Share you ideal travel itineraries!

[rastnim]

As avid travellers, our minds are constantly filled with the next BIG travelling experiences we want to do, I have so many and I hope by the time I die I will have done at least a few of them, if not all. Even though I am headed to Ecuador and Central America this Autumn and looking forward to that SO much, I can't help dreaming about what will

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[fetus_karate]

central asia would be awesome! maybe someday when i can afford it. cape town to cairo is also a big dream of mine- but around to namibia also! i plan trips obsessively, so there are always big ideas brewing. i'd love to live in every continent too... not sure about antarctica though ;)

my fiance have been traveling since february- us to korea to australia/nz, thailand, philippines, and laos. in a month we're going through cambodia and vietnam to china, through the himalayas to nepal and india. that'll take us to february.
then we're flying to europe for a month or $2000- whichever runs out first. then on to buenos aires, and we'll do the rounds in south america, up through to colombia, then boating to panama. from there we'll probably just fly back to california.

[rastnim]

I'm almost certainly doing Central Asia in 2010, my heart is set on it! I really want to get things booked but it's a bit early and I can't afford to yet, need to build up the monies! I really want to do black Africa as I've only been to Egypt so far. My dream country in Africa is Congo, but that may have to wait for a few years! Thing with Cape to Cairo is that I find it really hard to not just try and go EVERYWHERE, like you said Namibia would be immense too...maybe I should do two holidays...I dunno! So many countries so little timeeeeee.

Sounds pretty immense what you are doing, I don't know if I could spend that long away from home. I would love to do it with my boyfriend, but we both have too many commitments to be able to just up and leave for years at a time. Maybe when we are like 30 we can do a big trip before we have kids and travels for a couple of years...lol see you've got me going again.

[sunsetscreamer]

There's no Urgench in Turkmenistan, you're thinking of Kone Urgench in Dashogouz, and I'm not sure how to go there. Tour groups always go there but to enter Dashogouz you need special permission beyond the usual visa.

I recommend Turkmenbashy City/Krasnovowsky along the caspian sea. Nice beaches. You can get from Baku to Turkmenbashy by boat.

[rastnim]

Sorry yeah, I did mean Kone Urgench the UNESCO site. As far as I know you can fly directly to Dashoguz from Ashgabat? Although I would rather take a train if possible, as I said, I am not that great at flying. I realise you need a visa for Turkmenistan and I was going to apply for that probably in January, which gives me 6 months in case there are any problems. I also am aware you are only allowed to be guided by a Turkmen guide during your time in Turkmenistan, is that correct? As for Dashoguz, you say you need a special visa? I didn't realise that...hm why is that do you know and how would I go about getting one?

That's the route I was thinking! I saw that in the Lonely Planet guide, but didn't actually buy the book and then couldn't find it anywhere else, and couldn't remember the name, Turkmenbashy. Lol that is also an awesome name. Have you got the boat from Baku? Do you happen to know how much it might cost? I would love to do that!

[sunsetscreamer]

There is a train from Ashgabat to Dashogouz but it is really long. You can also take a taxi but its really expensive. You can also take a plane from Ashgabat to Dashogouz or from Turkmenbashy to Dashogouz. The planes and trains are perfectly safe. When I went to Dashogouz I had to get special permission to go since it is a "restricted area" but it was worth it, very nice and with nice Uzbek people and a cool bazaar in Dashogouz City. If you have a Turkmen tour guide and figure that out before trying to get your visa, you should have no trouble getting the visa.
No, I never took the ferry from Baku, but I have lots of friends that did. I did Peace Corps in Turkmenistan, that's why I know so much about the country. I was living near Balkanabat. Actually my former host family said they are willing to put up tourists and feed them for cheap, but I lived in a less interesting city so you'd have to take taxis anywhere cool from there.

[rastnim]

Thanks so much you have been really helpful :) I know nothing of the region as hardly anyone goes there, so it is really great to find someone who has spent a lot of time out there! Turkmenistan is random, how on earth did you come across that, well done on your part though, I don't think many would do what you did. Do you know why it is restricted? Or is it just that they don't want hoardes of people going? I will definitely look into it as I would love to go. I would be interested to hear more about your time in Turkmenistan, do you have a blog or anything?

I would also definitely be interested in meeting your host family, it would be nice to know I am going to people who are hospitable and nice. I am sure the region is completely friendly, but it is good to know for sure.

[twilight_tea]

Mmm... Silk Route! There's an awesome book - Ultimate Journey by Richard Bernstein - about a journalist who follows the route. I remember reading it on the plane to Japan to study abroad for a year, and finding it very inspiring.

My ideal trips:

#1: Historical WWII trip through Western and Eastern Europe, Russia, North Africa, Southeast Asia, Japan and Hawaii.

#2: Mountain-climbing trip - because I sprained my ankle JUST as I was about to do Mt. Kinabalu :(

#3: Round-the-world. I really just want to go EVERYWHERE. Damn lack of money.

[rastnim]

I know <3 The Silk Route would be amazing. Ideally I'd love to do the whole thing from China to Turkey, but someone I know did it and it took them 5 months, I just don't have that much time unfortunately. Maybe one day I'll quit my job and just go! For now though, I am content to do the Central Asia part in the middle. I can fill in the gaps later :P

You should look into climbing in Kyrgyzstan, as I said they have unclaimed virgin peaks there!

[sunsetscreamer]

oh, and if you can't find lonely planet, the Bradt Guide Turkmenistan is pretty good

[rastnim]

Ah I picked that up the other day and had a nosy. That and the one on Kyrgyzstan. The Central Asia Lonely Planet isn't very good and is from 2007, and they aren't planning on bringing out another for some time, so I think Bradt would be the way forward. I haven't seen them yet, but I hope they do them for the other countries too.