Ever since we met 13 years ago we've talked about taking an overseas bike trip and we are finally actually going to do it. Our plan as of today is to fly to Turkey and start riding on the eastern side returning to Instanbul over 4-6 weeks. Next will be Indonesia, on to Vietnam by mid-Nov, then Laos and/or China (we were able to get a 3 month visa!!) and into Central Asia. Ambitious yet but at least one has to start somewhere. We'll see how far and to where we get. Hopefully I get it figured out how to post photos but I figure I'm doing well just getting this far!
We have made all, hopefully, the necessary arrangements for our house(s), taxes, insurance etc. to cover us for the next year. We are fortunate to have my second cousin, Laura, housesit for us. She just graduated from law school and will be clerking for a judge here in Anchorage for a year - timing was perfect.
Turkish Airlines has been, and continues to be, a challenge. We just received word to day that they will accept our bike boxes. Why they have to be pre-approved and why it takes a week for the approval process is beyond their ability to explain. Now we just need to decide if we will fly with them or use miles. If we stay with TA then we end up where we want to start and no changing airports, additional bike fees etc in Instanbul. If we use miles than we need to buy tickets to get across the country, more bike fees, hotel for up to four or five days in Instanbul so it may not be any cheaper in the long run. Plus if we use miles we have to book a return trip, which we could always change the return date but would just need to eventually return from Instanbul. Tentative departure is Sept 15!!
So we'll see how this goes and investigate posting photos.
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