to our trip to St. Pölten. In spring/summer countryside there for sure is quite nice.
We were here: March 2008
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| Slovakia |
It was the shortest trip in a country so far. Only our 10 minutes lasting danubecrossing in croatia was shorter (but we do not count this as being in a country). But there was a extremly well build cycling path - two lanes and crash barrier
We were here: March 2008
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| Hungary |
For us the spring startet here. Flowers, blossoms on the fruittrees, cute little villages. We cycled roughly along the Danube. In the beginning we went away from it, because we did not cycle along the boring dam. There were very few signs of the cycle path and we went on normal roads. We found Budapest as a very nice city due to its architecture, flair and nightlife. But we did not well with the language and learned or remembered very few words.
We were here: April 2008
Serbia
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| Serbia |
There are loads of sings for the cycle pass, with lovely sayings on it. We cycle 10 min. into croatia because we want enter Novi Sad on the southern side (here lives our HC Contact). We left the Danube and did not cycle through Belgrade. Later we go along the serbian side of the carpathian break through. Wonderful!
In the beginning we were afraid of mines - but there are none!
We started to feel the hospitality of the people.
We had prejudices or better missing knowledge about the country and its people. Only things in our mind were the media reports about war and war crimes.
We were here: April 2008
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| Romania |
Here we have the so far worst roads, bad (oft drunken) drivers, that are not taking care of cyclists. We cycle a little along the carpathian mountains. Take care, there are still bears here - so put your food away from the tent. Unfortunately we have not seen enough of this country. The northern part of the carpathian mountains (espec. Siebenbürgen) or the danube delta must be very nice. Though we do not know how good cycling works in the delta with all the river crossings. Within the country you will find one village next to the other. We often had find problems finding a camping spot. It is one of the poorest european countries and quite basic. One can find many donkey- or horse-pulled-vehicles. The food selection in the shops partly low (espec. milk) so we had to do many shopping stops. One can find water everywhere in the wells. It is good and drinkable. More information at www.bikeromania.de
We were here: April 2008
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| Bulgaria |
The roads get better again coming from Romania. The coast of the black sea is supposed to be very touristic so it might be to the best for cycling. Wir travelled through nice hilly and mountanieous landscape. Superb was Velicko Tarnovo and the monesteries everywhere.
There is a new bordercrossing to Turkey (so it is 3 in total) at Lesovo. The roads are extremely well and there was no traffic (not so at the main one at Edirne, where all trucks go through).
We were here: beginning of may 2008
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| Turkey |
We think Turkey is a very interesting country to visit, especially because of its Variety of nature, culture and people. The people are kind and hospital all over the country. One get invited for tea everywhere. Drinking tea in a vegetable shop is a wonderful experience.
There are several possibilities for a tour to Iran. In the beginning we went along the west coast. Sometimes exhausting (up and down all the time) but wonderful. One finds culture in Troy and Bergama and swimming fun everywhere. From Bergama there is a nice and quiet road through the hills/mountains to Manisa, which was not on our maps. But this way one can avoid the roads to Izmir (in case you do not want to visit Ephesos). From Manisa to Konya one passes some nice blue lakes and slowly climb up to the central anatolian plateau. After Konya heading to Cappadokia there are boring 100km. We we not too fascinated by the caravanserei Sultan Hani as well. But Cappadokia is wonderful. Especially the not so touristic entry into the region (through Ihlara gorge) was superb. Coming to eastern Turkey it is becoming more mountaineous and scant. We had heavy wind from NorthEast. People are poorer than in the western part (but not less kind). In the southeastern part the PKK still operates. When we were in Turkey they even kidnapped tourists at the mountain Ararat (northern part).
Generally we were surprised by high prices.
The roads were good everywhere and there is always a wide sidestrip good for cycling.
The coast is supposed to be rainy and there is much traffic, which is why we did not go this way.
Do not miss Istanbul, it is a cosmopolitan city for all your senses :) But maybe enter it with public transport. We would not recommend to cycle into it.
We were here May - July 2008
Iran
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| Iran |
We can not tell a lot about Iran as a cycling country. We spend there 1,5 month but we only cycled 11 days, the rest we traveled by bus and train. At the beginning because we had troubles with our visa, then because it was too hot and we were no more interested in deserted areas. You should study the temperature charts seriously. In our opinion the summer was too hot to cycle. The coast of the Caspian Sea is extremely humid, but there are nice fields of sun flowers. Our biking route was at the beginning from Maku to Tabrz and then from Gorgan to Mashhad. Unfortunately we cycled almost all the time along the main streets. We tried to avoid the stinky traffic, but we were not really successful with finding alternative routes.
