Caravanistan

Just wanted to give people a heads up on this. I went on a trip to the Davit Gareji monastery complex yesterday, using the Gareji Line bus service which leaves from Pushkin Park on Liberty Square at 10:45 every day. Cost: 30 Lari. On arrival, it turned out that half the complex, the Udabno Caves and...

Travelled from Vladikavkaz to Grozny, Machachkala, Gunib and then Astrakhan. As already mentioned, lots of security and armed soldiers, but at no point did I feel unsafe. Maybe my preconceptions about Chechnya played a part in it, but I did not feel particularly comfortable in Grozny. Can't quite pu...

Crossed into Russia in early July and back out again at the same border crossing a few weeks later. I asked my hostel in Tbilisi about the 5am bus from Didube (bus station) and was told that it no longer runs and that shared taxis from Didube are now the only option, costing 50 Lari for a seat. When...

Successfully applied for a 30 day single entry tourist visa in mid-June. Irish citizen Was told that it would take two weeks but the issue date on my visa was only seven days after application. Book your appointment online at Tass-Georgia and bring the documents they tell you to bring. Also, keep yo...

I provided an air ticket out of Beijing as my proof of onward travel, which I cancelled and then crossed from Kashgar to Kyrgyzstan. No questions asked. No idea how in-depth their research on travellers in Xinjaing is, but would suggest not taking any electronic devices that you ever used for anythi...

I've just spent 36 hours in Uzbekistan, practically just transit and didn't have a registration slip for my one night in the country. The border guard at TAS didn't ask for it and stamped me straight out.

Kashgar to Osh in early June. I met two cyclist in the hostel in Kashgar that wanted to leave on the same day as I did, so we organised a taxi direct to the customs checkpoint. Iskander, the guy who runs the Tourist Service Centre close to the big mosque, was very helpful and his English is excellen...

Maybe try putting them on Ebay, maybe they're in demand with collectors.

I've been told that this train can be booked online on 12306(dot)com. I had a look but didn't go through with it as my plans changed. The site is in Chinese and google couldn't translate, so you'll need to enlist a Chinese speaker's help.

I didn't find a thread for this border crossing, so thought I'd share my experience here. I got the direct bus from Ulan Ude to UB in early May. The Russian border was straightforward. We took all our belongings off the bus and entered the passport control/customs building and waited about 15 minute...