Silk road trip
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You are currently reading a thread in /trv/ - Travel
You are currently reading a thread in /trv/ - Travel
Has anyone done the silk road trip here? i am interested in visiting Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.
I have around one month is that enough to see those countries? if not what should i focus on? any advice/insider info/etc would be welcomed
>>1118236
Not really any help but The Silk Road is something I really want to travel some time. I'd love to do the journey by bicycle ideally. One day man
>>1118236
Can't talk about the others but Uzbekistan can easily be done in like one week
This seems like a pretty cool thing to do. How do you know you're following it? Are the trails marked like those religion walks I've seen in Spain (Camino de Santiago i think it's called)?
Do you want to follow the route strictly or just travel around those countries. The Southern route after Iran is pretty much impossible rn.
These countries often have very difficult visa laws so just be aware of that.
I am planning to do something like picrelated in the summer.
>>1118533
crap, here's a smaller pic
>>1118533
ًhow do you think my itinerary should be with the abovementioned countries?
>>1118661
not >>1118534 but I think this part of china does have some stuff (Kashgar, the Taklimakan and so on) but you are right with the Kazakhstan thing, I would honestly go through Tajikistan because of the mountains and then Uzbekistan and crossing Turkmenistan (there is a 5 day transit visa) into Iran. Maybe I would check something in Kyrgyzstan but definitely going back to Tajikistan
How do you ensure to not get rekt by ISIS on the way through middle east?
I would rethink it.
I went to Turkmenistan last year, its a really interesting place to visit.
My father was detained in Uzbekistan this year for having co-codamol tablets for his back pain and it took a week for the charges to be sorted out.
To be honest I think the 4 stans op listed are all worth going to, just make sure you have enough to actually see the countries. A week per country is not really enough, two weeks for each is better.
>>1118674
By joining ISIS.
>>1118701
Get rekt you kuffar.
>>1118639
try something like this maybe
>>1118661
>>1118672
Cheers guys, I have reworked my plan a bit. The big problem there are the visas - as I plan to get them on the go. That is why Tajikistan and Turkmenistan are most likely out of the picture. Now I just need to work out a multiple entry kazakh visa.
>>1118661
also Kazahstan has a decent train network. Just so you know :)
>>1118711
some time in the future I want to do something like this on my motorbike
I don't know why, but I really would love to visit the stanst
>>1118674
I'm from the middle east first of all so i'm immune to their dirty tricks as an ex-muslim myself and where i'm going there isn't going to be any isis/al-qaeda influences
>>1118711
I'm having second thoughts about turkmenistan desu since you need to be with a tour to get a visa and i'm planning to go alone
>>1118952
You can get a transit visa.Just limits your days you can travel.
>>1118967
Is it worth it? they give you only a couple of days and you have to leave the country to another destination which should only be accessible by it as a transit
>>1118534
That's bold. How would you go about getting visas? My problem with them is telling them my departure date and stuff. Do you just lie to them or something?
OP here, which direction do you guys suggest i go? east to west or west to east? i will be flying from tel aviv israel, also border crossings by land or air for the above mentioned countries?
>>1118721
I've been to Kazakhstan, actually, and don't see the appeal in taking trains from one city to the next when you're trying to have an interesting Silk Road trip. Better to peek into Kazakhstan and tour the other Central Asian countries than just travel across a great expanse of nothing.
>>1119387
I'm more inclined to rent a car to be honest, do you suggest allocating most of my journey (1 month) to kazakhstan?
>>1119446
I honestly didn't spend a lot of time there. Not my favorite country, but it wasn't bad. If you want to spend a lot of time in nature it's great. The road infrastructure, all around, is pretty shit, especially outside of cities.
>>1118950
>ex-muslim
are you a christian now? if not just get rekt by an insane muslim please
Samarkand, especially, but also Bukhara and Khiva are essential. I'd book your train tickets in advance, an agency called real russia (find em online) sells tickets for trains in most of the post-Soviet states, with a bit of a mark-up, but they're good and saved me a lot of hassle.
>>1118236
I have done it, although I used the south passage, through Iran, Afghanistan, then up into Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and out through Russia. Ask me anything.
One month is a bit short... depends on your transportation method and your cash.
