Wandering through the Stans

[egoode]

I travelled through Central Asia last year in July and August. It was absolutely amazing and your pics bought back some great memories. I didn’t travel independently I was doing tours with G Adventures and Peregrines as I was a woman travelling on my own and I wasn’t sure how easy it would be to travel independently by myself.
Overall though I found the countries very safe and the tour companies I travelled with give you plenty of time to explore things in your own. I do agree with you though that if you have been to Iran some of the sites are not as good as Iran is but I always try my best to not compare different countries.

I also highly recommend Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan all the Stan countries are very different and are all amazing in their own ways. I now need to plan a trip to China to finish seeing the last section of the Silk Road.

 

[RooFlyer]

I also highly recommend Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan all the Stan countries are very different and are all amazing in their own ways. I now need to plan a trip to China to finish seeing the last section of the Silk Road.

Did you see Joanna Lumley's Silk Road mini series? (With film crew and all) ... wasn't permitted to do the China last leg !

 

[egoode]

Did you see Joanna Lumley's Silk Road mini series? (With film crew and all) ... wasn't permitted to do the China last leg !

No I haven’t seen the series. One of the couples on our tour had been in China and travelled overland to Kyrgyzstan but did say there was a lot of police checks and they got in trouble one day as they got a train for somewhere they didn’t have a permit for.

 

[Dudditz]

I travelled through Central Asia last year in July and August. It was absolutely amazing and your pics bought back some great memories. I didn’t travel independently I was doing tours with G Adventures and Peregrines as I was a woman travelling on my own and I wasn’t sure how easy it would be to travel independently by myself.
Overall though I found the countries very safe and the tour companies I travelled with give you plenty of time to explore things in your own. I do agree with you though that if you have been to Iran some of the sites are not as good as Iran is but I always try my best to not compare different countries.

I also highly recommend Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan all the Stan countries are very different and are all amazing in their own ways. I now need to plan a trip to China to finish seeing the last section of the Silk Road.

I know we shouldn't compare but I think as humans we inherently do. Either way I think you nailed it they are fabulous countries to visit all so different despite being so close. I think a group tour does take away any hassle with logistics and in some sites the presence of a guide is actually a welcome addition to bring them to life. However it is very much a place that very much rewards independent travellers. I'm very much looking forward to covering Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on another trip and hopefully being able to spend a short time in Afghanistan at some point probably via tour. Would also very much like to complete the silk road through the back end of China also noting the hassle.

 

[stm1sydney]

Haha, yes, same here: thanks for the beer pub tip in Samarkand. Have to get one's priorities right.

 

[henleybeach]

Just after some tips on currency exchange for Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan
What did you do @Dudditz and @Mattg
Do I need USD to exchange, is credit card accepted ?
Any tips appreciated

 

[egoode]

When I was in Uzbekistan the atm’s gave you USD and then you needed to exchange them so I would take USD.

 

[Mattg]

In Kazakhstan I was able to withdraw KZT (tenge) from any of the (many) ATMs, including in the arrivals halls at both TSE and ALA. Using my Citibank Plus transaction card there were no fees.

 

[Dudditz]

As mentioned above in Kazakhstan it was relatively easy to use my ING debit card to withdraw tenge from ATMs as Kazak is quite developed in major cities.

For Uzbekistan I actually found it relatively difficult outside of Samarkand and Tashkent to get currency and found it easier to exchange USD. I was able to visit a bank in Samarkand and withdraw Som at the USD exchange rate using my debit card but found most ATMs did not accept my card.

I'd encourage you to bring some USD as a backup in the case your cards are not accepted or you can't easily find ATMs in Uzbekistan and just withdraw money or pay credit card in Kazakhstan.

 

[henleybeach]

Thanks guys for the tips, appreciated.
Only six weeks to go !

 

[craven morehead]

So Ashgabat where to start? The city lived up to my expectations and exceeded them! It is truly unlike anywhere on Earth meticulously planned with marble buildings, monuments galore and gold shining brightly in the sun. On the whole most locals were oddly unfriendly and mainly ignored us. I can't tell if that's a public directive or just being skeptical of foreigners. This was not mirrored elsewhere in the country and certainly not our experience in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan where I felt locals were warmer. As I said Ashgabat is a special place...

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A sneaky shot of the presidential palace avoided guards who didn't like me hanging aroundView attachment 151773
Iranian mosqueView attachment 151771

Just catching up. Very interesting so far