Australia to India on a GSXR – Chapter 1

Filed in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Riding, Russia, South Korea, Tajikistan, Travel, Uncategorized by Ashim Ranadive on August 8, 2023 • 0 Comments

It’s almost 4 years to the day from when I first set off for my trip of a lifetime; riding my Australian GSXR to India. However, between my last posts on this blog and the time I set off, a lot changed.

A professional procrastinator as always, my first write up was in March 2017, a mere 3 months before I was due to set off, mapping out at a high level what my intended route was to be.

Read about the plan for the dream trip here – https://www.7d1s.com/2017/03/from-dreams-to-reality-the-big-trip/

This was closely followed by a second post in May 2017 outlining the challenges I had overcome to get all my paperwork (mainly visas) in order.

A slightly dated, but somewhat relevant guide, to visas along my route here – https://www.7d1s.com/2017/05/way-of-visas/

Late May/early June, I was scrambling to get the bike into something that could potentially take on the wilderness of Mongolia and it was then, two weeks out from my departure date, that a personal emergency struck.

My flights were booked, deposits were paid for the bikes passage to Russia but I had to forgo those plans and focus my attention to matters at home. At this point, I all but abandoned the idea of ever going on this trip and tore down the map of Mongolia that had been on my bedroom wall for the past year with a route charted through a country most riders dream about.

I went back to work, back to the daily grind and tried to put thoughts of riding out of my mind. However, around the same time in April 2017, I met someone who would become my wife in March 2019. But rather than settling down further into a ‘normal’ life, she insisted I embark on my trip.

The bike was still parked up, the knowledge was in my head and although it would be difficult to leave commitments at home, I had the ability to go. So, once again, with only a couple of months on hand to actively prepare, the plan was back on.

Most would think that I would have made use of the past two years to further develop my skills but those people would over-estimate me. It was a scramble to get up to speed with the latest rules and regulations across multiple borders, deal with visa rejections that had previously been fine and come up with Plan B, C, D, all the way through to Z; but it was finally on.

If you’re curious about paperwork needed for the bike, have a read here – https://www.7d1s.com/2023/07/overland-travel-paperwork-carnets-tips/

With my paperwork in order once again, I booked my flights, booked shipping for the bike (air freight to Seoul followed by a ferry fr the bike and I to Vladivostok), I finally had a date set to go.

No turning back this time.