In general you can say, that Iran is definitely a very interesting country. With a lot of sights, magnificent buildings, an unbeatable hospitality and friendliness of the people and very cheap public transportation (also the transport of the bike is usually no problem, it just needs some patients...).
You should in any case follow the special dressing-instructions, which are also to obtain while cycling (scarf, long sleeved dress until the knees and long trousers…). Already the picture for applying for the visa has to show women with scarf. You should also get some information about all the other rules and habits there.
Even if it’s an interesting topic, we tried to avoid discussing about topics like religion or politics, at least we only talked with trustworthy persons about this.
Furthermore we always said that we are married, just to avoid incomprehension of the people. The best is to come up with a story and use this story all the time.
It is not possible to get money with Visa/Mastercard, as the Iranian bank system is not linked to the international bank system. Therefore you should bring enough cash and change it there, which is no problem.
We don’t recommend to cycle into Tehran. The traffic is incredible and drives you even without a bike crazy. If you don’t have to come to Tehran because of visa arrangements we do not recommend to waste your time there. There is hardly anything to see, no sights, at least we did not find it anyhow special…
Unfortunately we could only learn the basics of the language and the writing. Street signs are most of the time as well in latin.
There are often small shops along the street where you can buy cold juice, but planning your water storage is becoming more and more important.
We tried to adapt our cycling time to the cold morning and evening hours and have a longer lunch break.
You should bring a lot of patients for organization.
We were here July - August 2008
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| Kyrgyztan |
Kirgistan is a country of mountains. Therefore one shall have a look at the temperature information beforhand. End of september, beginning of october it is already snowing in the higher areas and one has to count with cold temperatures and sharp wind.
We arrived from Iran and were disappointed about the people. We discovered them to be not too welcoming (maybe due to our comparison Iran). We found people to be grumbling and had it the first time, that we rather tried not to get in contact with people. Anyhow we met many drunken men and heard many stories about criminality. The police is not necessarily your friend and you´d better put the bicycles into the tent at night. Nevertheless we met very friendly people of course.
What makes a trip to Kirgistan unforgettable is the nature. You can be abroad for days, get outdoorfeeling and enjoy mountains. One should equip the bicycles accordingly and take all spares. The only possibility to get spares is Bishkek - here you find some Outdoorshops for basic spares. As well at the basar. Acc. to the Lonely Planet there is a mechanic at the outskirts, whome one can call.
If one is going to Isyk-köl, one may prefer the southern coast, as the northern is populated with more traffic. Here there are the 'sanatoriums' - russian wellnes ressorts. Be careful - there are stone throwing kids at Isyk-köl.
Our tour highlight was the road from Tosor (small village in the middle of the southern coast) through the mountains to Naryn. It was exhausting, the road miserable but wonderful.
Generally you have to get used to the altitude. This means to take your time and be aware of the dangers of altitude sickness.
Also the weather is to be considered. It can change fast and extreme.
Due to the high amount of herding the water is bad. We had to suffer often from diarrhea. Micropur or a water filter is needed.
One will also need good cards. You find good russian detailled maps at 'GeoID' in Bishkek or at www.sovietmaps.com
In Kirgistan you also have good opporunities to change the means of transportation. It is easy to organise horses anywhere or make nice treks by foot.
We were here - October 2008
Sary-Tash (Kirgistan) - Murghab - Khorog - Kalaikhum - Kulyab - Dushanbe - Ayni - Pendshikent
Tadschikistan offers the pamir highway - a scenic high altitude world. But also all the other parts of the country are ruled by mountains and gorges and cycling there is wonderful and recommendable, but not easy. Tajik people have persian routs and one feels it. Hospitability all over the country. We were given fruits or bread often and met nice people.
In the pamir mountains high altitudes and many passes are not easy to cycle. As well as you have to fight with wind and weather (we had often headwind) and take everything you need for a couple of days with you. The water is generally better than in Kirgistan, we purified it anyway most of the time. We filled our water storage whenever possible (12-14l), because there were only few rivers (October). In spring it might be different because the snow melts.
Very helpful is the roadbook: http://bikesilk.blogspot.com/2007/10/pamir-highway-data.html
The piece to Murghab you have to go within 3 days (3 passes), because Murghab is the first place registration is possible. If you do not keep it too easy it is possible. The night before entering Tadschikistan we stayed at the kirgyzborder Bor-döbö in order to be as close to Murghab as possible. The friendly border police even offered us a room. It would have been possible to camp in the nomansland between Tajikistan and Kirgistan (20km between the border posts). Nothing goes on there.
