Border problems and decisions

We decided to ride out, it had been nearly a month since we last have had the wind of freedom in our face and we finally got to camp again. With a pocketful of useful contacts along the way Ridha had given us and Kismet revving beautifully, we felt unstoppable. Let's go!

We found a place to set tent in some marshes, had some bebe beers and pasta. What felt a bit weird is the fact that we were not far from an oil field, and anyone following the current politics of the region would know these could be interesting targets of the Iranian regime. At least Saudi was safe, mainly due to its strong air defense system. Hence, apart from occasional alarms on our phones, our night was accompanied by the sound of midges, frogs, and fighter jets patrolling the skys.
Still, it was our first night of camping, and we were grateful to be out again.

Next morning, we kicked some 150 km to the Kuwaiti border, passing through with ease, and as usual, the border guards were very friendly. Just as we left, the heavens opened up and we spent the next 2 hours avoiding deep potholes and getting soaked. Our next rest stop in Kuwait was at Abdullah’s home, a retired army personnel turned biker who was keen to host other bikers passing by. He shared stories of being part of the Iran-Iraq war, his role as special forces in the Gulf War, his training with the US Delta Forces (while proudly displaying his certificates and medals), and his post-retirement interest in motorcycles. On top of his warm hospitality, he took us on a fun tour around the historical area of Kuwait City, and helped us fix RidingKismet’s burned panniers. After two nights, we thanked Abdullah and went on our way to the border with Iraq, another 170 km. Up in the sky, intercepting missiles flew over our heads.

Again, as typical for Kuwait, exiting the border was smooth. But as we approached the Iraqi side, our flow was interrupted suddenly.

What happened was they had officially stopped issuing transit visas on arrival the day before (without official communication). So we couldn’t cross without these visas. We explained that this information wasn’t officially announced hence we didn’t know, plus we only needed 3 days to cross the country and reach Turkey. They seemed unfazed, and demanded we return to Kuwait and apply for an electronic visa.

We returned to the first border post of Kuwait and wasted no time applying for the e-visa. We sat next to the border post guards, who offered us snacks and drinks while we treated the keyboard. The Iraqi e-visa can take between 5 to 12 hours to be granted, so we thought why not hang out at the border until the visa comes through? That way, we could quickly bolt out of the country. But as soon as we made the payment of 205 €, we heard sudden booms accompanied by strong shaking of the building. The guards quickly ushered us to a room and told us there were a lot of tension between Kuwait (which is aligned with US) and the militias in southern Iraq, and now, right now, the border had been closed. The Iraqi guards also confirmed that, for our safety, they will not let us cross even if we had visas. Our final point of exit was now firmly shut.
Fun fact: days later, we still didn't get the Iraqi visa we applied for. So, sticking around between borders would not have been a great strategy.

After some 8 hours of bad blood with a nasty border official, liaising with our embassies and finally having the border police to make things move, we at least could return to Kuwait City and go back to the drawing board.

But obviously we were not alone: with the bottleneck out of the peninsula being closed, a group of stranded travelers dispersed all around the region gathered on social media, supporting each other with informations on border crossings, embassy messages, and, most important, morally. Suddenly, we were not alone and as the saying said: a problem shared, is a problem halved.

While we reported our expereinces at the border to the travel group, others were working on facilitiating the crossing of the Syrian-Turkish border. Historically only open for Syrians and Turkish travellers, this was now a possible crossing to Europe - the only one. A couple of travellers offered to test it out and report back. We all reached out to our different european embassies, and while most refused to facilitate the crossing, the French offered to help their citizens cross, while the Spanish said they’ll coordinate with the French. Not bad.
In the meantime, one expat in Kuwait who had previously called the Spanish embassy on our behalf to connected us to them now invited us for a fancy Indian dinner.

Anyway, with 2000 km to that Syrian-Turkish border, the context shrouded in uncertainty, and our home admin screaming for attention, we contemplated parking the motorcycles and flying home... To finally take a pause for our racing minds and time to assess with clarity while attending to home matters. While we mulled on this decision, allowing it to settle into our minds, we were alerted to some breaking news...

‘The Syrian-Turkish border is now open, and 4 travelling families in campervans have officially crossed with ease!!’

So.... What shall we do now??

Always excited - there's always a way forward!Read more