This blog gives a brief overview of our plan for the sub-continent, but with the caveat that it is unlikely to be particularly accurate at this stage because we have no idea how long things will take in India, Bangladesh and Myanmar (not really the sub-continent, but contained in this section for planning purposes). We don’t really know what the standard of the roads is going to be like either or how long it might take to get in and out of the towns and cities, so it’s a very rough plan for now.
India:
1. Arrive in New Delhi 1 December where we will stay for 7 days during which we will do some touristy things including visiting the Taj Mahal. We also need to rebuild our bikes, prepare to depart and plan a more in-depth route throughout India.
2. Rajasthan – likely Jaipur, Jodhpur and along the edge of the Thar Desert, Udaipur
3. Gujarat – possibly Ahmedabad, Surat, along the coast
4. Maharashtra – likely Mumbai and Pune as a minimum
5. Karnataka – if we think we have time we will head south to Goa
6. Maharashtra – Nagpur. We have a tiger safari booked Taboda national park for the end of February.
7. Chhattisgarh – possibly Raipur
8. Odisha – if we think we have time we will head to the east coast and then north
9. West Bengal – Kolkata to the border with Bangladesh
10. Bangladesh – cross the India-Bangladesh border at the end of March 2019
11. Tour west Bangladesh then to…
12. Dhaka to visit as well as apply for visas for India (to re enter) and Myanmar. We have 3 possible routes after this…
A. Cycle back into north-east India and transit to Myanmar. Then mainly a straight transit to Thailand taking in sights as much as this allows
B. Fly from Dhaka to Mandalay and continue through Myanmar to Thailand, taking in sights along the way.
C. Fly from Dhaka to Thailand, but only if unsuccessful with visa applications.
We have yet to decide whether to take Route A or B. We will only do Route C if Myanmar won’t let us in. Route A is very remote and mountainous and depends on getting India visas in Dhaka. We will see how well we have coped in India and Bangladesh before deciding whether this route is feasible for us as it is quite an undertaking. Should we decide it’s too much for us we will opt for Route B as it cuts out the most remote portion.
Timings:
– Approx 3.5 months in India to the end of March 19
– 3-4 weeks in Bangladesh to mid-to-late April 19
– Possibly another 2-3 weeks in India to end of April/start May
– 3-4 weeks in Myanmar May
From here we will venture on to south-east Asia….
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