We have been to the pamirs from beginning to mid of october. On days we had temperatures from -2 to +8 degreese celsius. Freezing was the heavy wind. Wear a mouth protection!
At night temperatures fell down to -15 degreese. Put water into your pot in the eventing, because it is frozen in the morning and if it would be in the bottles you might have problems to cook your coffee/tea. From mid/end october temperatures will fall down furhter and you need to adapt your equipment.
You will stay above 3900m for ca. 1.5 weeks, altitude acclimatisation is necessary and take care of high altitude sickness!
To get spares in Tadschikistan might be quite impossible - we did not see any Shops (but we did not look for it). Better to have all with you. Your bicycle should be robust and endurable. Streets are often bad quality.
We had an extra Liter kirgyz petrol with us, because we heard from people who had problems to run their stove with pamiri petrol (even the rpimus). No good when it gets cold! When you leave Khorog there is a modern petrol station. We we got petrol and it was usable.
From Khorog it is going along the afghan border. We did not have any security problems. But there are minefields! So stay on the roads. There are signs but we did not rely on them and asked at the villages if we are allowed to camp there. The friendly people always allowed it happily.
About the part Kalaikhum - Kulyab - Dushanbe we did not find to much information beforehand. So here are some. 20km after Kalaikhum there is perfect asphalt for about 20km. Its like a highway. After that it is becoming adventurous. The gorge becomes very narrow and the road very bad. But there were road buildings going on so it might improve.
What we did not expect as bad as it was and what was not on our maps: After one leaves the river Pyandsh to Kulyab one has to go up a tough pass again. But the regret is good view and skuril landscape. After Kulyab we had the only flat 70km in Tadschikistan. This area is quite dry. Until shortly before Dushanbe there are two passes right after each other. Up, down and across the river and up again. Afterwards its only downwards to Dushanbe.
Furthermore we were not able to cycle the Anzob pass due to snowfalls beginning of November. Before the old pass loops up the mountain there is a tunnel. But this is totally floated by water and even trucks have problems sometimes. The water was up to 1 meter - So stop a truck and go with it. These 5km are nothing for a bicycle.
Resummee: Tadschikistan was regarding to its people and nature one of the most interesting countries we travelled so far. But some planning is needed and we were happy already to cycled quite a distance and be fit.
We were here - October - November 2008
Penjiikent (Tajikistan) - Samarkand - Tashkent (Train)- Buchara (Train)- Khiva (Bus) - Samarkand (Bus) - Tashkent
Only 5 days we cycled in Uzbekistan. One from Penjikent (Tajikistan) to Samarkand and from here to Tashkent. The reason for that was time pressure through our already running indian visa on the one hand and the boring landscape on the other hand. Huge stepp and desert areas forming the country. Worth to visit are defenitely the old silk road towns Samarkand, Buchara and Khiva. Especially nice was Buchara, because the historical sights are very close to each other so the old part gets a nice flair. Samarkand looses some of the flair due to the soviet style buildings. Khiva is like an open air museum. There are many sights as well, but we did not like the money hungry atmosphere. One has to pay a high entry fee to visit the single sights and for fotographing and the main attractions extra!
We have not seen a country with so much police, so always take your passport with you. Here the first time our copy did not help us at all, when our passports were at the embassy. We wanted to buy a train ticket, that requires to show the passport. We wanted to get our copies accepted by the police/OVIR but with a "nieto" with did not allow any discussion this topic was over.
To get money with Visa or Mastercard is more difficult than we thought, even in the touristcentres. Theoretically there are ATMs but they are empty often or are out of service. Or the connection to the banking system does simply not work. The best solution would be to get cash in Tashkent or to bring it with you. When you entry and leave the country you have to fill a form and write down all the money with you, because you are not allowed to get out with more money in your pockets than you got in. Be honest! They check and a tourist next to us got all his money confiscated.
Generally you have to be careful not to get ripped off in Uzbekistan. At the market, at the restaurant and unfortunately even when buying tickets. Seems to be a consequence of the flourishing tourism.
We were here - November 2008
Cochin - Cozicode - Hassan - Belur - Kumpta - Agonda Beach - Hampi (Train) - Mumbai (Train) - Agra (Train) - Etawa - Lucknow - Sunauli
We started in the south, in Cochin, went up along the west coast on small roads, which are between the sea and highway 17. In Cozicode we moved east towards the western Ghats. The road up was not so nice (except the view). A lot of traffic - probably there were many indian tourists at this time. Further we went to Bandipur, Tholpetti and Nargahole national park. There is a road through the national park (20km), that we intended to cycle. But the quality was really bad and as it is possible to get more contact with elephants and other wild animals, than appreciated, we decided to hitchhike. Everybody has to consider the risk for himself...we did not want to take it.
