Russia? Turkmenistan? Niger? Mali? What's My Best Route?

Intro

Over the course of life, I have been to some pretty wild places such as Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, and more, but the next adventure isn't just an adventure. It's going to be a complete transition in my life.

What's Coming Up

Coming up on finishing college in 2 months, a new chapter of my life is going to open. I was never one to go into a corporate job, and my plan is to grow my tourism business to off-the-beaten-path destinations, grow this blog, and take on other revenue opportunities while traveling to some of the world's most complex environments.

While I will discuss the future of this blog in a separate post, there is no need to worry about no more airline reviews, lounge reviews, and such, but there will come a stronger emphasis on rarer airlines.

With that being said, let's break down my current plan, and I would love some input on what you recommend, and what you would like to see footage from. 🙏

Part 1

After (hopefully) finishing up college in August, I already have a few plans set in stone for most of September. It starts off quite simple:

• ANA Business Class from Chicago to Tokyo

• Spend a couple of nights in Tokyo

• Hopefully* get onboard Garuda First Class from Tokyo to Denpasar

• Spend a week celebrating the completion of college in Bali

I need to decompress at home in Bali for 7-10 days before embarking on a great expedition that may never see me return home.

From there, the plan is not yet confirmed, but here is what it somewhat looks like:

• Aeroflot A350 Business Class from Saigon to Moscow

• Spend 1 week exploring Moscow, St Petersburg, and visiting a friend's farm who lives there

• Take the Trans Siberian train from St Petersburg to Vladivostok, and catch another Aeroflot flight back to Moscow

• From Moscow, head to Ashagabt on S7

• Spend a few days exploring Ashgabat

• Fly Turkmenistan business class to London on their 77W

Why Russia? There are two reasons. Firstly, my mum has always said that Russia was one of the most beautiful places she has ever visited. I remember her coming back from Moscow and just ranting and raving about how incredible (and cold) it was. Secondly. I have a friend who has invited me, so I will not be on my own there as I don't speak any Russian whatsoever 😅.

Part 2: The Conundrum

Now this is where it gets a bit more challenging, and I would love some input.

My plan is to take a short hop over to Portugal and spend a few days exploring Lisbon, before heading off to Morocco. From there, it becomes the great African expedition.

• Starting off in Morocco, I'll spend some time exploring the markets

• Due to the border with Algeria being closed, I'll hop a connecting flight over to Algiers and spend some time there.

• From Algeria, I'll head back to Senegal, where I will apply for my Mali Visa

• Drive across to Mali for a week or two, maybe head up to Timbuktu, and then back to Dakar.

• From Dakar, I will make my way along the West African coastline, stopping off in the Gambia, Liberia, Ghana, Togo, Ivory Coast, etc, until ending up at the border with Nigeria.

• With any luck, I can cross the border from Benin up into Burkina Faso, spend some time there, and move onto Niger.

• Now here is where it gets a bit complicated, I wanted to hear from Niger to Chada, and then work my way down into CAR and onto Cameroon. However, Chad is not issuing American visas at the moment.

• So that means heading through Nigeria, down into Cameroon/CAR, and then heading further south past Equatorial Guinea and Angola.

• Eventually, I'll sweep through Namibia and across South Africa, hitting Lesotho and Eswatini, before making my way up to Mozambique, where I hope to reside for at least a few months.

With all of the countries I have been to in Africa already, after this is said and done, I will have visited almost every country on the continent.

With that being said, any suggestions?

Final Thoughts

I am currently in the planning stages of what is going to be possibly my greatest adventure to date. Starting off in the likes of Bali, before heading off to Russia and Turkmenistan, I will then embark on a great mission through the continent of Africa to some of the most remote places in the world. This won't just be a "trip", and honestly, I might never come back. Next thing you know I migth end up posting: how I ended up living with a tribe in Niger for a month.

I would appreciate it if anyone has any insight whatsoever, as I am going in blind to this. I have nothing but two passports and a brain that knows how to get out of dangerous situations.