Caravanistan

noboy wanted to install spy software on our phones by the way, contrary to what has been told here a lot. Spyware will be installed when entering China from Irkeshtam, not when exiting China. But good to know they don't install it when entering at an internal border. Four of us had the apps install...

This is getting pretty scary. I wonder what the governernment's up to now that it can't even stand a few backpackers in the streets.

As with the Kashgar thread, there were a few places to stay back in May but that all seems to have changed now.

Old Town was crawling with foreigners last time we were there. Seemed to be just about the only option. Have you tried it?

Belarus post was months ago. Would love to know what they ended up doing.

Is your flight on one ticket? If so, hopefully you can check bags through. If not, you'll be in trouble unless you can get down to just carry on. Google the 'vodka dodge' for the most comprehensive info you'll find on this question. I'm also curious about what happened with the belarus flights above!

It worked! But I'm not sure I'd recommend it to others. Here's a quick report. First we called Aeroflot, the conversation went like this: Aeroflot: You will need to get a transit visa Us: But the Russian embassy says you can only get a transit visa if you stay longer than 24 hours, and we only want ...

Hi folks Have looked far and wide for an answer to this question, but there's a lot of contradictory information online, so we were wondering if someone on here might have a more definitive answer. We had to leave Russia for a family emergency during the World Cup, and as it was cheaper to buy a ret...

Completed this trip without any issues. Train (no 49) passed through Russia without any immigration or customs and didn't make any stops in Russia. So quite a useful and hassle free (in our experience) option for anyone taking this route. Train was on time. Bus from uralsk to samara was straightforw...

We have fan IDs, which should allow for multiple entries, and we are from visa free countries for Kazakh purposes. Will update this thread if we encounter any issues.

Thanks! We have since learned that buses leave uralsk at 730, 930, 1600 and 1700, so we will aim for one of them with hitchhiking as a backup if the train is late.