>>1119672
nah atheist
>converting from one abrahamic religion to the other
it's like boycotting macdonald's for their unhealthy meals and moving on to burger king
>>1119717
That's great mate! i can't go to afghanistan or iran, so will stick to the stans for now.
My budget is good i suppose, say 50-100 USD a day, not including flight tickets, i'm staying there for like a month, i wanted to rent a car to drive but seems there would be a massive area to cover not to mention having to go back to your original point to return the car.
So my question is, how do you think i should divide my time on those countries? i'm not big on cities and nightlife, more into the nature and staying with locals kind of guy.
And what route do you suggest i use? begin with Kazakhstan and end with Uzbekistan or the other way round? and should i cross the borders by land or plane? i prefer land honestly but i'd like to know the feasibility to cross land borders if that's gonna be an issue, i looked into a map in caravanistan website and it shows some borders which you can enter by land from and which ones you can't etc
>>1119692
Thanks a lot, i'm really looking forward to visit Samarkand and Bukhara, as someone who lives in the middle east you get the impression that those are fairy cities from various literature like poems and philosophy.
>>1119448
What was your favorite country there?
>>1119785
Well depends... If you're an Israeli national, you'll have no problems entering Afghanistan. Only Iran will be a problem. However, if you can't cross Iran, there's no reason to go to Afgh, as your only entry point would be Kabul by air, and nowhere to go from there.
Renting a car will definitely throw you off budget... Demand is relatively high compared to the offer, and even though it's not exorbitant, it's still approx 100 USD a day... Autonomous travel is not easy there, unless you drive in your own vehicle, like we did.
If you did extend your budget however, a "tour" type trip is doable, circling around half the -stans to end up at your departure point.
Dividing your time... Make no mistake, travel around central asia is far from a tourist hotspot. The main attractions will be nature, ruins, and local people. Therefore I'd say that apart from the absolute must-sees, divide your time however you see fit on the spot, with not too much pre-planning. Apart from Kazakh Almaty and Astana, you won't get much in the way of nightlife.
Crossing borders by land is more than feasible as long as all your paperwork in in order... However, plan on crossing these with a vehicle, as they are usually FAR from any inhabited area. (Especially true in the mountain range pass between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan).
If you want to set up a more concrete route, I can definitely help you, but I'd need some more concrete info to start off, such as your means of travel....
>>1118236
This is my fucking dream trip.
Start in Xi'an, travel across Xinjiang, see all the -stans, venture into Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia, see northern Iran if I can, and end in Istanbul.
I'd do anything to take that trip
>>1119921
4chan should start a group to do it.
>>1119835
Well i'm definitely not going to afghanistan, i'm not sure what you mean by means of travel but i'll try to explain, i will take a plane from my home to either kazakhstan (almaty or astana) and then drive eastwards, or the other way round not sure, is it feasible to rent a car in one of those countries and return it somewhere else? probably not unless it's multinational company like hertz right? i'm open to all suggestions concerning route and transportation so help me out anon.
As for land crossings, what do i need for my paperwork to be in order? besides my passport and visas that is?
>>1119921
That's great anon, i'm planning to do georgia sometime later alone though, same thing probably for china
>>1119816
i am a regular atheist dude, christianity is just the prequel in the abrahamic religions: electric boogaloo so it's all the same shit one way or the other
>>1119993
By means of travel, I meant type of vehicle as well as budget.
Renting a car in a country to return it in another in central Asia CAN be done, but will cost a fortune and be annoying as hell.
I'd definitely advise a circular trip.
Start off in Almaty, which is incredibly westernized. Rent a car, making sure you explain exactly what kind of trip you're planning on doing, to ensure you have all proper documentation with you. Central asian ex-soviet countries DO NOT fuck around with paperwork. Learn to love bureaucracy.
With your vehicle, drive south into Kyrg, to Bishkek. At this point you'll need to decide how adventurous you feel. Should you want to have fun (and have rented a 4WD), you'll want to go east to circle around lake Issy Kul, then south towards Osh. Stop in Osh (amazing city), then start heading south towards Tajikistan
/!\ You will need a specific permit to visit eastern Taj, in addition to your general Taj visa. These are easily obtainable at the embassy, but you must ask for it specifically. (pic related, visa and special permit)
Go through the high-up near inaccessible border between Kyrg and Taj, and follow the Pamir Highway (basically the only road) through the mountains. Either choose to take the real Pamir Highway through the mountains, or at some point choose to go lower to follow the road running along the Afghan border. Both are beautiful.
