Budapest to Singapore

​I have to admit, entering Malaysia was already reminding us that our trip was coming to an end soon. We felt like we’d really achieved something as we approached our last destination, Singapore. I don’t think we discovered Malaysia as well as we should have. We visited Kuala Lumpur, the Cameron Highlands and also drove … Read more

As I mentioned in the previous post, we had a hard time entering Thailand.I knew it was going to be difficult, but never thought we’d have to try 4 times before we’d be able to enter. The issue is that, for an unknown reason to me, Thailand introduced a new set of regulations in early … Read more

If you end up in Laos with your own vehicle, chances are you’re traveling from Singapore or Malaysia (perhaps all the way from Australia) to Europe, or from Europe to Malaysia or Singapore. As of the end of 2018, you’re faced with a number of restrictions around Laos, namely that most countries require a guide … Read more

We’re currently in China and while we’re still trying to digest this amazing country, I’d like to talk about the plans for the last part of the trip. We’re so overwhelmed with our experiences in China. We saw (and are still seeing) so much that we need some time to absorb all our adventures before … Read more

The problem with the starter motor really bothered me. It became increasingly hard to start the engine, with the starter just making a clicking noise but not turning the engine over.I was especially nervous because we had about 1,000 miles ahead of us through some of the most difficult terrains of Mongolia. However, we were … Read more

We were headed to Dalanzagdad where we’d meet Giampiero. Not far from the town the automatic transmission was doing some weird things. It suddenly shifted down to third gear and didn’t want to change back to fourth and fifth regardless of the RPM or the speed. Again, it was very worrying. Giampiero had already spent … Read more

It was time to head out and leave River Point. The nine days we spent there were awesome. We had time to relax and stay put for a change. The reason we weren’t in a rush anymore is because we agreed with Niels, Lotte and Giampiero that we would enter China on September 3rd rather … Read more

We had a number of issues with the vehicle since we left Budapest, some more serious than others. We are now in Mongolia and just about to enter China, and the problems seem to keep piling up. But let’s go through each of them in detail: 1. Loosing coolant Signs: coolant level dropped down by … Read more

We met Giampiero at the workshop that he recommended to us where they could weld our roof rack. Finally we met the whole team with whom we’re going to cross China with. Niels and Lotte was supposed to be in Ulaanbaatar too, but the same morning they had to fly back since  their visa application … Read more

The next few days were somehow always about rushing for different reasons.  After spending the night in the weirdest hotel I’ve ever been in, we had a chance to meet Lotte and Niels for the first time on the way to Semonaika. We’d been talking for about 6 months about our tour in China and … Read more

In Ust-Kamenogorsk (or Öskemen in Kazakh), we were quite close to the Russian border. However, we wanted to visit the Altai region of Kazakhstan and so we headed east. I was most interested to see the so-called Austrian Road, which snakes between Urunkhaika and Highway P-163. We had a long way to go until Urunkhaika … Read more

We rolled into Astana quite late at night, just before reception closed in the Nomad4x4 hostel. It was raining and the forecast didn’t look much better either. Since we failed to drive on our planned southern route to visit Baikonur and the Aral Lake, Astana was an attraction much further north that I was looking … Read more

As of this writing we are sitting in the Kazakh Steppe, totally alone with the next village at least 60 miles away.  We’re waiting for the longest lunar eclipse of the 21st century and couldn’t be in a better location to watch. This has also reminded me to write about our lights, from the smallest … Read more

The reason we drove all day this time was that we didn’t want to stay in a random hotel in a small town in Abkhazia. We wanted to reach Astrakhan, a larger town right on the border with Kazakhstan. This city was 400 miles away, however. Driving in this part of Russia was much easier … Read more

During the week when we were in Georgia, we had to figure out our itinerary for the next couple of weeks. In particular, the Caspian Sea and the countries surrounding it require some plans to be in place. In order to make a sensible decision, I asked other overlanders in the Overlanding Asia Facebook group … Read more

The Tusheti National Park is something very unique.  It’s only really accessible for about 5 months of the year, which is probably how it’s managed to stay so pristine and brutally beautiful. The road leading up to Omalo, the main village up in the Tusheti mountains, goes through the infamous Abano Pass. The road itself … Read more

We came up with a rough route between our starting point of Budapest, Europe and the desired finish line of Singapore, and all our navigation is based around this rough itinerary.  Evelin has put a road-book together that lists potential sights, basic information about each country and currency, and printed a Google Maps screenshot for … Read more

I think the top 5 places to see in Georgia are: Mount Kazbegi and the Gergeti Trinity Church Vardzia, the cave settlement from the 12th century The Svaneti Region The Tusheti National Park Tbilisi and Mtskheta Of course there are plenty of other great attractions, but for the limited time we had in Georgia, we … Read more

Leaving very early from Cappadocia meant there was hardly any traffic on the road. We were driving east with Vince and Maxime following behind us.  After a couple of hours I started to recognize a few places by the road. This was the same main road we took when we drove to Mongolia with two … Read more

We took small country roads from Hattusa to Cappadocia. It was extremely hot but we only had to drive for about 2-3 hours. Having a campsite already in mind (that we found on iOverlander again) made our arrival easy. We wanted to stay in a campsite as we planned to spend a couple of nights … Read more

The rain had finally stopped following us when we approached Istanbul. It was extremely hot when we were sitting in the traffic jam of this absolutely huge city. Earlier, we were discussing whether to stop and spend a few days exploring the city, but then we agreed not to. As interesting as it would have … Read more

Rather than just writing about where we are and what we do, I’m starting a series of posts about the overlanding gear we use on this trip, as well as the ins and outs of overlanding from our perspective and limitations. Our point of view means the equipment we use is based on and influenced … Read more

We woke up to some nasty, rainy weather – the kind that won’t seem to stop all day. And it didn’t. Quite a bad day not to be on the move. I prefer driving in rainy weather than staying in a campsite. But since this was a campsite with restaurants and other amenities we decided … Read more

While heading for the Turkish border in southeast Bulgaria, I realized that we actually made quite good progress. Our only deadline during the trip is August 27th, when we enter China and meet up with the tour company at the border, but we’ll probably catch up with Lotte, Niels and Giampiero before that somewhere in … Read more

I don’t really know where to start. We’ve started our biggest overland trip yet. It’s now day 4 and there’s a lot to report on. The last few days before our departure were extremely hectic. Getting our paperwork all in order, finalizing our gear and vehicle setup and leaving everything in order created multiple lists … Read more