We have three months left before our teaching English contract in China ends, and we’ve officially started planning our next adventure. It’s turning out to be quite the undertaking. We knew that traveling to one of the least touristy regions on the planet would present challenges, but we didn’t realize just how much preparation would be required.
Visas in post-Soviet Central Asia are becoming easier to obtain, but they’re still tricky. For this part of the world, we need a visa for every country we plan to visit, except for Kyrgyzstan. These visas need to be secured before we arrive and often require hotel bookings, train tickets, and sometimes even a letter of invitation from a company in the destination country.
We spend our free time working on our website and planning our trip through Mongolia, Russia, Central Asia, and possibly Europe. Our days off are dedicated to Skype calls with embassies, waiting on hold, planning routes, reserving train seats, booking flights, and locking down dates. This is definitely not our usual spontaneous travel style, but it’s necessary for Central Asia.
Despite the challenges, we’re thrilled about this adventure. We’re confident that all the effort we’re putting in now will pay off. For our readers, once we navigate the complexities of obtaining visas and transportation, we’ll share all the information to make it easier for others planning a similar trip.
Central Asia is one of the last frontiers of travel. Although it’s tough to get in, we’ve heard it’s a haven for independent travelers. The region offers a rich mix of cultures along the Silk Road, with stunning mosques, towering mountains, and vast empty grasslands where people still live a nomadic lifestyle. We’re eager to immerse ourselves in this environment.
Our aim is to explore off the beaten path within an already less-traveled region. We want to trek into the wilderness, stay with local families in yurts, and navigate this untouched area on our own terms. Along the way, we’ll document our experiences and the realities of traveling in this part of the world.
Stay tuned; it’s going to be an incredible and fascinating journey!