‘Stranded in Tehran’: Marc from Lutjebroek has to wait for visas for his dream trip

Waved goodbye by family and friends, Marc left Lutjebroek on May 20. His goal is to arrive in the South Asian country of Nepal next spring, where he spent several months in 2022 to do volunteer work. “I have always wanted to do a bike ride like this. And now I can make time for it,” he said before the journey of about 10,000 kilometers began.

Via Pakistan and India to Nepal

Marc is now ‘stranded’ in the Iranian capital Tehran. There he is awaiting a visa to continue cycling in Pakistan and India. “I’m still stuck until that’s sorted out,” he explains. “I actually wanted to cycle through Turkmenistan, but that is difficult. You can only get a tourist visa for that country. And it costs 500 euros per day. I don’t like that.”

According to Marc, it is also possible to cycle everything via Pakistan. That is also one of the goals of his journey. “I hope to be able to say more in the coming weeks,” he continues. “Until then, you just have to wait out the bureaucracy and be patient.”

‘Iranians are amazingly hospitable people’

Despite these troubles, 29-year-old Lutjebroeker still enjoys his trip to the South Asian country of Nepal every day. “The cycling itself still goes without any problems,” says Marc. “And what I enjoy most is challenging myself and visiting new people, cultures and of course nature. What is also great is that I am not time-bound. And then you realize how far you have already come.” , and how crazy it is that you have already reached Iran by bicycle under your own power.”

With his racing bike and gear, Marc camps a lot ‘in the wild’, but he also stays in hostels, campsites and at people’s homes. So far, Turkey is the most beautiful country he has visited, but Iran seems to soon rise above that. He especially praises the hospitality of the people,

“That’s amazing. When you’re chased in the supermarket in the Netherlands, you worry. But here they chase you to pay for your groceries,” says Marc, laughing. “It’s unprecedented.”

“I think the number of invitations to sleep over people will also increase,” he continues. “At the beginning of the trip I had decided not to turn down a good offer. But that is sometimes so difficult in Iran that I miss the time for myself and still have to say ‘no’ a few times.”

Gobekli Tepe and Mount Damavand

One of the reasons why Marc’s journey passes through Turkey is the ruins of Göbekli Tepe. This temple complex was discovered in 1962 and is more than 12,000 years old. This makes it the oldest discovered civilization in the world to date. “That was special to see. It was about 45 degrees that day, and I had hardly slept the night before,” says Marc about visiting the ruins. “But luckily I still enjoyed it very much. It is special to see something that was built so long ago, and of which only five percent has been excavated.”

He also climbed Mount Damavand in Iran. At 5,671 meters, this dormant volcano is the highest mountain in Iran. Although Marc Kuijn is not a climber and says he did not actually know what he was getting into, he still managed to reach the top with a group of others. “That was quite risky, since you are not used to heights,” he says. “So I started getting altitude sickness.”

“Luckily it went well,” he continues, laughing. “But after we came down I had enormous muscle pain in my thighs. Since you don’t use them much on the bike.”

Arrival in spring 2024

With a few thousand kilometers in his legs, almost three quarters of Marc’s journey has been completed. Before he left, he said that he expects to arrive at his Nepalese final destination in the spring of 2024.

In addition to the challenge for himself, 29-year-old Lutjebroeker has linked a good cause to his journey: Bright Futures of Bardia. In this Nepalese region they provide school buildings and education for the local population. Marc hopes to raise thousands of euros with his trip.