June 3rd, 2023

oday is a day of remembrance. It’s a special day, the 59th birthday of my best friend Ivo, who left us far too soon. I’m thinking of him deeply.

The budget, a key element.

For a journey like this, the budget is, of course, a central concern. Fuel prices vary dramatically from one country to another: for example, in Iran, it costs around €0.31 per litre, while in Germany it’s closer to €1.80. The cost of living also changes significantly depending on the region.

I had taken care to plan my trip thoroughly. By the end of 2019, everything seemed ready, and I felt confident and at ease with my planning, aiming for a departure in spring 2023.

The pandemic, a sudden stop.

In March 2020, on a Tuesday afternoon, everything changed: all employees were told to go home until further notice. The pandemic had hit. At first, no one imagined it would last so long...

Geopolitical disorders. 

In February 2021, a military coup rocked Myanmar: General Min Aung Hlaing seized power, and Aung San Suu Kyi was imprisoned. A state of emergency was declared, and all borders were closed. Myanmar had been one of the highlights of my planned journey.

To bypass the country via China would have required a completely different route, and with a private motorbike, entering China is virtually impossible due to strict licence regulations.

One alternative I considered was shipping the motorbike by sea from Kolkata to Bangkok, a month-long sea voyage, which would have given me time to return to Switzerland for a break.

The war in Ukraine. 

A year later, Russia invaded Ukraine, sparking a crisis that continues to this day. This turned everything upside down: the borders with Russia were closed, making the northern route, via Russia, Kazakhstan, and Central Asia, unfeasible.

So I had to draw up a new route: through the Balkans, Turkey, then a loop through Central Asian countries, Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan. But Tajikistan had also closed its borders, as had the Pamir Highway and the Wakhan Corridor, due to security concerns. Gradually, nearly all of Central Asia became inaccessible.

Troubles with Iran. 

Since October, Iran has been experiencing violent unrest against the conservative Islamic regime and is no longer issuing visas. That’s a real shame, because every book I’ve read praises the generosity and warm welcome of the Iranian people. The cultural heritage of the Persian Empire is equally fascinating.

This situation definitively dashed my project, just like the overland route through the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula, which was made impossible by the situations in Syria and Iraq.

Morocco, a new way forward. 

Still, I didn’t give up. Morocco had been on my mind for a long time. I had even thought about shipping the bike from Australia to Morocco and returning to Switzerland from there.

So I had already done some research: taking a ferry from Sète to Tangier, exploring Morocco, then coming back to Europe via Gibraltar, Andalusia, Portugal, the Basque Country, Bordeaux, and finally reaching my French roots in Charente, before heading back to Switzerland.

A shorter, simpler route, about 10,000 km and two and a half months.