Software Business in the Middle East

This is a translation from Swedish in free style. The original post can be found here.

The journey from Sweden to China started on October 3, 2007. The travelers are Nino, Erik and Tim. The guys started their journey from Alingsas (Alingsås), that is 40 kilometers form Gothenburg. As guys wrote, they expect to ride for about 1’500 or 2’000 Swedish miles. One Swedish mile is 10 kilometers, so total distance is expected to be between 15’000 and 20’000 kilometers. The direct distance between Gothenburg and Pekin is about 7’100 kilometres, so I guess the journey distance is doubled because there is no direct road available if you go by bike, so guys will make many rides around in different countries.

The trip will take about 10 months. The starting point is Sweden and then the journey route will pass through such countries as Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran and Pakistan. The final destination is China.

The usual question the travelers get is why they started this journey at all. The answer is simple – because they wanted and could make such very unusual travel. I totally agree with them – if you wish and you can doing something, then you would do it. We all will hopefully have a chance to sit at home when we retire and become pensioners.

Now a little bit more about journey organization.

Transportation

The guys go by mountain bikes with steel frame, strengthen wheels and tires protected from punctures. The bikes hold bags with cloths, tent and other necessary things.

Living

Travelers plan to stay overnight in the tent. If they cannot or do not want staying in the tent somewhere, they will take hotel, motel or any other place they find.

Food

During the first few days they plan eating special kind of “food for hunters”, that is three times more rich in calories than normal food. In the original post they call it kind of “frozen and dried”, but I am not sure if this would be a right translation to English.

When this food is over, the guys will eat whatever food is available in the countries they go through. I think the most extreme food will be in Pakistan, and I hope that all free of them got all vaccination and stomach pills.

Visa

By middle of September 2007 guys didn’t have all the visas in their passports. But since they are on the travel since 3d October, I guess that all visas are received. Anyway, I think they need visas only for Iran, Pakistan and China. If they decide to make a small break somewhere in Iran and come to visit Dubai for a few days, they do not need any visa to come to UAE.