# Driving a car from Europe to China / SE Asia



## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

^^ Yeah, I remember that Mercedes race. And yes, you can go by fancy car, no need for 4×4, this isn't Africa. Eurasia has quite normal roads.


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## FREKI (Sep 27, 2005)

tvdxer said:


> Is it possible to drive, completely overland, from France / Germany / Netherlands / etc. all the way to China, or even better, to Vietnam or Thailand or even Singapore?


Yes... if you have the funds to buy a car and the ensurence for it needed ( no rental service will allow this and I doubt many car insurence companies will either ) that can make the trip, have atleast one extra guy, knowledge of left side driving, plenty of sparetires and gas and a general knowledge of fixing the most common problems and a ton of cash just in case..


It is however not something I can imagin anyone doing as enjoyment - it will be very hard, expensive, risky and no matter how much you enjoy driving when it becomes your life it loses a lot.. 
( take it from a guy who had the pleasure of driving a 4x4 for 16 hours a day on week long patrols in hostile territory )


If I was you I would pick an area and visit that - Europe, SE Asia, Middle East, Russia and do it one area at a time - going between them by car is not recommendable and will cost a heck of a lot more then doing them individually..


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## Guest (Mar 28, 2009)

Verso said:


> Of course, why not through Laos? As for Nepal, I didn't know the road to China (Tibet ) was so bad, but there's another option: directly from India to China (Tibet), through Sikkim. And actually you don't have to go through Laos, you can go through Myanmar (Burma); enter it from China and leave it for Thailand, I didn't think of this option. 'Only' the borders with India, Bangladesh and Laos are closed.


Hmm ok good to know.. Actually I didn't know there's ANY chance to pass through Myanmar.



Verso said:


> ^^ Yeah, I remember that Mercedes race. And yes, you can go by fancy car, no need for 4×4, this isn't Africa. Eurasia has quite normal roads.


Better be safe than sorry.. If i was to pick, I would still go for 4x4


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## keber (Nov 8, 2006)

Verso said:


> Of course, why not through Laos? As for Nepal, I didn't know the road to China (Tibet ) was so bad, but there's another option: directly from India to China (Tibet), through Sikkim. And actually you don't have to go through Laos, you can go through Myanmar (Burma); enter it from China and leave it for Thailand, I didn't think of this option. 'Only' the borders with India, Bangladesh and Laos are closed.


Actually in terms of road quality the easiest is to go China-Vietnam-Laos-Thailand.

Also wondering, how you gonna go with your car through Myanmar.:lol:


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## Qaabus (Aug 4, 2006)

Hell it was possible 100 years ago. A Peking-Paris race was held in 1907.


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## keber (Nov 8, 2006)

And who will let you through border now?

As a foreigner you can come to Myanmar only by a plane. Some also succeeded going over land Thai-Myanmar border, but they are truly rare.


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## Izumo (Sep 28, 2005)

but can you drive from Cape Town to singapore?


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## Timon91 (Feb 9, 2008)

You'll need a 4×4 to do that


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

FREKI said:


> It is however not something I can imagin anyone doing as enjoyment - it will be very hard, expensive, risky and no matter how much you enjoy driving when it becomes your life it loses a lot..
> ( take it from a guy who had the pleasure of driving a 4x4 for 16 hours a day on week long patrols in hostile territory )


Depends on the person. No one's forcing anyone to do it. I'd enjoy it. And no one's talking about driving 16 hours a day, let alone in Iraq.



keber said:


> As a foreigner you can come to Myanmar only by a plane.


Wrong. But yeah, maybe you aren't allowed to drive your own car in Myanmar. Well, you can go through Laos anyway.



Izumo said:


> but can you drive from Cape Town to singapore?


Tough question (at least for me). Roads in Africa suck big time. I remember two Slovenians who couldn't drive in central Africa even on main roads, and they drove motorbikes! And don't forget crossing Israel to continue driving in most Arab countries is illegal.


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## Guest (Mar 28, 2009)

Izumo said:


> but can you drive from Cape Town to singapore?


Well, I consider myself an adventurous guy, but I would not try THIS one. :lol:

Theoretically possible, but T.I.A., u kno...


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## Sergu (Jul 8, 2005)

Interesting possibilities but I would prefer a train, you are so good there:lol:


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## tvdxer (Feb 28, 2006)

Sergu said:


> Interesting possibilities but I would prefer a train, you are so good there:lol:


Taking a train from London to Beijing would be quite easy. You can even enter "London" for a departure and "Peking" for a destination on Deutsche Bahn's website and get a schedule. Apparently, if you departed on 04/01, you'd arrive on 04/10 (!), for a length of 198 hours.

There's a page explaining the trip here: http://www.seat61.com/Trans-Siberian.htm .


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## keber (Nov 8, 2006)

Verso said:


> Wrong. But yeah, maybe you aren't allowed to drive your own car in Myanmar. Well, you can go through Laos anyway.


:nono:
Right.

Going through any of those border crossings in that region in far from being equivalent to anything that Europe knows. Been there, know that. :naughty:
And in most countries including China international driving permits are not recognised. Which makes it practically impossible to come from Europe to Singapur by own car without vast bureaucratic difficulties.


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

A friend of mine did the route by car several times. He tried two routes, the northern and the southern.
Northern route Germany to China via:
Poland, Ukraine or Belarus, Russia and Mongolia.
Southern route via:
Austria, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgystan, Kazakhstan.
He prefers the northern route, because on the southern one you have to pay too much bribes especially in Turkmenistan and you have to cross too many borders, which means a plenty of extra time.
On the northern route you should prefer crossing Belarus than the Ukraine, because in the Ukraine police wants to be bribed several times.
Advantage of the northern route is that the most time you go through Russia and he says that he has never felt unsave in Russia. But you need someone who speaks Russian, if you are not able to by yourself.


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

keber said:


> :nono:
> Right.
> 
> Going through any of those border crossings in that region in far from being equivalent to anything that Europe knows. Been there, know that. :naughty:


You've been to Myanmar?


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

Baluchistan is known to be extremely dangerous, both the Iranian and Pakistani authorities have nearly no control of the desert areas. Travel along this corridor is not recommended at own risk, and involves armed police escort.


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## keber (Nov 8, 2006)

Not Burma but three other countries in the region. But I'm pretty much aware of conditions of entering Burma, which is very strict military dictatorship (still I have a plan to visit it sometime in the future). It is not possible in any circumstance for you as a foreigner to drive a car in Burma. And also driving a car in Vietnam and Cambodia is in my experience limited to locals. Don't know for Thailand (been there too), but I think, conditions for foreigners to driving a car are similar to China.


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## oliver999 (Aug 4, 2006)

please bring a radio, and a parttern. driving alone is a bit dangerous, if you are ill? if your car stopped in the mud?


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## Guest (Mar 29, 2009)

@keber, my dad rented a car in Thailand without problems. Driving there is easy and pleasant, but Bangkok is sluggish in the peak hours.


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## snowman159 (May 16, 2008)

keber said:


> And in most countries including China international driving permits are not recognised. Which makes it practically impossible to come from Europe to Singapur by own car without vast bureaucratic difficulties.


The red tape and hassle involved in driving through China is well known, but it can be done - and has been done by many.
Basically, you have to find a Chinese agency that takes care of all the formalities (visas, permits, Chinese license plates, the required guide or military liaison officer, etc.) Of course, all that comes with a hefty price tag and there are absolutely no guarantees that you will actually be able to obtain all the necessary paperwork (or in time for the trip). 
But as long as Myanmar is off limits, there's no way to avoid China.


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