I've Just Travelled along The Silk Road

Lpenfold81 on 22/04/2018 - 15:38
Last edited 22/04/2018 - 15:45 by 1 other user

I just saw a post about having travelled to Myanmar, so I thought a similar post about my recent travels might also be useful.

I've just returned from a year-long trip where I visited some off the usual path destinations such as China (Xinjing and Gansu) Bangladesh, Pakistan, Central Asian countries (Taj, Uz, Turk), the caucuses (Georgia, Azi, Armenia), Ukraine, Belarus and the trans-siberian. There is not much information on the net about these countries as a 'backpacker' so if anyone has any questions about these countries please do not hesitate to ask. I also visited Lebanon, Burma and Iran (albeit 10 years ago) so I might be able to help with these countries too.

Travel

Comments

  • Some Human on 22/04/2018 - 15:52
    +12

    I wouldn’t say the Myanmar thread was “useful”

  • subywagon on 22/04/2018 - 16:29

    How was travelling through the Ukraine? Isn't it still a warzone?

    • penfold81 on 22/04/2018 - 16:35

      It was fine for me, although I didn't visit Crimea or Donetsk (the far east). I didn't really look into it but I'm pretty sure you need a Russian visa to get into these areas. One thing that was really good was that it was amazingly cheap for what you are getting (i.e. food and accommodation etc.)

      • Scrooge McDuck on 23/04/2018 - 12:48

        I have a few questions:

        Best and worst tasting foods?

        Best and worst value foods?

        Any food poisoning?

        Best and worst quality accommodation?

        Best and worst value accommodation?

        Thanks in advance. :)

        • penfold81 on 23/04/2018 - 14:49
          +2

          Best and worst tasting foods?
          - I love a good curry so India. What's really interesting is that the food has no semblance of the 'Indian food' you get in Australia. Same with China.
          - Not a huge fan of Vietnamese food; but never was in Australia too.

          Best and worst value foods?
          All the countries I thought had good value food, especially on the lower end. As long as your confident enough to be able to go into a restaurant and point at other peoples food etc. you will never go hungry. I was brought into so many kitchens by people once they figured out I was a foreigner.

          Any food poisoning?
          Not really. While I did always try to eat at the cheaper eateries, I always made sure they were busy and therefore had a high turnover.

          Best and worst quality accommodation?
          - Bangladesh has no tourist infrastructure so overall the quality of the accommodation was bad and anything decent was very expensive.
          - Central Asia (overall) has few proper hostels in the traditional sense. Cheap places to stay were often in converted apartments; often populated with locals - an interesting experience if that is your thing.
          - There are just gems of places in each country; often they are run by younger people who have travelled. Basically, they know what backpackers want and don't want; and they keep the place clean which is a huge place

          Best and worst value accommodation?
          - Ukraine for the best. They just had really well run and cheap hostels. A close second is Pakistan but that's because I was invited to sleep at so many peoples home so i got to experience a different side of the country.
          - Probably Bangladesh for the worst. but you can't really complain when the room (i.e. not dorm) is a few dollars.

          Overall in relation to accommodation, my feeling (especially when backpacking) is it's your fellow travellers who really determine if you have a good stay at a particular place. The problem I faced is that not only did I travel to places off the usual tourist path, it was often in offseason. For example, I saw two tourists during my four weeks in Bangladesh (and that was walking on the street). Also, even in places where tourists do visit, for example, India and Russia, if you step off the well-worn tourist trail you see a dramatic fall in fellow travellers.

    • penfold81 on 22/04/2018 - 16:44
      +20

      Yep
      No kids
      Yep
      Yep
      Need to get a job
      Not really

      • Cheapcheap4eva on 23/04/2018 - 07:49
        +1

        They'll always be one jealous hater. Good on you for travelling.

        • dcep on 23/04/2018 - 11:12
          +1

          not jealous / hating, you read it with the wrong tone

          it's a genuine question

    • TheBilly on 22/04/2018 - 22:45
      +2

      Pfft dayem neggers.