In Bylakuppe (Kushalnagar) live tibetian people in exile, who brought some tibetian culture and monestaries with them. To get inside the area you need an extra permit. If you do not stay over night, you are allowed to enter without. Check with the friendly local police. We moved further north over Halibid and Belur (Hoysalatemples from 11th and 12th centuries) until we met the sea again at Kumpta. On the plateau of the western Ghats exists a network of small roads with acceptable quality. Helpful next to our Nelles map was the map of IMS (Indian Map Service). They sell a small book for each state with details and distances. The combination was good. You can buy it in any book shops for just 50/60 Rupees.
From Kumpta we went further north to Agonda/Goa on the busy highway. There existed smaller roads, but they were interupted by canals and rivers. Mostly bridges do not exist and the small boats would not take us (or were totally overprized).
From Goa we took a train from Vasco de Gama to Hampi and from there over Mumbai to Agra. We could easily take the bikes with us. They are transported in an extra luggage waggon. Check with the parcel office of the train station first. There was no extra packing needed. Tickets are easily bought at www.irctc.co.in. Best is to book some time in advance, because the trains are often booked for month. Cancellation against a small fee is easy as well.
Starting in Agra with our bikes again we cycled to Bah nearby and visited the Peter's Public School. Further to Etawah, Lucknow, Gonda and Sunauli (nepalese border). This last part through Uttar Pradesh was not easy for us. UP is very dense populated, camping is not really possible. Sometimes we did not even made a lunch break, because we were surrounded by 100 plus people the moment we stopped.
It is not a problem to change Euros to Rupees and there are plenty of ATM's. But the only official way in India to get Dollars is 7 days before you leave the country by showing your flight ticket.
For us India was very interesting and exhausting at the same time. Especially because of the traffic, the shameless staring people, the noise, bad air and the missing of privacy. That makes it contradictonary for cycling at our point of view. Cycling was not always fun, but on the other hand we had our best experiences because we used the bicycle.
We were here: End of November 08 to mid February 09
Sunauli - Lumbini - Butawal - Tansen - Pokhara - Bandipur - Mugling - Kathmandu - Baktapur
From the indian-nepalese border at Sunauli, were we got a three month visa without trouble, we went to Lumbini. At this place Buddha was born and that makes it to a pilgrimage place for buddhists worldwide. As soon as you moeved of the main road and towards Lumbini one can feel a difference to Uttar Pradesh instantly. Good paved road and less traffic. Despite its meaning Lumbini is a sleepy place. To get back on track in Nepal you either take a longer circle westwards or go the same way back. We did the last and from Butawal we did not take the main road but the Siddharta-Highway, moving through the first mountains to Pokhara. That part was really nice. The problem in Nepal is to find small roads. There are not really existant because of the mountains. This is why cyclists have to share the roads with most of the traffic. But the main connection from the Terai is going to Kathmandu and so the Siddharta highway is not crowded. And in comparison to India everything is relaxed here. We also were able to camp again. Not very easy to find a spot though in the narrow gorges, but one can manage anyway. The road follows two rivers, up and down....exhausting but there is an excellent scenery with mountains, rice terraces and small villages on steep mountains.
We met friendly people all over Nepal...much less staring. We were surprised by the good english knowledge that especially kids have.
From Pokhara we did trekking aroung the Annapurna for 2.5 weeks. Recommendable! Especially the side to Manang. That we found more beautiful than the Jomsonside. It becomes better and better, the higher one gets. Eventually you want to fly directly to Humde (3000m) and start from there...(possible, but who really wants to that?)
The part from Pokhara to Kathmandu was ok, but not that exiting. Probably mainly because we did not have a great view, due to dust. There is only one road connecting the two cities. At half of the way all the traffic coming from the Terai joines you. We made a sidetrip to the village Bandipur. It is a steep climb, 1000m altitude within 8km. The place has a nice athomsphere, but we could not see much (due to the weather), so we were a bit disapointed after all the effort. Normally one can see the huge mountainranges from here.
Just before Kathmandu you will have to climb another pass...800m of altitude, before it goes down into the city. There is plenty of traffic sharing the road with you while you climb.
