We have three months left before our English teaching contract in China ends, and we’ve officially started planning our next adventure!
Planning this trip is turning out to be quite the process. We expected some challenges traveling to one of the least touristy regions on the planet, but the amount of preparation required has still surprised us.
Getting visas for post-Soviet Central Asia has gotten easier, but it’s still not simple. In this part of the world, we need a visa for every country we’re visiting except for Kyrgyzstan. These visas need to be obtained before we arrive and often require hotel bookings, train tickets in and out of the country, and sometimes even a letter of invitation from a local company.
We’ve been spending our free time working on our website and planning our route through Mongolia, Russia, Central Asia, and possibly Europe. Our days off have been busy with Skype calls to embassies, waiting on hold, choosing routes, reserving train seats, booking flights, and trying to lock down dates. This is definitely not our usual travel style. We typically enjoy a more spontaneous approach, but in Central Asia, that’s not always possible.
Even though it’s a lot of effort, we’re extremely excited about it. We know all this preparation will be worth it! Once we’ve figured everything out, we plan to share all the information about obtaining visas, trains, and transport throughout the region to make it much easier for others to follow in our footsteps.
Central Asia is one of the last frontiers of travel. We’ve heard from other travelers that, despite the entry difficulties, it’s a true haven for independent travel. The Silk Road’s mix of cultures, stunning mosques, towering mountains, and vast grasslands where nomadic lifestyles continue, have us eagerly anticipating the journey. We’re looking forward to mounting a horse, grabbing our trekking poles, and joining them.
Our goal is to venture off the beaten path in this already less-traveled region. We want to trek into the wilderness, stay with local families in yurts, and discover this untouched area for ourselves.
Along the way, we’ll write about our experiences and the highs and lows of traveling in this part of the world. Stick around; it’s sure to be an amazing and fascinating journey!