Once in Khorog, run up to Dushanbe, rest up after your adventures, enjoy the beautiful city. Next up, cross into Uz, towards Samarkand. At this point my advice is to run down to do Bukhara, Khiva, Urgench, all the way to the Aral sea (if you hav etime), before returning to Tashkent, where you will cross back into Kazakhstan and return to Almaty to drop off your car. It's a rough idea, but you should basically see everything, have quite an adventure, and lots of fun. Of course this is all adaptable, go exploring on side roads, and such. Go to Khujand if you get a chance.
>>1119993
>>1119999
Typical paperwork:
- Passport
- Visas + special permits
- Car insurance documents
- Car registration
- All documents and receipts for fees paid on crossing borders
- Proof of stay in hotels (they are required by law to declare any stay, pic attached is an example). These can be checked at any time, especially exiting the countries.
>>1119999
>>1120001
THanks alot for the great post man, this is very helpful, i have some questions though.
Based on what you said i can go from almaty and back to it with the same car, should i rent from a multinational corporation or from a local company? i'm inclining to rent a 4wd as you said for better experience.
As for hotels and hostels, do you have any recommendations? should all of them be booked beforehand or only in the major cities? like i said before i'd like to stay with locals if possible in some of those places in the itinerary so i'd appreciate your advice on that.
And can i hire a guide with me? it seems to be i will be taking a road that is not very populated around it so there are chances i might get lost or something, so just to be more safe.
I've plotted the trip on the google maps check it out here's the link
https://drive.google.com/open?id=13OybCgbXduFrEvJJiE3ujBXoFBw&usp=sharing
Sorry for asking alot of questions and bothering you mate
>>1120023
>>1120029
No worries bud, you're not bothering me at all.
Doesn't really matter if it's a big multinational or a local company, won't really change anything for you. Base your decision on cost/insurance/coverage/guarantee. Most def go for a 4WD, not just comfort, just absolutely necessary if you go in the Pamirs... And don't get me started on the state of the roads. Make sure you're ready for some serious driving.
Uuuh to be quite honest, whenever you'll go in hotels/hostels, just go with feeling. I mean we were traveling on the very cheap, so it was tents whenever possible, and a small hotel when we HAD to stay in a city. We took a SIM card for each country we crossed, with data, so we could check booking or stuff like that. I could hunt up a few names, but nothing offhand. You'll definitely get invited to staywith locals a lot if you initiate conversations.
Yeah, you can most def hire a guide, but it'll be the preplanned route basically, unless you get him privately... but then again, very expensive.
You won't get lost, I can guarantee that. There's not that many roads... Download MapsMe app, and pre-download the central asia maps. It'll work on your phone's GPS to position you, and work offline.
Trip looks pretty good so far. Like I said, you may want to push farther into Uzbekistan to see the Aral, not sure if that's your thing. Also on your return, while near Tashkent, if you have extra time, try to hop into the Fergana valley. Amazing place and food.
Remember that you will need:
- Multiple entry Kazakh visa
- Special Badakshan zone permit for Taji
>>1120037
THank you, it seems i'm struggling with visas for these countries
For kazakhstan i can manage since there's an embassy here in tel aviv,
For krygz and tajik there aren't embassies here, for krygz i can have visa on arrival if i come by manas airport otherwise i need to issue visa but don't know from where? it seems i need to mail my passport and form to the USA which i'm skeptical about right now
As for uzbeikstan there's also an embassy here, i can apply for letter of invitation online, and take that letter to the embassy i guess.
So what do i do about taik and kyrgyz? any ideas?
>>1120041
havent read the whole thread. from where are you?
germans and netherlands and i think most other eu countries dont need visa for kyrgyz
they removed it in 2013 i think... been ther in 2014 without visa
>>1120045
Israel, i don't need a visa if i arrive by airport but i'm gonna arrive by border, now that i think about it i think i can get a visa for tajik and krygz from the consulates in almaty, what do you think?
