How do we prepare
for each trip &
what gear do we carry?

To find out more click on the links below:

• Gear
• Middle East & Eastern Europe Preparation
• Africa Preparation
• Central Asia, Russia & Mongolia Preparation

Central Asia, Russia & Mongolia Trip Preparation from April 01, 2010 to Sept. 30, 2010 - Approx. 40,000km

This page includes some of the main research that was required to make our dream a reality.

• Proposed Route
• Points of Interest
• Trip Planning Checklist
• Proposed Schedule, Visas, Vaccination, Carnet de Passage Requirements

Proposed Route:

Trip Planning Check List:

August 2008

• Purchased in Germany Hein Gericke Jacket and Pants (Journey Lady Gore-Tex) for Ruby ($890.00CDN)
• Arranged for motorcycle maintenance and storage until our return in March of 2010

September 2008

• Purchased new Sidi-Discovery-Rain Motorcycle boots, Motorcycle Jacket (High Temp Mesh Jacket) and Pants (Titanium Air 3) for Mike, and two (2) Arai XD Helmets from Motorcycle Superstore (www.motorcycle-superstore.com) ($2028.00CDN)

October & November 2008

• Purchased Lonely Planet Russia, Mongolia, Central Asia, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. DK book for Russia

December 2008

• Moved back to larger house, which was rented out through a Property Management Company.
• Rented out Townhouse/Condo until October 30, 2010.
• Paid for Motorcycle parts ($3,823.40CDN) in Germany BMW Shop

January 2009

• Purchased from Wunderlich (www.wunderlich.de) new Tank Bag and Crashbars for the cylinder heads and tank ($1519.20CDN)
• Purchased from FC-Moto (www.fc-moto.de) new Sidi-Discovery-Rain Motorcycle boots for Ruby ($345.27CDN)
• Rebuilt Wilbers front, rear shook and used rear drive ($2,067.83CDN) in Germany
• Paid for Motorcycle parts ($1,522.36CDN) in Germany BMW Shop

February 2009

• Purchased new 4-season MEC North Wind tent ($481.00CDN)

March 2009

• Purchased two (2) new sets of Jesse Bags – Odyssey II c/w internal bags ($3893.39CDN)
• Purchased Quad Band Ericson Cell Phone in Germany ($543.43CDN)

April 2009

• Spent two (2) weeks in South Africa testing the new tent.

May 2009

• Researched route and Points of Interest through Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan

June 2009

• Purchased VOI Helmet Camera ($699.00US)
• Researched route and Points of Interest through Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan

July 2009

• Sent away Garmin Zumo 450 & 550 for repair. Received refurbished new units ($400.00CDN)
• Purchased SPOT Satellite Messenger (www.findmespot.com) c/w (2) year service plan ($336.00CDN)
• Researched route and Points of Interest through Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia

August 2009

• Purchased Dreamweaver CS4, Fireworks, Photoshop to redesign website ($2079.52CDN)
• Ordered new GPS Mount from (www.migsel.com) - Thanks Michel for the free mount.

September 2009

• Tested SPOT Satellite Messenger on one (1) week kayak trip of the coast of British Columbia
• Purchased new tent and thermorests ($650.00CDN)
• Acquired new 42-page passports ($180.00CDN)

October 2009

• Contacted VisaHQ (www.visahq.ca) for assistance in obtaining Visa’s for Russia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan ($2714.00CDN)
• Requested Letter of Invitation for Russia Visa (18 Business Days)
  

November 2009

• Contacted Stan Tours (www.stantours.com) in Kazakhstan for assistance in obtaining Letter of Invitation for Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. Requested Turkmenistan Mandatory Tourist Guide quote
• Received Letter of Invitation for Russia Visa
• Received Nov. 26, 2009 Russia Multi Entry 1 year Business Visa (5 days turn around)
• Requested Azerbaijan Letter of Invitation from Stan Tours ($260.00US)
• Arranged monthly yard maintenance from April to September 2010
  

December 2009

• Received Azerbaijan Letter of Invitation & Tourist Voucher from Stan Tours (5 day turn around)
• Azerbaijan Embassy declined Dec. 09, 2009 Azerbaijan Tourist Visa (too early)
• Received Dec. 21, 2009 Tajikistan 30 Day Tourist Visa (3 day turn around)
• Purchased GS911 Diagnostic Tool ($413.00CDN)
• Purchased Panasonic Toughbook Laptop CFF8GWEZZJM ($2275.00CDN)
• Purchased External Shook Resistant 500GB LaCie Harddrive ($219.00CDN)
• Purchased new SLR Nikon D300s Body ($1649.00CDN)
• Purchased second Helmet Camera ($776.00CDN)

