Campsites Calais to Chernobyl

[Titus]

Hi,

I'm over fifty, I've just had a heart attack and I need an adventure so I'm off to Chernobyl. Has anyone got any information concerning campsites from Calias to Chernobyl and any experience of crossing the Polish/Ukranian border (re insurance as much as anything) but also re the roads? Should I detour to Belarus and/or Moldovia? I'll be going on a Dyna Glide, I've hardly got any money and I've got a weird diet so all advice, however abstact, might well be good. I've also got 36 years motorcycling experience and I've travelled to over 100 countries (okay, different places).

Look forward to lots of interesting replies.
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Titie/BSc

[G]

If you've not got much money to spend, why not consider 'wild camping' - I personally prefer it to camp sites as you can be much more flexible.
Most of Europe is sparsely populated enough that it's not too hard to find somewhere to camp out of the way.

[Titus]

I thought of that and, indeed, have travelled widely doing it. I'm just out of practice and I'm getting old and, I guess, just at the moment, it's not a good idea to be too far from help... (I might not be able to get the cork out of my wine bottle, or I might have another heart attack - or something).
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Titie/BSc

[Phoenix]

Watch out for the bears if you're wild camping in eastern Europe.

[Titus]

Bears! Oh thanks.
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Titie/BSc

[Gazz]

I have heard that crossing the border from Poland to Ukraine takes a good wee while, even on good days, because this is where a lot of contrband gets smuggled into EU (at Poland).

[Gazz]

I have heard that crossing the border from Poland to Ukraine takes a good wee while, even on good days, because this is where a lot of contrband gets smuggled into EU (at Poland).

[tatters]

Dont bother camping in ukraine its around £10 per night for a hotel worth it for the shower alone though alot of cheap places are trucker brothels, border crossing is quite relaxed compaired to russia but expect to hand over a bottle of booze and a carton of 200 fags on the way out at some crossings, also make sure they give you a tourist visa at the border and not a tranist one which is limted to a certian route/crossing within 3-5 days.

ukrainan motorbike insurance does,nt really exsit and the police are quite relaxed about documents but get it at the border from a AXA hut or simular should cost around £10 for two weeks worth covers you just incase a corput cop trys to do you for no insurance, took me ages to talk the women into selling me it as locals dont insure bikes.


Same as in russia as the ukraine and belarus watch out for police speed traps as you enter and leave towns/villages they love hidding behind bushes with radar guns or have remote radar units on bipods hidden along the road, bribes can be from £10-£60 if you cant get away without paying one always argue and haggle with the bastreds.
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[Grazoid]

[Titus]

Thanks for all the replies so far. I'm sure I'd love the golden Jackals but I'm having second thoughts about travelling outside the cover of my insurance policy. Maybe, after a very mad two months, common sense ought to prevail a bit... does anyone have any experience of the cheaper parts of the EU?
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Titie/BSc

[Phoenix]

I'm not sure how it works exactly outside the EU but it would be logical to assume any insurance you buy at the border is purely third party liability cover and therefore your bike is uninsured for theft or damage unless you can find some UK insurance company who will provide insurance for all the non EU countries you plan to visit, just saying that makes me think of a tub of Vaseline though....

You can still have decent adventures within the EU, obviously the longer you have the further you can go comfortably. Some great trips to be had up through Scandinavia but it's very expensive. Everything gets cheaper once you get out into Slovenia and beyond, Hungary isn't bad price wise, food is not particularly cheap but accomodation and meals are, Romania I stopped in a 4 star hotel, raided the mini bar and had a full dinner and breakfast for £30...unfortunately didn't spend much time there so not sure if that's consistent across the country. I would gues if you get anywhere near Bucurest or Brasov things get much more expensive, I would imagine Bulgaria is pretty much the same. Any country that isn't in the Euro is likely to be much cheaper for almost everything.

[c-m]

[c-m]

[c-m]

[Titus]

Reference the motorcycle insurance for Ukraine and other similar countries (and the fact that my insurance is due in a week anyway) I have asked at least ten insurance companies if they will provide a green card. They won’t – end of story – which is a shame because I would like to know why. For example (even though it probably isn’t!) is it because every bike they have insured has been stolen?

