The Stans, China and Russia 2015

[We are planning a RTW trip and the first leg will be UK Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan. China, Mongolia and finally Russia shipping out of Vladisv ostok. However it is expensive to travel through China as you need a guide, so if we could team up with other overlanders this would be great and make less expensive for all - failing this we can go via Russia and give China a Miss but seems a shame. We would like to travel some part of the journey with other overlanders if possible - we are just about to commit to a custom built VW Syncro T3. We are planning on leaving the UK mid April and want to arrive in Vladivostok in Aug/Sept - We can be a bit flexible with the route and would be happy to discuss. Do let us know if you would be interested in joining us for some/part of the journey

Welcome!

Wow ... some trip! Hope you can team up with others.

Thanks Tom, and thank you for your PM, which I seem to have managed to delete accidentally! thank you for the offer but we are still so much in the planning stage I'm not sure we would have much to offer, that said not totally ruling it out if could help get us companion overlanders - I haven't yet looked at last yrs offerings so will do that and get back to you   

No problem. If nothing else, we have a Notice Board at the Adventure Overland Show outside the Event Office (everything from overlanding companions wanted to 4x4 campers for sale), so you could always pin up a WANTED type poster.

And where ever you go, dont forget the pictures and video's. We love them!
Sounds like a great trip planned.

It would also be good to see some build pics of this VW your on about sounds uniquely awesome!

Jas

Sounds like a great trip, we plan to do China at some time, but going to Morocco next April,   

Going to discuss the van this wkend! Sooooo excited! - it is a shell at the moment and we are going to get built to our spec so lots of pics now - if you have any "must haves" then do let us know so we can incorporate - cant wait for April may have to come sooner!

A good fridge to keep the beers cold!   

Actually, a sensible suggestion is to incorporate a little 12v cooler at the front somewhere in the cab area, that way you'll have access to Red Bull type energy drinks/water/whatever you're on the move. When in a hurry to catch a ferry for instance, you still need liquid in order to keep alert, so the last thing you want to do is stop to dive into the main fridge. A cooler up front can be a real blessing.

If you have space, an upright wine rack is also very useful ... not merely for wine, but bottles of water, pop, etc. This is especially good for glass bottles, saves wrapping them in tea towels, plus of course great if a bottle's already been opened. Less chance of stick fizzy drinks leaking if they're standing upright.

Yeah if you could start up a build thread in a different section that will be great on the VW. Might help others but sounds really interesting as well. Looking forward to seeing the pics and specs.

Jas

Will do, John ( husband ) is hoping to be able to go and help with some of the build, as a way of learning about the van for the inevitable problems on the road !

You should get in touch with Jed at www.campervanculture.com, or look him up on the forum and send him a pm, he has a VW sy (my speling not so good) the motor you are after,   

I think he has already!
  

I have been in touch with the company China Overland (i'm not allowed to post the link apparently!) above who can help arrange overland travel in China, they also try and team you up with others who want to do the same journey - obviously the more of you there are the cheaper it is!

This - www.chinaoverlandinfo.com

this - www.chinaoverland.eu/en

or even this - www.overlandchina.cn/en/itineraries/overland

Providing you don't type in the www. and have gaps for the remainder of the URL, think the software gets confused and allows this.

The second one, but great will look at the others as well  

"Here to help" ... as the Yanks say.  

The third one is good, I have been in touch with them, and thay still give me advice.   

We got it, it's a VW T3 16" Syncro, hubby drove it back from Barcelona. Needs lots of updating inside but base vehicle is exactly what we wanted - Come on someone must want to go to China!

We all want to go, but time/work/money/family/assorted commitments all seem to get in the way. That's a big 'un you're undertaking, hence it'll somewhat narrow those able to join you.

Nice one acquiring the Syncro BTW, so be rust-free too.   

Hi
We are going to China Sep. Oct. 2015 but we do it from north to south which means Mongolia to Laos. If your schedule and route will change, look me up at this forum a thread from  07/09/14 we are looking for others to share the costs and the adventure.
Enjoy the preparations  
Cheers Elisha

Hi Elisha
I have PM you, but I forgot to ask are you using a travel agent (for want of a better word) like Navo or China Overland - I have been in touch with both of these and they sounded hopeful that they could find others to travel with.

jsnowybear wrote:

Hi Elisha
I have PM you, but I forgot to ask are you using a travel agent (for want of a better word) like Navo or China Overland  - I have been in touch with both of these and they sounded hopeful that they could find others to travel with.

Hi
I have replied to your PM lately did you get it?
Cheera Elisha