Overland Travel in Central Asia

Overland Travel in Central Asia -

Do you plan to travel by land along the Silk Road through Central Asia? I do not know if overlanding for you? Nellie Huang WildJunket recently traveled to Bishkek on our trip to Istanbul and wrote this excellent review, well balanced on what it is like to travel overland through Central Asia ...

Voyager Central Asia is the stuff of dreams, evoking images of golden sand dunes, vast steppes, yurts and ancient exotic architecture. For centuries, this region was closely related to the Silk Road and acted as a hub for the exchange of goods, people and knowledge between Europe and Asia. The first travelers came to this region in 0 BC and since then it has attracted an influx of travelers Route silk over centuries.

Stretching of the Caspian Sea in Azerbaijan in the Tien Shan mountains on horseback between China and Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia is a massive region of varied geography. Traveling the Silk Road, the crossing of at least a major portion of the desert, climb the mountain passes, and avoiding the roads are blocked by meters of snow even in summer. As if that was daunting enough, the mountain of paperwork that you have to overcome and the lack of infrastructure in this part of the world are sufficient to deter the most hardened travelers.

In this difficult but exciting road, I chose to travel on a road trip with Oasis Overland, a British tour operator specializing in travel by land. To dig a little history of Silk Road and retrace the footsteps of Marco Polo, the Bishkek Istanbul trip brought us through six countries -. Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Turkey

So amazing sites were in abundance, it was the trip overlanding himself who made the trip memorable. For those considering traveling by land in Central Asia , here is a detailed review of my experience which will hopefully give you a better idea of ​​how it is like to travel in the region.

How overlanding as Central Asia?

For the uninitiated, let me explain what a road trip is. It typically involves travel to a large, multipurpose truck that packs in kitchen facilities, storage space, camping tents and capacity for 10-30 passengers. Travelers are expected to help in the kitchen and pitch their tents, and it is all about teamwork. For this trip Silk Road, there is a good mix of camping in the backcountry and stay in hotels while exploring cities. Although the degree of comfort generally varies based on price of the tour, do not expect to be delivered in five-star luxury that most of the land expeditions involve camping and participation travelers.

Shipping Travel: flexible itinerary and a lot of freedom

First, to join an expedition by land, you must be flexible and spontaneous situations unexpected can happen at any time. If you are looking for a fixed route where everything goes well, then this is not the kind of trip for you. Itineraries may change due to unforeseen circumstances. For example, we had to change our route in eastern Turkey as violent riots take place throughout the Kurdish region. Our chef and driver made sure to follow the news and talking to locals in the area and the office abroad to find the best route to avoid areas at risk. We felt we were in safe hands and of course, we find ourselves in a difficult situation at all.

Indeed, it is this flexibility and unpredictability that I like about this particular trip . The tour operator takes care mainly of the ride and party logistics, while you explore on your own. On our trip, we had a lot of free time to explore and do whatever we wanted - and that meant that we could easily meet people and have random encounters as we would if we were traveling independently. During some parts of the trip (as in Turkmenistan and Iran) having a guide is mandatory under the law on tourism of the country, but that did not restrict us in any way. In fact, we may choose to explore on our own or take a walk with our guides and ask any questions we had.

The Bishkek Istanbul trip I did was also a new travel brand Oasis Overland, it was only their second time doing it, so they were still finding their way around and try new stops different routes and hotels. I thought our tour leader through and Malcolm pilot did a great job and behaved very professionally, although it was the first time in this region too. They had clearly done a lot of research in advance and were able to answer most of our questions and provide recommendations on the way. He certainly felt more like I was traveling with a friend rather than a tour.

Self participation

In an expedition by land, you should have an active participation in the daily management of travel .

journey is headed by a leader and driver, but you still need to do your part and help with various tasks, whether preparing meals, pitching your tent or clean the truck.

passengers are divided into groups and cooking are given the charge by the tour leader for grocery shopping and cooking. It is a fun way to get to know each other and sample food cooked by passengers from different parts of the world. The food is only covered by Oasis Overland camping or making lunches trucks; so do not worry about missing local food, there are many to try.

I really enjoyed the self-participation aspect of an overland trip, it made me feel like part of a team and that we work together on this adventure.

When you are camping with people 24 hours a day for months, camaraderie certainly forms a strong link between you and your travel companions.

There are many more in the review of Nellie ... Read more on the blog WildJunket.

A big thank you to Nellie to allow us to reproduce his Blog. We hope to see you on the road one day

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