Slight change of plans…

Back on the mainland, we were all quite exhausted by all the turns at the immigrations office and the news from Pakistan. We had to reconsider our route now, since none of us were that excited about going into Pakistan after the last couple of incidents in Islamabad. Also, after our three month stay in Iran the weather conditions in both Pakistan and India are not exactly ideal… 50 something degrees and aver 70 percent humidity. And then the monsoon... Unless we limit our visit to the mountain areas only, our stay would most likely be somewhat unbearable. And we didn´t really want to rush to south east Asia, since this area would also be too hot and humid to enjoy.

So, one alternative would be to go north through Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Kirgizstan but that route would either take us through China, which we know involve a daunting amount of paper work and money, or through Afghanistan which we did not know if it were possible at all. Our initial option of shipping from Bander Abbas to India did no longer feel like an alternative. Too hot, too much paper work and money and to be frank, we all had enough of bureaucracy for the time being…

A third alternative, and one that had kept popping up a number of times during our journey so far, was to go to Africa instead. We know, it´s not quite what we had planned initially. J But after meeting a number of overlanders coming from this direction, and others coming from the Indian/Pakistan direction, we all thought that Africa would be more pleasurable, less hassle with paper work and Visas, no shipping (!) better climate and a more laid back atmosphere. (For Richard and Lina it is also somewhat like going home… ) So there we are, Africa it is! Our somewhat altered route now goes something like this: Turkey (again), Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. So, for all of you who plan to visit us somewhere on the way, we really hope to see you in Africa instead!