If you have read the previous posts you will know that Ive been sleeping on the floor of an ISP here in Kiev.

Generally iNet cafe connections are not that great in the Ukraine but here especially after we swapped out the office switch the connection is rather good

My biggest achievement of the last five days of very intense research and route planning was helping splice a new optical feed to the office, for those of you not so technically minded yes this is cool and for those of you who are, yes that is the kitchen table.

I was expecting a fair amount of trouble organising the next leg of the trip, coordinating seven or eight VISAs at once is not that easy. Russia is a drag especially with the new rules, but with a time delay achievable.

Georgia and Azerbaijan straightforward. The first hurdle is Turkmenistan, where Im supposed to have a car and driver, booked hotels and published itinerary – does not really sound like me.

Kazakhstan is a drag as they only give you a month and there is no possibility for extension in country, this is only really a problem if I took my longer route through Kazakhstan, but even with the shorter route I would not have as much time as I would like with the locals. Uzbekistan is straight forward but limited to thirty days. Kyrgyzstan is probably the easiest of them all and then we reach China.

You would think access to this great and democratic country would be easy during the Olympics – think again.

VISA issue is heavily restricted with a great amount of confusion existing, not helped by the already overly complex VISA categories.

Yesterday an Agent in London proudly told me they could get me a 60day double entry VISA, which means you can leave the country and come back for a second 60 day period. This is a little difficult if Im in the middle of the desert at the time.

Ive yet to give up on this route, but at the moment China isnt possible and Ive no desire to make it through Kyrgyzstan and then have few or no options.

Another important factor is the season, time is pressing on and the extra time spent in Latvia & Lithuania makes crossing the Tien Shen into China tight anyway.

From Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, April 6:
“Beijing has stopped issuing multiple-entry visas, risking major inconvenience to foreigners who travel to the mainland regularly, especially on business. Hong Kong travel agents say the ban will stay in place until after the Olympic Games.