Bangkok to UK in 2018

Hi Guys and Gals,
                         just a brief intro as I am a newby on here and not a Landrover owner which I am sure does not make me the odd one out ?
We (wife and I) are in the planning stages right now for a trip from Bangkok to London starting in January 2018, this is the ideal time to travel in this region as we will be able to clear Myanmar and India / Nepal before the monsoon seasons start. The trip will be 3 to 4 months in total covering Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), India, Nepal, Pakistan, China, The Stans, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway then onto to the UK.
Again not yet fully identified the exact route (border crossings, visa's, guides etc...), would appreciate any help or assistance from you seasoned Overlanders that may have taken on a similar route in the past. I will keep you all up to date via a new chat window within the coming weeks.

Hi and welcome 

As you mentioned you'd be driving a petrol-engined Lexus (Toyota Amazon) with LPG, my immediate reaction is ... I used to struggle finding LPG in Andorra and the north of Spain, what has your research told you about availability? Perhaps petrol is so cheap you're not concerned about gas in certain countries?

Also, regarding your pre-trip planning, you could always give a talk (normally 40 m talk, 20m Q & A) at the Adventure Overland Show end of September 2017 (23rd-24th) www.adventureoverlandshow.net about planning and preperation. I'm sure those present at AO`17 would love to hear about the documentation, border controls, etc. Hopefully you'll also get some positive feedback and alternative options/ssuggestions from them during the Q & A session!

I organise AO`17 by the way, hence the suggestion.

Hi Tom, thanks for the message.
The cost of petrol is quite cheap in a number of the countries we will be traveling through and LPG is readily available in many countries studied so far. I will map out the LPG stations as part of our pre-planning process, we will always be carrying spare petrol anyway just incase. The average difference in price between LPG and petrol is less than 1/4 of the price. Example: In Thailand to fill the Lexus with petrol 112Ltr costs roughly 2,500 THB (58 GBP) and to fill the LPG tank 100Ltr is 500 THB (13 GBP). Myanmar, India, Pakistan and Russia are similar in terms of average pricing. One big advantage as I see it is that this doubles the range of the car. When LPG is available we will run on this 100% of the time, but ensure the petrol tank is always full, adds to the weight but for security a necessary burden I think. When NO LPG is available then we run on petrol with spare fuel on the roof just in case.

I have looked into using a diesel engined vehicle instead, however due to some of the very high altitude locations and mountain passes we will be taking on route the new emission rules (Euro 4 and above) the diesel engines really suffer to get enough air intake due to the lack of oxygen and therefore smoke very heavily or just stop working.

When it comes to the necessary paperwork, visa's, Carnet and border crossing procedures they are under evaluation at this time, we are fortunate to live in central Bangkok right now and all Embassy's and Consulates are based in the city so research on border crossings, paperwork and visa's. This will also determine the final route we take.

I am leaving for the UK tomorrow actually for a 10 day vacation to see my kids and grandkids.

I would be interested in coming over to the Adventure Overland show in September and would be happy to do a brief presentation on the trip and the processes taken thus far. Let me try to judge my work schedule to see if I can make it during that time and I will let you know.

mikeBKK wrote:

I would be interested in coming over to the Adventure Overland show in September and would be happy to do a brief presentation on the trip and the processes taken thus far. Let me try to judge my work schedule to see if I can make it during that time and I will let you know.

In that case, fingers crossed you can make it. Doing your homework pre-event can really pay dividends when on the road, and it appears you've doing some hefty research already; nice one.