Going through 23 countries is going to require at least a few visas. In our case, Mike needs 9, Alex and Zico each need 10. We have less than a month to go and still need three more!
Mike's visa for Uzbekistan
Sometimes getting them is easy. Belarus simply required a hotel confirmation. Others, such as China, are simple on paper, but in practice extremely difficult. As we were unable to book an appointment at the Chinese visa centre in London, our only choice was to drive to Manchester for an appointment there. We left early one morning and stopped off in Birmingham to get the car for the trip, a 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser, serviced.
Continuing on to Manchester, we arrived at the centre late, missing our appointment. Thankfully, they took us anyway. We rushed over to the window to hand in our application, hoping to receive our visas in a few days. The visa centre had other ideas....
Zico's Mongol Visa
Mike's Russian Visa
We were told it is now illegal to drive through China without special permission! Gutted, and very annoyed since we were told something different by the Chinese embassy in London just days before, we left. After much back and forth between the Embassy, visa center and us, we were finally told the correct information on how to get an invitation letter....which required calling a specific travel agency in Beijing at 3AM! Not only that, but they also require temporary driving permits, temporary number plates, insurance, and a full time guide for the duration of the trip! Now two weeks after we initially tried to get our visa, we are still awaiting the letter.....