      • dcep on 23/04/2018 - 11:10
        +1

        genuine question there

        no idea what's with the neg really

  • airzone on 22/04/2018 - 17:05

    Was it real silk, or that fake polyester "silk" that you get on ebay / aliexpress?

    • penfold81 on 22/04/2018 - 18:55

      most definitely the real stuff

  • plentifoo on 22/04/2018 - 17:11
    +1

    with nothing to anchor you in Australia except for biological family, did none of those countries entice you enough for you to try starting a life/work there? Surely it'd be fairly easy for an Australian to apply for a work visa in those places?

    • Kangal on 22/04/2018 - 18:08

      I also would like to know.

      PS, not sure where people are getting more information about you from… is there another post or outside link/article I'm unaware of?

      • penfold81 on 22/04/2018 - 18:34
        +1

        I was wondering that too. The age comment threw me but I'm assuming the '81' in my username was the hint - I hope it was.

        I actually have commitments in Australia that mean living or working OS (at the moment at least) is a no goer. Even if I did, I can't imagine what sort of job you could get unless you spoke the language - perhaps as an ESL teacher?? I can't imagine the hoops you would have to jump through to get a work visa in some of those ex-soviet countries.

  • SydStrand on 22/04/2018 - 17:49
    +1

    Nice humble brag, bro

    • ThadtheChad on 22/04/2018 - 18:31
      +3

      Didn't downvote you, but I'm curious to know why you think OP is bragging?

      IMHO, it shouldn't cost that much since:
      - OP mentioned he was 'backpacking',
      - the destinations are all developing countries/countries where cost of living would be substantially lower than most of the developed world.

      • SydStrand on 22/04/2018 - 21:08
        +2

        It's not about money, it's transparent slum tourism, like visiting North Korea on a packaged tour and telling everyone you know how rough it was, how brave you were, and how it's totally changed your worldview, man.

        • penfold81 on 23/04/2018 - 07:36
          +4

          I'm not seeing the link between my original post and 'slum tourism. I grant you that some countries where certainly 'third world' (the obvious example being Bangladesh), but really a lot of South-East Asia could also fit that (very vague) term and these countries see hordes of tourists.

          I'm curious, are you saying tourists should only visit purported 1st world countries?

        • SydStrand on 23/04/2018 - 17:58
          +1

          Goa is not slum tourism, Dhavari is; they're both Indian.

          I'm curious, are you saying tourists should only visit purported 1st world countries?

          No. I've done my share of backpacking (and maybe regrettable voluntourism), but making an AMA post to show off how authentic and 'off the typical tourist map' your trip was, is just that.

        • Some Human on 24/04/2018 - 00:34

          @Strand0410:

          Looks like OPs next trip will be going to the burn unit

        • penfold81 on 24/04/2018 - 08:10

          I would have thought my motives for this thread were outlined in the OP. Otherwise, I'm completely lost in relation to your last post. Would a post about Thailand or some other popular destination be more appealing to you?

      • SlickMick on 23/04/2018 - 09:49

        I did. There was nothing that I saw in OP to warrant being hated on.

  • [Deactivated] on 22/04/2018 - 18:02
    -3

    great information, thanks for for you contribution

  • Dont Care on 22/04/2018 - 18:57
    -2

    There is a reason these countries aren't popular with backpackers or tourists. Civil Wars, Kidnappings, Beheadings.

    • penfold81 on 22/04/2018 - 19:22
      +1

      Personally, I never experienced anything negative while travelling and I've always found that the countries off the typical tourist map to be the most interesting. I think there are risks visiting most countries, but most can be dealt with by researching and using common sense.

  • Bypass on 22/04/2018 - 18:57

    How did you go about getting a visa for Turkmenistan, as a solo traveler? Transit visa?

