I was robbed.
It didn't happen at a grungy guest house, in a crowded local market, or down a dark alleyway at night. It happened in Bangkok's shiny new Suvarnabhumi Airport at a gate security checkpoint. Worse yet, the thief was a security employee.
Tajikistan Visas and GBAO Permits
When we traveled across Central Asia years ago no one seems to know what was needed to get a visa to Tajikistan and a GBAO Permit to visit the Pamir Mountains. At that time it seemed to be embassy specific and heavily dependent on the relationship between Tajikistan and the country from which you happen to be applying.
Fortunately, a lot has changed — for the better — regarding obtaining Tajik tourist visas and GBAO permits.
Kyrgyzstan Visas
Kyrgyzstan is known as the most visa-friendly country in Central Asia as it offers visa-free travel of up to sixty days to travelers of sixty nationalities. This allows you to focus your planning time on what you want to do inside the country vs. navigating Kyrgyzstan visa bureaucracy. So nice.
Food in Central Asia and the Caucasus: Best Dishes and Markets
While most people don’t travel to the Caucasus and Central Asia solely to explore its foods, we did have our share of pleasant to exceptional eating experiences there. These included discovering some new-to-us cuisines and dishes that are unique to this region.
Kazakhstan Visas and Letters of Invitation (LOI)
On the surface, a Kazakhstan tourist visa should have been our easiest visa to obtain when we first visited the country. Kazakhstan is arguably the most developed of the former Soviet countries. But the bureaucratic machine still runs strong at the Kazakh Embassy in Tashkent, Uzbekistan and in Kazakhstan itself.
Fortunately, Kazakhstan visa requirements have eased and become more simplified since our first visit. But if you're curious as to how it used to be, read our Kazakh visa and OVIR registration war stories.
Uzbekistan Visas and Letters of Invitation (LOI)
In the last couple of years Uzbekistan tourist visas have become quite a bit easier. Starting from July 2018 travelers from 51 countries are able to get an evisa to the country, which vastly simplifies the and speeds up the visa process for Uzbekistan.
Turkmenistan Visas and Letters of Invitation (LOI)
“How did you get into Turkmenistan? Isn’t it closed to foreigners?”
Turkmenistan is a special bureaucratic animal when it comes to trying to get a tourist visa to visit. But, with a little bit of advanced planning and an expanded daily budget, it usually is possible, particularly if you don’t work for a media company or human rights organization. We believe our visit to Turkmenistan was well worth the effort and adjustments required.
Sex and the Central Asian Visa
I just want to go home. I'm tired of all this visa stuff.
— A distressed traveler at the Kazakh embassy in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
So what does sex have to do with Central Asian visas? Simple, really. Thinking about, planning around, and procuring visas for Central Asian countries begins to dominate one’s time and mindspace — almost to the point of obsession. We'll leave it to you to do the rest of the comparison.
Central Asian Food: The Good, the Bad, the Inedible
Mystery vegetables are better than mystery meat.
– the mantra we adopted after eating Central Asian meals for over three months
Although we would not advise an exclusively culinary expedition to Central Asia, the region does have its appetizing moments. Surrounding those moments, you’ll primarily find a nomadic carnivore’s dream or a vegetarian’s nightmare.
Lonely Myanmar
Don't worry, we're not feeling lonely. The title refers to the current reality here in Myanmar where once bustling tourist sights and streets have been transformed into ghost towns. Strings of flashing lights still hang from restaurants advertising the best Burmese, Indian, Nepalese – and even Tibetan – food in town, but the sobering and obvious fact is that most of these restaurants have only a few customers per day…and that's on a good day. There are simply very few tourists here.