Central asia thread, including>Afghanistan>Kazakhstan>Kyrgyzstan>Tajikistan>Turkmenistan>UzbekistanRate my planned itinerary, please. I'm considering adding the Pamir highway through Gorno Badakhshan but I'm deathly afraid of altitude sickess (lived in lowlands my whole life and never been higher than 2000kms)
That TJ-KGZ border is closed to foreigners and possibly locals as well, currently only Kyzyl-Art is open meaning you would have to go through the Pamir. Also still requires a letter to cross into KGZ, contact a travel agency in Osh to get it sorted out. Costs 20usd-ish.
>>2747948That's very good to know, thank you anon. At this point I'm considering focusing on just Uzbekistan and skipping Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan entirely, leaving them for another trip
>>2748027Haven't visited Uzbekistan yet, but be aware it's scorching hot in summer. I have the impression that other than the Silk Road cities and gawking at the environmental wreck that is the remains of the Aral lake, there isn't all that much to see. Might be good enough to fill two weeks I'd guess, unless you aim to slow travel it, visit small out of the way places and spend time with locals.
>>2747837Hows the food in central asia? Uzbekistan to be precise
>>2748285>I have the impression that other than the Silk Road cities and gawking at the environmental wreck that is the remains of the Aral lake, there isn't all that much to seeThere's even less to see in other Central Asian countries btw.
I'm interviewing with a school in Kazakhstan next week. Any ideas on the social life there?
>>2748314You're in luck, Uzbekistan has the best food in Central Asia. Lots of grilled meat types, but also a lot of other types of dishes. You have to try plov, a rice meat bowl, every country in the region has their own variant. Same for lagman, a noodle soup thing. Uzbek foods have some spice to add taste without it being overly spicy.
>>2748314Supposedly better than the other Stans but don't expect miracles. Top notch fresh fruit is plentiful in much of the region though. Dzungar cuisine can be interesting if you come across it.>>2748338Depends on what you want really, there's plenty of natural beauty, the history and culture can be quite interesting, and the hospitality is hard to beat. There's even a small dive bar/music/club scene in some cities, I've had some fun nights out in Bishkek for example.
>>2747837Which of these is the best to visit for a solo traveler who has never set foot in Asia and would be primarily interested in hiking, food, and socialization.
>>2748443>hiking, foodYou'll find excellent hiking in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan (even though the south of Kazakhstan is nice too), but the food can be underwhelming. Best food is in Uzbekistan, but the hiking is underwhelming as far as I know - might still be good, but nowhere close to the rest of Central Asia.
>>2748443Georgia
>>2748424Plov my beloved.
>>2748417I have a rich girl from KAZ on my instagram and KAZ is one of my focus countries in my jobso while I havent been there I know a thing or two, probablyshe posts a vast variety of different stuff when shes in Almaty, and I am seriously impressed by how fuckign hot her entourage is and how kino some locations lookgranted, I presume they must be on the pricier side (she posts from swisshotel almaty spa etc) so idk if you can afford the lifestyle but my gut says there should be things for middle class as well
>>2748314plov/polo, leghmen, skewers, lots of lambsome people really can't stand eating lamb every dayImo the best "Central Asian" food is in Xinjiang simply due to variety, you have everything that you could find in the other countries plus Chinese food plus Han Xinjiangese food (大盘鸡,炒米粉) which is different from Uyghur food
