Originally Posted by
gaobest
Thanks for the pix and Tr! I enjoyed your previous tr with the couchsurfing and hostel pix, although I can't fully recall if it was also in Central Asia or elsewhere. I mostly recall that you live mostly in Finland :-). Plus of course that you are very willing and able to walk far distances with your luggage!
Thanks. Yeah, I was in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan in January. Decided to go back, and will still try to go back next summer at the latest.
UltraRant: Visa process is quite easy in the end. Apply for LOI through an agency that doesn't require you to book hotels or take a tour (and you most likely don't want to book hotels unless it's the high season), I used Stantours but Advantour is also good (Finns need to, many Western nationalities don't though). After LOI, I went to the Almaty embassy to pick up the visa which was a mistake as the embassy is a zoo and processes things slowly. If you don't need an LOI, you should apply at the embassy in your home country or a Western country because applying on the road is a pain in the ... without LOI. With an LOI (and you can get one even if you don't need it), you can arrange a 1 day pickup at any embassy on the road, though like I said the process at the Almaty embassy took a whole afternoon and was really uncomfortable.
Kazakhstan is now visa free for most Europeans for 15 days, Kyrgyzstan for 30 days. Tajikistan I haven't been to but the process sounds like a straightforward "get LOI, collect visa" type deal. Turkmenistan is the difficult one, I didn't manage, but I'll try next summer for a transit visa, probably to Uzbekistan from Iran. Transit visa is the only way to get around the country without a guide.
Thanks,
DanielW