Facebook Pixel

15 Important Things You Should Know Before Traveling To Central and South Asia

By Two Monkeys Travel - Contributor July 5th, 2020 Posted in Asia Travel Blog, Destination, Guide for Filipinos, Travel Guides No comments

Central Asia is probably one of the world’s least-visited region, but it’s already changing as the visa application process are easier and there are more direct flights to these countries now. I hear a lot of bad things about it to the point that I become more eager to see what really is in it and truth be told, I was overwhelmed.

I have met such wonderful locals and I have seen very beautiful landscapes especially. I have learned so much about their history and culture, and most importantly, I felt safe the entire time contrary to what the media is portraying. 

13 Things You Should Not Miss When You Travel the Pamir Highway in Tajikistan

Traveling to Central and South Asia honestly isn’t an easy trip to plan. It takes guts, courage, money, and a lot of time. I’ve spent months doing my research, booking hotels, applying for visas, organizing my tours with reliable tour agencies, as well as thinking about what to pack and what to buy beforehand. 

Train Ride and Overland Adventure in Uzbekistan

I’ve survived traveling around South Asia and Central Asia for almost two months and have done so, I’ve learned so many things that I wasn’t able to get from a month of research. The countries that I’ve visited were: Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Iran but also did a sidetrip to Mongolia and Pakistan.

There are things you can only learn and get to know about once you’re there and here are 15 things I’ve gathered from this exhilarating journey!  

1. You’ll most likely encounter a language barrier

I believe that one thing that makes humanity extra special is the difference in the languages we speak. Tagalog will always be my favorite, Spanish is sexy and Korean sounds so cute! Central Asia is no exception to this. Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkmen, etc. are very exotic and hearing them as a foreigner makes it so hard for me to classify which one is being spoken. 

Best Travel Insurance for Filipinos

Here’s my one solid tip: LEARN BASIC RUSSIAN WORDS (like hello, thank you, goodbye, excuse me, etc.) and download an offline Google Translate in Russian as most of the locals speak and understand that language. 

2. Brace yourselves for long road trips

13 Things You Should Not Miss When You Travel the Pamir Highway in Tajikistan7

Traveling around Central Asia could mean VERY LONG ROAD TRIPS and by that, you could be in the car the whole day with just lunch, snacks, dinner, photo, and toilet time as your breaks. Since you’ll be in the middle of nowhere, don’t expect to have toilets around.

You’ll be doing your business on the side of the road, by the bushes, or in the forest (sometimes with herds as your audience) so ALWAYS bring something to cover yourself up, lots of tissues, wet wipes, and a trash bag. 

3. There will be a lot of checkpoints

Traveling To Central Asia

Security is very tight on this side of the world and the police or military officers are concerned about one thing– whether or not you, as a foreigner, have the required documents to travel around their country.

Having said that, always have a copy of your passport and visas. If you’ll be doing the Pamir Highway then make at least 10 photocopies of your passport and GBAO permit. I suggest you put it aside in one small bag placed inside the car so you can avoid delays by searching for it inside your luggage

4. Always bring US Dollars or Euros with you

And by that, I mean the fresh and crisp ones. Finding an ATM that will work with your card could be hard especially in Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan so having cash is the way to go. Trust me, you wouldn’t want to be helpless when you’re in the middle of a trip.

Traveling To Central Asia

Another thing is that there are black markets in some countries like Turkmenistan where they change your money with a very good rate compared to the official exchange rate, more so with the bank rate and bank fees. 

5. Know the weather

Traveling To Central Asia

As you plan your itinerary, always check the weather. The temperature from June to the 2nd week of August could reach up to 46 degrees celsius so I don’t recommend visiting around that time. Another thing is that as you go up, the temperature could go up as well. Central Asia is known for its mountain ranges so I suggest you always pack warm clothes with you, no matter what the season is.

6. Know what to wear

Most of the countries in Central Asia are Muslim countries yet they are modern (just like Istanbul) so you can wear whatever you want. Let’s just say that some are more conservative than the others. Take note of the restrictions in some countries like Iran wherein the moment you go down the plane or cross the border, ladies will be required to cover themselves from hair to ankle. With that, I suggest you always bring a hijab and a long-sleeved dress on your trip.

