dog attacks

i understood that a rabid dog could transmit rabies well before showing symptoms - but i could be wrong. that's what my doc said, anyhoo.

In and around Lhasa I didn't have any dog trouble at all.
In other countries the trick of picking up a stone works, also on yakbulls.
In Morocco I picked a stick, that I stuck on the bike, but I used it more to threaten kids making roadblocks and throwing stones than on dogs :o)

So far the best way for me is to spit at them.
it works great for me;especialy when i have been drinking and smoking a lot the day before.
Try to reach the nose;they will be VERY surprised...

Thanks for all the advice. I think I will take the Rabies vaccination, it's a bit of a problem for me as I'm in France in the country and I'll need 3 jabs over 3 weeks, but it's not worth the risk of dying a horrible death. I think I might carry a small cheap whistle and see if that helps, plus of course the pebbles should work.

Racpat my route will be as follows, feel free to get in touch andywaddington99@yahoo.com

Liverpool to Calais - head through Europe essentially through Germany/Austria/Czech/Slovak Republic - Hungary - Romania - Bulgaria.
Visa's in Istanbul then across to Georgia- Azerbaijan.

Here we will probably go to Kazakhstan and take the ferry to Aqtau before taking the difficult route to Uzbekistan via the train line between Beyneu and Qonghirat.

Turkmenistan is too much of a pain, transit visa too short, guide too expensive.

The intention is to then continue south east to Burkhara and onto Tashkent (Chinese Visa)

I would very much like to continue on to Dushanbe-Khorog and along the Pamir Highway crossing to China via the Irkeshtam Pass.

From Kashgar we intend to continue to Ali - Mt Kailash- Lhasa and eventually over to the Yunnan area.
From here things are a bit vague, my cycling partner will fly home and If I'm enjoying myself I will continue.

I'd be happy to hear from anyone else attempting this or a similar route. Things are slightly vague at present as I have limited access to the internet.

if necessary, get one of your rabies shots now, in france, then the next one back in the uk, then the 3rd in france. the problem arises when you have to get some of your shots in poorer countries where the serum is of poor quality. i had a huge hassle to get all my shots before going to indonesia: i ended up taking the 3rd shot (complete with its hypodermic needle) over on the plane - in my carry-on luggage! i declared it to everyone i could find, explaining that i didn't want to put it in my check-in luggage because it was important that it not freeze. none of them knew what to do, and they all conferred with their superiors, until finally some senior security guy sidled up to me and said, 'look love, don't worry about it, just take it on board with you'. this in the current climate where nail files are considered a security risk in hand luggage! but a hypodermic needle, no worries. !! i was appreciative, but amazed that they allowed me to carry a needle plus simply took my word for it that what i was carrying was a rabies vaccine, and not, i dunno, anthrax or something. sheesh.

If your water bottle has a pop top then you can just squirt them with a little bit of water and it seems to do the trick, I guess much like 13's spitting idea.

VERY GOOD ADVICE, if you want to have your Rabies shots and don't want to pay lots of money for it - and if you just happen to cross Iran - We have had our three Rabies vaccinations in Iran FOR FREE!!! We decided that it was wise to have vaccinations before heading into Pakistan, so we tried in Iran. We really wanted to pay for them, but the extremely nice Iraniens didn't let us.

We have a Dazer, which seems to help a little and is very light. But rocks have been our best saviour so far!

just keep in mind that the quality of any serum (according to my local travel vaccination clinic) varies VERY widely from country to country. the poorer the quality, the less protection it offers, and the higher your chances of having a nasty reaction to the injections themselves.

Hi Sanfairyanne
There are quite a number of cyclists planning the same trip for 2007, many have posted on this forum. I shall be leaving in early March from Vienna having done the Sussex to Vienna section last year as a kind of test. I also did the Lands End - John o'groats to gain further experience. I am arranging a tourist visa through Turkmenistan with the help of Stantours. There is so much to see in this country and it may be the only opportunity so the cost does not weigh too heavily. The northerly loop through Kazakhstan looks more daunting, read the contributions of those who have already done it. I hope to be in the Stans in late May, perhaps I will see you along the way.
All the best.

Hi Ditchlingcyclist

You will very probably be ahead going into Central Asia, I hope it goes well for you. I may still end up going through Turkmenistan, I suppose I'll assess this once I get to Turkey.

Andy