Caravanistan

Adding on to lubylu‘s excellent post, here a very detailed description of our trip from Almaty to Urumqi, however, with the Chinese train. Departure: Monday, September 23 @ 08.53 Travellers: two Swiss citizens Train: K9796 (Kazakh number: 103) After an easy bording procedure, we were assigned a four...

We (a Swiss couple) crossed the border yesterday (September 9). After arriving in Karakol we tried to find a relatively cheap way of getting transportation either to the border ($60 Dollars), to Kegen (no possibility) or to Almaty (cheapest was $160 as a car was heading back empty anyway; otherwise ...

Update:

we successfully picked up our passports and russian visas (without photos, which confused us, but probably because we are not so experienced) yesterday. Process really quick and easy, just make sure the guy at the second gate knows you are PICKING UP visas, he should let you in more quickly.

We (two Swiss citizens) just successfully applied for a Russian tourist visa in Bishkek. Costs: 35 euro pp (payable in Som) Processing: 4 working days Below a detailed review to help those who might find themselves in a similar situation in the future. The first thing to know is that the entrance to...