The Next Adventure

Another summer means time for another adventure. This time, I’ll be in Central Asia.

I’ve booked plane tickets, flying into Mumbai (formerly Bombay) in India and returning from Almaty in Kazakhstan. I have convenient long layovers in Toronto and Frankfurt, and will hopefully be able to see at least a little of those cities. Ironically, Canada isn’t on the list of countries I’ve visited.

Between Mumbai and Almaty, my itinerary is flexible. My initial plan is to make my way to New Delhi, India’s capital, and then onward to western China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan before returning from Kazakhstan.

Visas are even more complicated for this trip than for last summer. I’m still waiting on the Chinese visa to come back from the consulate (fingers crossed!), but most of them I’ll try to obtain on the road. Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan both offer visa-free travel for a limited period to US citizens. My Indian visa is valid for ten years, so I can explore other parts of the country on future trips.

Public transport in this region isn’t too bad, and in many ways is easier than in Sub-Saharan Africa. Frequent trains link all cities and most towns in India and China, while regular busses and minibuses ply the routes of the Central Asian republics that were formerly part of the Soviet Union. Limited train services are available in some countries, especially Uzbekistan.

Three months of adventure begin on May 14.