We made a trip from Kathmandu to Baktapur, one of the 3 former kingdoms in the Kathmandu valley. This was very nice as well. Good even for a stay of some nights. In the morning and evening most of the tourists, that just come for one day, are gone and you can enjoy the place even more. Just the road to get to Baktapur is nothing enjoyable. It is just 18km from Thamel/Kathmandu, but the air is horrible and even on the road parallel to the highway there is busy traffic. Along the way everything is dusty and full of garbage. We felt like on a dying planet, cycling there. Very sad! Consider to take a bus.
We did by far not travel over all of Nepal, but we really had a great time there. The only thing is the missing of small roads and with this one always has some traffic. But Nepal is for sure a fine cycling destination. Spectacular was the high altitude countryside which we could find by trekking. So if you want to change tires for boots for a while...
we were here: Mid of February 09 - beg of April 09
Thailand (northwest)
Bangkok - nähe Supanburi - Tak - Mae Sot - Mae Sariang - Chiang Mai - Chiang Rai - Chiang Khong/Houay Xai
For visiting Bangkoks center without the bikes we stored them for a few days at the airports luggage storage for 100 Baht per item per day. We started cycling at the airport, 30 kilometers north east of the center. To avoid the heavy traffic around Greater Bangkok we looked for smaller roads, which were still like highways with several lanes. We bought the recommendable ROADWAY road atlas for Thailand, available in every bigger bookshop Thailand. It contains a good map of Greater Bangkok as well as detailed maps with a net of small roads including road numbers and little villages so that it is easy to ask for directions and to find your way. We cycled west of the Highway 1 (Bangkok - Chiang Mai) along the roads 321 and 333, which are quite small but very good quality, northwards. Around Bangkok the traffic was very dens and heavy but after 1,5 days it got lighter and lighter. Nice is, that there is almost always a shoulder so that you feel save even on roads with more traffic. Until Tak the terrain is quite flat and good to make lots of kilometers per day as well as to get used to the exhausting heat. To get food along the way is no problem as there are many small shops and supermarkets along the roads as well as food stalls. In bigger cities there are even big Tesco Lotus Supermarkets. From Tak we went to Mae Sot and than along the Myanmar border to Mae Sariang. This part was one of the most exhausting parts of our trip so far. Numerous and extremly steep ascends, up and down all the time and temperatures around 49° C made the cycling difficult. For some parts the possibilities to shop and to get food got fewer. You cycle through dens forest, pass nice villages with very friendly people. If you plan a tour through Thailand and you want to get away of the tourist trak as well as have same diversity to beach and rice paddies, this area of Thailand is a good option. But if you plan a tour through Laos as well, we would recommend you to spend rather more time in northern Laos than in this area. In comparison we found the people as well as the countryside and scenery of northern Laos much more original and spectacular than in Thailand. The last part from Chiang Mai to Chiang Khong easier to cycle as it is mostly falt.
In general you could say that Thailand is an "easy" country for cycling. Very friendly and smiling people, good food, lots of possibilities for shopping and depending on the area quite easy terrain. Nevertheless we found it partly a bit boring to cycle for days through rice paddies...also the way of living is already very westernized and you hardly observe traditional and cultural way of living. There are plenty of temples, on the first sight they make an exotic impression, but with the time they all look quite new and similar.
We were here: May 2009
Laos
Houay Xay - Luang Namtha - Oudom Xay - Luang Prabang - Phou Khoun - Vang Vieng - Vientiane
Despite heat and tough terrain Laos made it to one of our favorite cycle-countries. We liked the nativenessof the people, who radiate a smooth aura of villageharmony and peace, happy loughing children, who run to the road and shout "Sabaydee", spectacular countryside of rough limestones and lush, green junglehills. One can say, that Laos left a very remaining and positive impression with us.
We mainly stayed on the "big" roads. That would be the No. 3 from Houay Xay to Luang Namtha, from there on the main north-south-connection No. 13. Traffic is in spite of main roads not big, only becoming a little more reaching Vientiane. The road is mostly asphalted and only sometimes there were raindamages. The part between Luang Namtha and Oudom Xay is a bit rough and the road damaged. Very recommendable we found the map of www.GT-Rider.com (you can buy it in Laos) including distances and altitude profile for northern Laos, which helped us at planning and with setting up the mentality and motivation to climbing:)
We were here: May 2009
Thailand (northeast)
Nong Khai - Nakhon Phanom - Mukdahan - Surin - Chong Chom
This part of Thailand we found a little bit boring. But one can drive fast, the roads are good, its mostly flat, max. slightly hilly. Because we have seen plenty of rice paddies so far, the landscape did not have much to offer. But people are friendly, one can get cold drinks everywhere and food is good and cheap.
We were here: June 2009