    • penfold81 on 22/04/2018 - 19:15

      Crap, sorry I didn't go to Turkmenistan on this trip. It should be the same though; I got a 5-day transit visa in Tehran. I crossed at Sarakhs (near Mashad) and exited at Farab to go into Uzbekistan. The route I had to take (it was set out in my visa) was via Mary. I missed both Ashgabat and Darvaza so I would love to go back; although getting there from Australia is not easy and then you have the visa issue.

      I also used www.stantours.com for my Visa and found www.caravanistan.com an excellent resource for that part of the world.

      • Bypass on 23/04/2018 - 02:01
        +1

        Yeah, I went to the stans last year (except Afghan and turk) and was trying to find a way to get through Turkmenistan. The transit visa proved too difficult and restrictive for us to bother with, so gave up on it.

        I do think caravanistan.com is a vital tool to anyone visiting the area while backpacking.

        • penfold81 on 23/04/2018 - 07:47
          +1

          The problem is Turkmenistan sits in the middle of the 'Stans' and if your travelling in the region, not being able to transit the country makes life difficult. When I was in the region I met a lot of people who also basically gave up on getting a transit visa and had to alter their plans.

          What is interesting is that all the other 'stan' countires have relaxed their visa requirements; hence it is becoming much more popular with tourists - though Thailand it is not. The tourist infrastructure (while certainly not perfect) had improved dramatically since I had last visited the region.

        • kiitos on 24/04/2018 - 20:54

          Why is it difficult to get a visa to Turkmenistan?

        • penfold81 on 25/04/2018 - 08:05

          @kiitos:

          To get a normal tourist to Turkmenistan isn't difficult per say, although it certainly isn't easy. The issue is, especially if you are trying to do it on the cheap, is that basically, you need to join a group and have a guide with you all the time. Hence why a lot of people try to apply for a transit visa, but that has its own hurdles to jump.

          You also seem to be at the whim of the state, which often bans all visas being issued over certain time periods.

          My understanding is that more people visit North Korea than Turkmenistan. It's certainly an interesting place that has a few very unique tourist attractions, such as Ashgabat and the Gas Crater. But can you get a feeling about Central Asia (i.e. the people and the food) by heading to other 'stans', I think the answer is yes.

        • kiitos on 25/04/2018 - 08:41

          @penfold81:

          I see, thanks for explaining that, your trip sounded amazing!

  • JIMB0 on 22/04/2018 - 20:34
    +8

    I just came back from a trip to Dandenong earlier this month. Had a chicken kebab on Thomas street, perused the local cash converters and visted a dodgy Thai massage place. Any questions?

    • ronnknee on 22/04/2018 - 21:45

      How was the kebab?

      • JIMB0 on 23/04/2018 - 09:58

        It was OK.

    • TheBilly on 22/04/2018 - 22:47
      +2

      Happy ending?

      • JIMB0 on 23/04/2018 - 09:59

        No extra services were offered.

        • Some Human on 23/04/2018 - 13:52
          +1

          Must have gone to the wrong place

    • scozbargain on 07/01/2020 - 00:10

      was it difficult to get a Visa?

  • [Deactivated] on 23/04/2018 - 01:54
    -2

    These comments are a clear indication people dont know how to use a neg vote properly.

    • MrBear on 23/04/2018 - 11:29
      +1

      There you go :)

  • Godric on 23/04/2018 - 06:33

    Was it slick?

  • Baysew on 23/04/2018 - 18:12
    +2

    I notice the post "Just driven from Laverton to Sunshine" was unpublished.

  • ego22 on 23/04/2018 - 22:45

    was the trip as much of a complete nightmare as it sounds?

    • penfold81 on 24/04/2018 - 08:03

      Not at all. I had a great time.

      What makes you think it was a nightmare?

  • melay0326 on 06/01/2020 - 02:42

    Can you please tell me more about Belarus as I got a trip planned this year.. thanks

  • whooah1979 on 06/01/2020 - 02:57

    How much $ did you spend?

  • Eeples on 06/01/2020 - 22:21

    Do you think you could have managed the trip using a carry-on wheeled case weighing 7kg packed and a small day pack?

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