NEWS | TRAVEL SCENE – Duo93Adventure: JOURNEY INTO THE ORIENT
After 40,000 kilometres through all the climate zones of South America, Renata and Dieter from duo93adventure tackle their next project: an overland motorbike trip to India. But not everything goes as planned on this ambitious adventure.
Without a fixed route plan and with a one-way ticket, so to speak, we start our journey eastwards. Only the destination is certain: Goa, the beach paradise on India's west coast. Away from the tourist routes, we enjoy travelling through the Balkan countries. Only the temperature, sometimes over 40 degrees, is a bit of a problem. However, we cool off a little with regular dips in the Adriatic Sea. At sunset, we pitch our tent near the beach and enjoy the gentle breeze, the starry sky and the sound of the sea. After a wonderful drive through the cooler mountains in the north of Albania, we immerse ourselves in the metropolis of Tirana before continuing our journey towards Greece.
On the few thousand kilometres that take us across Greece via Corfu, Nafpaktos, Athens, the magnificent Meteora monasteries, Thessaloniki and the island of Thasos, we gather countless impressions from the present and the past. In Istanbul, we cross the Bosporus and roll onto the Asian continent. After about 10,000 kilometres, we treat our Ténérés to a service and tyre change at Touratech Istanbul with its adjacent Yamaha workshop. While we are still admiring the spectacular geological formations in the "Valley of Love", a sinking feeling sets in. We have all our visas for Iran, Pakistan and India as well as a Carnet de Passage in our pockets. But the situation in Iran, our next destination, has worsened massively due to the war between Hamas and Israel. Nevertheless, we decide - somewhat irrationally - to enter Iran.
The ease of travelling gives way to a queasy feeling across the border. Our previous travelling experience has made us get used to dealing with risks, but here the biggest risk is arbitrariness. We travel via Umai, Tabriz and Tehran towards Isfahan, probably the most beautiful city in Iran, and on to Yadz and Shiraz. The uneasy feeling slowly subsides and we enjoy the impressive desert and mountain regions as well as the unrivalled hospitality of the Iranians. But we are abruptly torn from our travelling flow when we are unexpectedly intercepted by four people in civilian clothes outside our hotel in Shiraz and, despite complying with all local rules, have to agree to a room search and undergo several hours of interrogation.
This negative experience encourages us to leave Iran as quickly as possible and not to follow our route towards Pakistan as planned, but to turn off into Iraq. What awaits us in the Arab countries is completely contrary to Western reports. We experience warm hospitality and an intensively networked biker community. Instead of continuing directly towards Dubai, we embark on a 5,000-kilometre adventure through Saudi Arabia. Not a day goes by without new acquaintances, joint motorbike tours and deep insights into a country undergoing major economic and cultural change.
This unforgettable stage of our journey comes to an end in Dubai and we have a great time with the Touratech Dubai team. And we already have ideas about how we will continue our journey eastwards.
Route: 18 countries – 23,338 km
Germany-Austria-Italy-Slowenia-Croatia-Bosnia and Herzegovina-Montenegro-Albania-Greece–Turkiye-Iran-Irak-Kuwait-Saudi Arabia-Bahrain-Qatar-Oman-United Arab Emirates
About the Author