Also, i've been looking at car rentals from caravanistan and it says this guy is the only one that rents for long distances for outside almaty but he's charging a shitload of money i mean take a look
http://caravanistan.com/car-rental/marat/
>>1120041
Mailing in passports for visas is nothing unusual, especially if it's to an embassy in the states.
Otherwise, you can just move alone slightly slower, and do your visas in each previous country (Kyrg in Kaz, Taji in Kyrg, ...). It'll just mean a couple more days chillaxing around the capital each time. Shouldn't be too horrible (do check on embassy opening hours and so on of course).
Or like you said later (just read), get them all in Almaty while you sort out the car rental.
Hmmmm seems odd.. I know you'll be able to rent long distance in Bishkek without any problems, I wouldn't see why Almaty would be much different...
>>1120045
On second thought, i just looked at the prices in bishkek and it seems to be way cheaper to rent from there than in almaty, so i'm thinking about flying from almaty to bishkek, that way it's easier to score the kyrgyz visa (since i get it on arrival due to an aiport) and i get to rent a car from there and continue the route like i planned, what do you think?
>>1119785
>what was your favorite country there
Do you mean overall, or did you mean to ask something else? I haven't traveled the Silk Road; I just wound up taking a detour to Kazakhstan on my way from India to Turkey.
>>1119999
Not OP, but how feasible would you say the pamir highway between kryg and taj is? The Afhgan highway part.
In the context of a one person motorbike trip across the stans.
Just not sure how to access the security situations of the borders re: Kidnappings.
I've been planing this trip, but not wanting to appear in a taliban or uzbek rebel beheading video is my only concern.
Or just general motorbike breakdown in the middle of nowhere missing that one crucial supply.
I've done India, but it was quite easy in the fact the country is super populated if anything goes wrong.
>>1120053
>on my way from India to Turkey.
Do you go through Pakistan? Am I wrong or is it impossible to get a visa to pakistan as a tourist?
>>1120057
God that post reads like shit. I hate smartphones.
>>1120057
It's very doable, and very safe. I did it in summer 2015. Just know your shit in case your vehicle breaks down. Not many people there at all.
Check up on most recent news from locals but as a general rule, it's perfectly fine.
>>1120070
By "very safe", i meant that your chances of crossing an inslamist group are very, very low. Of course, expect shit roads, landslides, potential mountain sickness, mechanical failure, cliff drops, and all that fun.
>>1120058
My bad, man. What I meant to say is that I flew from India to Kazakhstan and then from Kazakhstan to Turkey. I didn't travel overland.
I've been considering going to Pakistan and parts of Afghanistan for a while. There are tourist visas available for Pakistan, and I don't think they're particularly hard to get.
The biggest concern I have visiting Pakistan is whether or not having a Pakistani visa in my passport will hinder me when I try to renew my Indian visa. I currently have a five-year, multiple-entry visa from India. With recent changes they made, Americans can only get either a 30-day e-Visa or a ten-year multiple entry visa. I visit India often and would need the ten-year, so I think I'll probably visit Pakistan after getting my Indian visa renewed in 2018.
>>1120091
Yeah but renting a 4wd from bishkek is at least half the price than that of almaty so there's that, what do you think? should i fly from almaty to bishkek or go by transport? if i fly to bishkek i won't need to issue visa for it from almaty but i still need to get the tajik visa from there or bishkek
>>1120091
Another question is time, how should i divide my time in that trip? at least for the major cities/places that you mentioned and i put in my map route, it's going to be mid june to mid july so what should i expect weather wise?
>>1120098
>>1120100
>should i fly from almaty to bishkek or go by transport?
it depends on time. By flying you will mis out a lot of the countryside. And I think that the cities arent the main reason to go there... if you have enough time i would drive, if not than fly.
ok i noticed now that you mean almaty and not astana, then theres not a big diffrence between it and bischkek and if it will be less problems by flying i would fly...
