Surly World Troller - touring thread

F-ing Visa Problems and Costs: the Southern route

1. EU Zone, free!
   
2. Turkey €25,- easy.
   
3. Iran $45,- easy.
   
4. Turkmenistan: MAJOR PITA. They only accept visas if you've booked a tour, otherwise you can get a transit visa with a high and seemingly random turn down rate. A turndown on the Turkmeni border will probably mean having to get onto a plane to Uzbekistan or on a boat to Kazakhstan.
   
5. Uzbekistan: around €90,- but pretty easy. Seems to be possible to order one in Istanbul and then to pick it up in Tehran (source)
   
6. Kyrgyzstan: free!
   
   

TLDR; getting a Chinese visa is going to be a PITA regardless of the route I'll take

Getting the suitable bike and gear

I'm going to take over @andy_k his Surly Troll, more info will follow :)