Partner wanted - Central Asia silk road March-ish 2011

[phillipa47]

Hi there,

I'm a 36 yr old female planning to cycle through Kyrgzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Georgia, maybe Turkey - would prefer to find a riding partner for at least portions of the trip.

I was thinking of heading off in March or April - I just need to be in Bulgaria by the end of July. I've done a little touring before, a week in Bulgaria - then a month in Australia (Brisbane - Melbourne) - am wanting to step it up a bit now.

I can speak Intermediate level Russian - so will be very useful in the 'stan' countries. I'm pretty relaxed in general, easy to travel with, I'm happy cycling alone, but because I'm planning on camping most of the time, it would be great to have company.

I can be a little flexible on dates and route at this stage if anyone is interested in joining me.

Cheers,
Pip

[Gear11]

Hi Pip,
Maybe you would've already left on your trip, but I've just a few words of advice regarding your route plan. First, from teh sounds of it, you'll be crossing from Kyrgyzstan into Uzbekistan via the Osh border. You've probably heard that that region (Osh/Jelalabad) almost erupted in civil war halfway through last year. It might sound like things have settled down there now, but you'd have to expect the border to sometimes, without warning, and seemingly without reason, just shut down for a day or two. For this, you'll need to make sure you're not running a tight schedule with your visas. Although bribes are cheap in Kyrgyzstan (USD 5), it could get quite expensive if you need to do it both sides of no man's land.

And then there's Uzbekistan. In the east (Fergana valley, Tashkent, Samarkand), not only will you find it difficult to find a private place to camp, you'll also run the risk of being caught doing it. Use your Russian to ask the locals what might be a reasonable bribe for a policeman in the area, but about USD 30 should cover most situations. Bribes form most of the income for the police force in those countries.

Besides that, sounds like you'll have a great time! Ride that wave of unpredictability...