>Another question is time, how should i divide my time in that trip?
i didnt mention any cities, you think about someone else. I've just been to Kyrgyzstan
Bischkek isnt that nice. 2 days should be enough. Visit white house, main square, some food market, and durdoi market (biggest market in central, asia, main hub between china, russia and turkey. You can buy all the cheap chink stuff you find here for 10 times less + you can find fake shit for low money, its a huge container city, chaotic but worth a visit)
i would spend as much time as possible outside of the city in kyrgyzstan
>, it's going to be mid june to mid july so what should i expect weather wise?
Bischkek... about 40°C and sun. If you see clouds crawling over the mountains it will rain in the next 2-4 hours if it reaches the city. (50%)
Around IssyKul its about 30 °C and sunny
You can see pretty much from everywhere you are snow on the mountains (even at 40°C in bishkek). So if you go higher it gets colder.
in general always sunny, temperature depends on heigh, never cloudy for days
Issykul area is fucking awesome. Could spend there for months. I dont know how much time you have but 10 days would be a good time around the lake
Havent been in the south.
Cunts, most western european countries and murrika( not sure about israel) dont need visa for 15 days here in KZ.
If you are chinese I dont reccomend you to come here, chances that someone will kill you because of your nationality is very high.
Dont visit Aral sea its crap. Sandy, salty very hot.
Kazakstan here, if you have any questions I will try to help
>>1120169
Again thanks for the great post.
I just got a reply from the car rental company in bishkek, he told me that i can rent the 4wd in both kyrgyz and tajikstan but uzbekistan doesn't allow kyrgyz cars in so i'd have to hand back the car and fly to uzbekistan, is this manageable by transportation in uzbekistan?
I think you're right about the fact that i should spend the majority of my time in those two countries, i've been looking for stuff online and found the alay mountains site that offers some tours in beautiful areas take a look
http://www.visitalay.kg/
thinking about maybe taking some kind of tour with them where i would sleep in yurts and stuff like that
>>1120256
yeah i heard it already that its pain in the ass to take your car into uzbekistan.
Somebody told me that most locals take a bus from Osh to the border, walk over and on the over side theres a bus to some Uzbek city, dont remember which.
Between cities/towns there should be Marschrutkas (small busses, but it will be fucking hot and packed, you will have to stand maybe at 40°C with >10 other people in a mercedes sprinter like bus)
within the city taxis should be really cheap because gas isnt expensive there and labour too. but care to not getting ripped off. do you speak russian or turkish?
>tour
if you are travelling alone and dont know where to go such a trip would be nice i think
when i've been to issykul i mad a day trip to the mountains from there, because it was end of august nobody was there anymore (school starts in september). And in the end there were some restaurant-yurts. The families live there during summer break (3 months) and have restaurant there, they sleep during the night in the same yurt. BEST JELLYJAM i ever ate. And the Shashlik was fucking aesome too... i dont know why but this was probably the best meal i ever had. maybe because i was hungry after the day in the high mountains
one more tip: dont underestimate the heigh. When i arrived at issykul i carried 2 suitcases on the second floor and the next 2 days i couldnt move becaus of doms in every muscle of my body
>>1120268
>russian or turkish
not really, i can learn some russian words
>>1120268
THanks mate, the car rental guy sent me a tour route for 21 days in tajik and kyrgyz and it looks similar to mine i think it's worth checking out, he sent it in pdf form to me
i tried uploading it here check it out if link works
http://www.pdfonlinereader.com/WebPdf2/editor.html
>>1120270
link doesnt work
can i ask you how much it costs to rent a car like this?
>>1120273
toyota 4 runner each day 100 dollars in kyrgyz and 120 dollars in tajik with insurance and everything, the guy gave me the hotel prices for each location
here's the tour link again
https://www.docdroid.net/tRuMeZB/kg-tj-kg-1.pdf.html
and here are the hotel prices
http://pastebin.com/PkD2cHkt
>>1120242
Thanks for your help, i'm only going to visit almaty for 4 nights to see it a bit and sort out my visas for kyrgyz and tajikstan since we don't have the embassies here
>>1120277
that tour look nice, i save it for later
my father just said that the frien i got the car from, opens atm a travel agencie in kyr. It is already registered...
>>1120287
got a name or link to check out?
