Trip Issues - Part 6

My plans have been shot to hell again.  This time Iran would not issue a carnet (shipping documents)for the motorcycle to pass through their country.  Yes, oddly enough, Greta is banned, but I am OK. 



So here is my new route.  Still working the finer points out, but it shows promise.  I call this the "If I survive ISIS, I always have Somali pirates to look forward to" route.

Trip Issues - Part 5

OK, so this is just getting weirder by the embassy.  Last I wrote, I was issued a visa to enter into Turkey, a country US citizens were told very publicly by Turkey they would not issue a visa, Iran still had its ban on US citizens, and Pakistan was going to allow me in with open arms, and now the update.

I spoke with the Iranian Embassy, and they informed me of a way to enter into the country on a technicality, I can join a guided tour, even a one-man tour (before anyone gets annoyed at my use of "man" instead of "person," this is Iran).  I wrote to several Iranian travel agencies and they will offer a one-man tour (a guy following me in a car) across the country for $1,500, which is very doable.  So it appears Iran is now in the safe column.

I spoke with the Pakistani Embassy, the country that was going to allow me into the country with open arms (i.e. no travel ban on US citizens), and they refused to issue a visa.  No reason given, just a refusal.  I requested a meeting with the Ambassador, and I was informed that the refusal was his decision, and that it will not be overturned. As a result, Pakistan moves from the "safe" column past the "probably not" column and right into the "whaaa" column.

I am not defeated yet.  After much research, it turns out that I can take a ferry from Iran to UAE, then catch a Dhow from Dubai Creek to Mumbai. The Dhow will take six uncomfortable days, but the service is available.  There is one issue, according to the news articles that I have read on the subject, these boats are old and have a tendency to sink or be overrun by pirates, so they are not the safest form of transportation.  That being said, I am going to guess that they are safer than riding through Pakistan, so all is good and the safety level went up one notch.

In summary, even though all three countries individually flip-flopped from their original positions, I still have a path to India, just a very different path than I had imagined.  As a result, my planning map now looks like this:



...a Dhow looks like this:



... I look like this:



and thankfully, Greta still looks like this:

Athens, Greece

Been in Athens for about two weeks now and have been caught up in trying to secure visas, medication, motorcycle maintenance, and other little piddly things and had not done much in the realm of sightseeing.  In order to rectify this oversight, I decided to venture out to the Acropolis and visit the Parthenon and its associated structures.  

The Parthenon

Odeon of Herodes Atticus

Athens as Viewed from the Acropolis

The Erectheum

Theatre of Dionysus 

Stage Distance: 0 mi (0 km), 73 miles (118km) by ferry.
Total Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 21,923 mi (35,359 km) 
Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece

Trip Issues - Middle East - Part 4

The Middle East is continuing to be a difficult nut to crack and an even more difficult place to understand.  As of October 6, 2017, Turkey and the USA had stopped issuing visas to one another's citizens.  Not going to go into details, but we basically pissed each other off.  Before the ban, we were able to get a 90 day Turkish visa at the border or airport for about 10 dollars.   I postponed my trip eastward by a couple of months with the hopes that the two countries would kiss and make up.  The kissing and making up never did happen, if anything, things got worse.

I am now in Athens, Greece and my European visa is about to lapse.  For those of you wondering, "since when does an American need a visa to be in Europe,"  well the short answer is always (the more correct answer deals with the Schengen Accord and its member countries, but that is beyond the scope of my story).  The visa process is just so seamless and easy, most people do not realize they have a visa, but the stamp that is put in the passport when an American enters the country is the visa.  This visa is valid for 90 days.  This visa is easy extendable for another 90 days, and then you must either seek residence or leave for 90 days, and the clock starts over.  I was issued the extension upon arrival, so my visa is good for 180 days.  The cool part, which I did not know until I spoke with the US Embassy here in Athens, is that the 180 day clock stops when you step out of the country.  So when I was in Morocco for three weeks, and Eastern Europe for three more weeks, I was not burning days.  Now that being said, my clock does expire on January 10.

The next country on my trip that will accept Greta (my motorcycle) and myself with open arms is India, but I must traverse Turkey, Iran and Pakistan to get there.  My plan was to spend 6 weeks in Athens and attempt to obtain my Turkish  and Iranian visas, then spend 30 days in Turkey to secure my Pakistani visa. Yes, this seems like an insane plan, but due to waiting periods and visa timeouts, it was pretty much the only option.  Since Americans are currently banned from Turkey and Iran, and are not warmly received in Pakistan, it was going to be a feat to accomplish.  After three days of talking with the Turkish Consulate, I did manage to secure a visa, but for only 15 days.  They said they would support my request for additional time, which I had to justify with a day-by-day itinerary, to the Ministry back in Turkey.  So I did submit that request.

Confusing as it is, this means that I have to obtain either both my Iranian and Pakistani visas in the next 30 days, which is next to impossible, or be granted the 45 day visa for Turkey and get my Pakistan visa there, or I am basically screwed.  I would really like to ride, in lieu of flying, this part of the journey, but if that does not happen, it is not from a lack of trying.  More nonsense to come.