So the plan seemed fine we will go overland through Europe to Russia and then on the Trans Siberian Express through Mongolia to Beijing and then get the train from Beijing to Lhasa. When we get to Lhasa we can then do a trek and some driving over the Himalayas to get to Kathmandu. From Kathmandu down to Varanasi and then through Bangladesh into Myanmar. OK so it was never going to be easy and could even be considered a tad ambitious. But what the hell aim for the stars.
I hadn’t factored in the joyous task of getting visas and travel permits and that some borders are closed from certain countries. Ever the one for leaving things to the last minute as anyone who knows me will agree I today think I really ought to get round to sorting out our India visas for when we go in a couple of weeks time. This is a quick warm up trip before we do the overland bit above. Just a quick month in Mumbai and Gokarna just to relax. After many hours navigating the worlds worst website (I am somewhat prone to exaggerations) I get the appointment booked and have a minor argument with Mrs Morey over the appointment time I have booked us in for but all is well.
Anyway off the back of my relatively successful India visa experience (we may get the visas back in time) I decide to have a quick look at what other visas we might need for the main overland leg of the trip. Suddenly it all feels rather complicated with requirement for Russia visa, Mongolia visa, China visa, Nepal visa, Tibet Travel Permit and re-entry visa into India. That is before I realise we can’t actually travel through Bangladesh to get to Myanmar.
I then add to this that fact that Mrs Morey wants to head home for her 30th birthday somewhere in the middle of the Tibet / Nepal bit. This is entirely understandable as she is concerned she may freak out on her 30th and would rather be surrounded by family and friends rather than just her often rather irritating husband and a herd of yaks. I have to admit I set a bit of a precedent for 30thfreak outs with a terrible evening involving a bottle of cheap vodka, insulting some furniture and the hiding of chair casters somewhere in the house because I felt the chair was smirking at me. This was of course shortly followed by vomiting on the bathroom floor and then swearing I would never drink again the following morning. Happy memories.
So having trawled the websites I now have the links and need to plan a day to complete all the submissions online and then a lovely day up in London to attend appointments at all of the Embassies and get the visas. I also need to work out how to get Tibet Travel Permit and decide if we should book something now to get from Lhasa to Kathmandu. Any words of wisdom from people who have done similar would be useful.
The following websites seem to be the main embassy sites for getting visas for these countries:
- Russia http://ru.vfsglobal.co.uk/mandatory.aspx
- China http://www.visaforchina.org.uk/visaen/visaView.html?method=index
- Mongolia http://www.consuls.net/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=48
- Nepal http://www.nepembassy.org.uk/visa_information.html
It seems the Tibet Travel Permit is only available through local travel agents who want to get you on a tour. this looks like the best info I have found so far – http://www.chinatibettrain.com/tibettravelpermit.htm
It all seems a bit real all of a sudden.
Part of the inspiration behind lots of the overland bit of the trip is the Paul Theroux book Great Railway Bazaar. A fantastic book that made me want to avoid planes and travel as much by train as possible. Seeing the countries I was travelling through and enjoying the journeys to get there. The somewhat more practical but also very good ‘The Man in Seat 61′ is also definitely worth buying. Really for the sense of what is possible when travelling overland. The website is also a fantastic resource.
So bloody visas. I don’t remember Paul Theroux having this much trouble with visas but maybe I just blanked that bit out and have just remembered the romantic ideal of travel or maybe he did that for me.