>>1120288
not yet sry, he just ordered some suvs and minivans from japan. Nothing concrete yet
>>1120289
Ok, so the tour guide asks for like 60$ a day plus food/accomodation which is pretty expensive plus the fact that in each country there has to be a guide from the same country.
if i take that route alone would it be safe? would i manage with offline gps and stuff like that? do you need a satellite phone in those areas to make contact or cellular coverage is enough?
>>1120293
north is safe, south i dont know, there are sometimes some tensions between uzbeks, tajiks and kyrgyz.
anywhere with just a little bit of civilisation there is also cellular coverage. After soviet collapse most phone lines collapsed to and they jumped several years ago from no phone directly to 3G in most areas, even small villiges. Most people just use mobile phones and no home phones.
in the mountains theres rarely any connection... a satelite phone would be nice but they are really expensive, its not necessary
>>1120308
Thanks, i see that renting a guide is very expensive but my father is really pushing me to do it, should i go for it?as for satellite phone i can rent one here for a month for like 180 euros
>>1120317
i really dont know... i wouldnt take a guide or a satelite phone but I know people there and speak russian so... you should think for yourself
i could imagine that a travel guide will try to scam you even more money out if you are unlucky
I think I would drive from town to town by myself and take maybe on some points a guide to do a day or 2 day trips.
as for satelite phone it depends on what you want to do... do you want to visit really remote places? than yes. Are you just driving from town to town? then not because there are driving many people, even if you get stranded someone probably will help you
also consider that during june/july there are many local tourists from kyrgyzstan, kazachstan and even russia.
>>1120333
Well i'm not familiar with the region and i don't speak russian or the local languages, if i don't take a guide it would cost me half, the guide is trusted from a good company though
www.travel-experts.kg
So i'm not sure, on the one hand i'd like to go by myself, on the other hand i don't want to make my father worry because he's not entirely comfortable with me going to that part of the world alone
self bump
I lived in Bishkek for a year
Not the prettiest city in the area but damn do I miss that soviet shit hole
Pic unrelated
>>1120616
Any advice? like insider stuff etc
Also if you know tour guides for hire that would be great
>>1120728
Guy who did all the stans in road trip with own vehicle here.
Here's a protip. If your enging overheats in the Kyrgyz mountains, your radiator hose blows, put the hood on the roof and piss on the enging every few meters.
Pic very related, one of the most "oh shit" moments of the trip.
>>1120728
Try the trekking union of Kyrgyzstan. They do weekly trips all over the country.
Plus the groups you go with are quite friendly and they'll have tons of advice
Places to visit: issyk kul South side. North side is full of tourists Russians Kazakhs. Go there for parties. South side has a giant over the top resort that was abandoned near the end of its construction. Cool to explore
Base Camp at Ala archa has some great views and a soviet graveyard.
Lake Ala kul is absolutely stunning too
God writing this makes me hate myself for leaving to Japan.
Also if you go during winter check out tash rabat silk road caravansai tucked in the hillside
Enjoy ~
>>1120990
Thanks alot mate, im going this june actually
Lads i have 10 days in uzbekistan how should i divide them? i booked 3 nights in tashkent, i want to see at least samarkand and bukhara, maybe khiva also
>>1120897
are you telling me you piss on over all the engine? won't that break it down or something?
>>1121505
That's exactly what I'm saying. And watch out for the steam.
Break it down? Are you serious?
>>1121525
i'm not a car expert therefore it's only natural that urinating at heavy machinery would reveal skepticism from my side
>>1121561
I'm not a car expert either. Pissing on a vehicle engine is not like pissing on your laptop... It'll do as much damage as pissing on your tire would make it flat.
>>1121576
Well i didn't know that, why do you do it? to lubricate the stuff? cool it down?
>>1121608
Piss won't lubricate anything, except perhaps for some gay watersports afficionados.
It's to cool down an engine. In that case our radiator hose blew, we lost all cooling fluid, and the fan broke as well. We could only inch forward before the engine would overheat. As we had to conserve what little water we had left to drink and stay alive, we cooled down the engine with what was available: piss.
>>1121619
But isn't piss warm? how does it cool down the engine?
>>1121810
are you fucking retarded? engines work at about 80°-100° C. And if its overheaten its even hotter.
So your piss is colder than the engine or do you piss steam?
>>1121824
Yes i am fucking retarded but thanks for clarifying
