THE ITINERARY

The route planning is more difficult in these stressful times of high sanitary conditions and various tensions. We decided to regularly monitor the progress of the situation and adapt our itinerary accordingly. First problem: getting into Central Asia. The land borders of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan being closed due to covid, we had to take our first plane from Tehran to reach Aktau in Kazakhstan, on the other side of the Caspian Sea. Second challenge on our way: the tension between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, which forced us to cycle only a small loop in the Pamir to then go back to Uzbekistan before reaching Kyrgyzstan. Finally, after spending all winter in the Kyrgyz mountains, China finally reopened its borders and visas. Unfortunately, after many attempts at the embassy, we learnt that it is impossible to obtain a Chinese visa in Central Asia if you are not a resident. We therefore flew over the country to arrive in Vietnam, our gateway to Southeast Asia, where our journey continue towards Australia !