I understand that crime rates are often lower there than here but, simplistically, I’m feeling a bit knackered these days and the insurance aspect is just something else to worry about. My Harley is worth quite a lot on money and, I guess, I’m not ready to risk that (and my bestus bike in the whole Universe, my Guzzi, would probably blow up before I got to Calais). I want to just chill and ride my bike (somewhere different), drink wine and contemplate the meaning of life (some more). I don’t actually need to go specifically to the Ukraine – I just need a focal point to head for. Once I achieve that focal point I am quite happy to immediately point myself at focal point number two. It’s the getting there that I enjoy while, without a focal point, the challenge is different. If I get ravished by teenage nuns, meet God, discover the well of eternal youth and a bottomless pit of Guzzi spares – that’s just a bonus.

My real interests lie with natural history, astrophysics, evolution and entomology and many of my best friends think I am the most boring person on the planet (an accolade I am very proud of) – but if I can tie a little of that in with my trip – I’ll be a happy man. There are lots of places I really want to go on my bike – but I need a less valuable one. I want to ride to Mali, for example.

Anyway, I’m burbling and my daughter needs to go to the carnival. It’s the first year her mother has deemed her large enough to go on all and any of the rides and she is chomping at the bit…
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Titie/BSc

[Phoenix]

They sound like fairly interesting interests to me

[Grazoid]

There are quite a few places that you can travel to in Europe, still have Green Card cover and live cheaply.

Bulgaria is an interesting place and the rural central bits are not too touristy yet. Down to the point a few weeks back that people were amazed that they had Angliski people in their cafe.

A good circular route would be across Northern France, Germany,Austria , Hungary, into Romania. Hang a right at Bucharest, down to Ruse head south over the Shipka pass, into Greece, follow the Adriatic coast(IS Albania EU yet ? ) and back through the Dolomites or the Alps.... or get a ferry across from Piraeus to Italy ?


It's what I would be attempting If I was footloose and fancy free and Fifty ... well I am Fifty , but I ain't the others

[Grazoid]

[Titus]

Hi Phoenix,

You haven't heard me when I start talking. I gave a talk last leave about the likelihood of finding complex life elsewhere (rather than on Earth). Some of the less strong members of the audience died in their chairs while the sensible ones just lost consciousness.


Hi Grazoid,

That route sounds good…

This posting was an exercise, or experiment, as to what sort of information I would get – and I have been very honoured. However, at the end of the day, I think a lot depends on what wind blows. Someone mentioned having a gun pulled at the Ukrainian border – which would cause me to turn round and maybe book myself into the nearest Disneyland. Someone else stated that the Polish were the friendliest people they had ever met – which might temp me to marry and stay there forever. I friend of mine suggested I made my objective Transylvania… You make Bulgaria sound good… In truth, I want to set off on my bike and never come back…

Hmmmm
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Titie/BSc

[Titus]

Hi Guys,
Well... blah, blah, blah: I took my Harley Dyna Glide (and a small rucksack full of my post heart attack pills). I covered 5,000 miles in 17 days (France, Belgium, Germany, Czech, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Belgium, France, Home. Fork seals blew after 3 days of Ukrainian roads, rack snapped off after 4. Had to rebuild starter clutch in Romania (we made rollers from drill bits). Passed through torrential rain and was diverted by many floods, got attacked by packs of wild dogs and got eaten to death by giant mosquitoes. As I usually do, I will be writing up my adventure and will post it somewhere. It is going to be called 'This is the trip you should do.' Take a tip: don't wait until you have had the heart attack - do it now! I've stuck some photos on my blog at Blogger.com; El-Bloggo-del-Titie is what my blog is called.

For interest; I bought insurance in the Ukraine. 15 days cost 5.5 Euros - Hoorah!
Titie/BSc
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Titie/BSc

[G]

Nice, sounds like you had a decent 'adventure' .

[ms51ves3]

I look forward to the write up