January 2010

• Purchased latest version of Europe City Navigator NT, Russia City Navigator NT and World Navigator NT ($740.00CDN)
• Confirmed renewal of the Carnet de Passage (Expired Aug. 23, 2009) not required - Deposit existing $31,120.00 with AMA in Ottawa. Carnet de Passage is not required for the countries we are entering
• Resubmitted Azerbaijan Visa application and rejected (too early)
• Requested Uzbekistan Letter of Invitation from Stan Tours (2 week turn around), submitted Letter of Employment.
• Started entering GPS waypoints for points of interest
• Purchased Airline Tickets to Frankfurt, Germany leaving March 23, 2010 returning Sept. 30, 2010 ($2,527.02CDN)
• Purchased (6) months Nomad Medical Insurance. (www.worldnomads.com) ($676.00CDN)
• Replaced Satellite Phone Antenna ($265.00CDN)
• Purchased 500 minutes for Satellite Phone (1-year) from Iridium (www.iridium.com) ($695.00CDN)
• Requested assistance to obtain Kyrgyzstan Visa from VisaHQ ($699.90CDN)
• Cancelled Turkmenistan Visa assistance from VisaHQ (refunded $321.90CDN), as we will be able to get the Visa at Turkmenbashi after arriving on the ferry from Baku
• Received downgrade refund for Tajikistan Visa from VisaHQ ($320.00CDN)
• Received Kyrgyzstan 30-day Single Entry Visa on Jan. 25, 2010 (3 Business Day turn-around)
  

February 2010

• Received downgrade refund for Uzbekistan Visa from VisaHQ ($140.00CDN)
• Received Uzbekistan 30-day Single Entry Visa on Feb. 01, 2010 (3 Business Day turn-around)
• Received Azerbaijan 30-day Single Entry Visa on Feb. 16, 2010, entry expires May 16, 2010 (3 Business Day turn-around)
• Requested assistance to obtain Kazakhstan Visa from VisaHQ ($439.90CDN) including Letter of Invitation
• Booked (1) week car rental in Germany
• Duplicated License Plate
  

March 2010

• Received Kazakhstan 30-day Single Entry Visa Mar. 01, 2010 (8 Business Day turn-around)
• Visit Doctors for final check-up - Get prescriptions for Asthma, Penicillin, Acetazolamide - Diamox (Altitude Sickness Pills)
• Prepare copies of Motorcycle Registration, Driver License and important documentation
• Visited Dentist for cleaning and final check up
• Purchase International Driver License
• Contacted Visa, Mastercard and AMEX to advise of travel in Russia, Central Asia & Mongolia (otherwise they block credit card as they believe it is stolen)
• Transfer Mail to Randy
• Good-bye party.
• Leave Canada for Germany March 23, 2010.
  

Proposed Schedule, Visa, IOL & Carnet de Passage Requirements: 

Visa and Letter of Invitation (IOL) requirements continuesly change and also depend on nationality of applicant. This this six (6) months trip the Carnet de Passage is not required.

Country

Days

Entry

Exist

Visa Req.

Visa Apply

LOI Req.

LOI Cost (US$)/ person

Process-ing Time (days)

Escort Req.

Single/ Multi Entry Visa

Visa Cost (US$)/ person

Process-ing Time (days)

Valid (days)

Visa Issued

Visa Expiry

Germany

8

23-Mar-10

31-Mar-10

No

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Travel to Istanbul, Turkey

4

01-Apr-10

05-Apr-10

Yes

Border

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Single

60

N/A

90

Turkey

11

06-Apr-10

17-Apr-10

N/A

See Above

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Single

60

N/A

90

Georgia

6

18-Apr-10

24-Apr-10

No

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Armenia

9

25-Apr-10

04-May-10

Yes

Border

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Single

N/A

N/A

Georgia

8

05-May-10

13-May-10

No

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Azerbaijan Ferry Baku to Turkmenbashi

11

14-May-10

25-May-10

Yes

Ottawa, Canada

Yes

130

5

No

Single

130

5

30

14-May-10

13-Jun-10

Turkmenistan

13

26-May-10

07-Jun-10

Yes

Turkmenbashi Ferry Border

Yes

50

21

Yes

Single

TBD

N/A

13

Uzbekistan

21

08-Jun-10

29-Jun-10

Yes

Washington, USA

Yes

35

14

No

Single

130

5

30

07-Jun-10

06-Jul-10

Tajikistan

9

30-Jun-10

09-Jul-10

Yes

Washington, USA

N/A

N/A

N/A

No

Single

200

3

30

21-Jun-10

21-Jul-10

Kyrgyzstan

7

10-Jul-10

17-Jul-10

Yes

Washington, USA

No

N/A

N/A

No

Single

350

3

30

1-Jul-10

30-Jul-10

Kazakhstan

10

18-Jul-10

28-Jul-10

Yes

Ottawa, Canada

No

80

10

No

Single

140

8

30

17-Jul-10

16-Aug-10

Russia

1

29-Jul-10

30-Jul-10

Yes

Ottawa, Canada

Yes

150*

18

No

Multi

280

5

365

26-Nov-09

15-Dec-10

Mongolia

12

31-Jul-10

12-Aug-10

Yes

Almaty, Kazakhstan

No

No

Single

63

same day

30

Russia to Valdivostok

6

13-Aug-10

19-Aug-10

Yes

See Above

N/A

No

Multi

N/A

365

26-Nov-09

15-Dec-10

Valdivostok to St. Petersburg

23

20-Aug-10

12-Sep-10

Yes

See Above

N/A

No

Multi

N/A

365

26-Nov-09

15-Dec-10

Russia to Germany

10

13-Sep-10

23-Sep-10

Yes

See Above

N/A

No

N/A

N/A

N/A

* CDN$ by VisaHQ, remainder by Stantours