Related Article: Iran Travel Guide for Filipinos 

7. Know the exchange rate 

Money exchange can be tricky in some areas so you always have to be updated with the current exchange rate and you always have to compare. For example, in Turkmenistan, 1$ is officially 3.5 Manat but the black market exchange rate is 1$ to 16 Manat. That’s a whopping 12.5 Manat difference!! The rate is so much better than withdrawing from the ATM but remember that it is illegal, so don’t get caught! 

Traveling To Central Asia

Just imagine having to change your currency every time you cross the border, I’m sure you’ll be confused! Just to give you an idea, you might have to deal with Pakistan Rupee, Iranian Rial, Turkmenistan Manat, Kyrgyzstani Som, Uzbekistani Som, etc. and these rates change every single day. I suggest you use XE Currency Converter for this.

8. Say goodbye to your good old wifi

Traveling To Central Asia

Since you’ll mostly be out and about, you wouldn’t have a wifi connection most of the time. This is why I suggest you buy a local sim card (which is usually cheap except in Tajikistan where I had to pay $25) to get some 3G or purchase a Skyroam Hotspot. The latter is what I prefer since I was able to use it in most countries. It’s very much worth it! 

9. You’ll need a VPN

Just like in China, Social Media Networking Sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are blocked in some countries like Turkmenistan and Iran. This is why you need to download a VPN application (a lot of them are free) before your trip. 

Traveling To Central Asia

In case you’re not familiar,  A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, allows you to create a secure connection to another network over the Internet. VPNs can be used to access region-restricted websites, shield your browsing activity from prying eyes on public Wi-Fi, and more.

If you’re someone like me who really needs it (just like me since this is our bread and butter), then I suggest you just purchase a good one for your phone and laptop (if you’re going to bring it) especially if you’re traveling around Turkmenistan and Iran.

10. Always ask permission before you take photos of locals

Traveling To Central Asia

Locals in most of the countries are extremely friendly– they’ll engage in a conversation and even invite you for tea. However, this doesn’t mean they’re giving their consent to have their photos taken and posted on social media. If you want that photo badly, then ask them nicely. This is better than having issues with a newfound acquaintance.

11. Don’t take photos of state buildings

Traveling To Central Asia

And by this, I mean don’t even try. Otherwise, risk having policemen or soldiers come after you, grab your phone or camera, and delete the photo. Come on, you wouldn’t want to get yourself into this kind of trouble and ruin your vacation for just a petty photo, don’t you?

12. You won’t be able to book local flights in some countries

Traveling To Central Asia

In Iran for example, foreigners like Filipinos can’t book local flights online because most foreign credit cards have sanctions. The best way to do it is to just ask for a local agency to book a flight for you like Visit Our Iran who arranged my trip in Iran (including visas, accommodation, transportation, and local flights) to this beautiful country. 

13. Not everyone can travel freely without a Tour Agency

Things To Do In Mongolia21

Booking with a Tour Agency will make your trip hassle-free and more convenient but for Filipinos, this isn’t mandatory. However, in Iran for example, UK and US Citizens are required to travel with a Registered Tour Agency for the entire duration of your trip. This is something to take note of. 

14. You might need permits in addition to the required visas

Traveling Central Asia

A perfect example of this is when you’re traveling along the Pamir Highway (which I believe is a must when you visit Central Asia), then you’ll need to procure an additional GBAO Permit which you can also get when you apply for the visa. It is very important that you have this since there’s a lot of checkpoints in that area. You can never get away without having it! 

15. YOU NEED NEED NEED TRAVEL INSURANCE!! 

This is pretty obvious but a lot of tourists overlook the necessity of this. I can’t stress this enough because this is NECESSARY for every trip. I always have this whenever I travel and I’m glad I did because I was in a car crash in Pakistan which crushed some bones in my left ankle which led to a Bimalleolar Ankle Fracture.

Traveling Central Asia

I thought I was helpless and alone but good thing an ambulance arrived more or less 20 minutes after the crash happened. I am so thankful for my insurance provider Safety Wing who made sure I get the urgent and best health care assistance both in Pakistan and in Bangkok.

Traveling Central Asia

See?? Accidents can happen anytime, anywhere, and to anyone so wherever you may be headed to, never take this for granted. 

Traveling Central Asia

That’s it for this post!! I’m pretty sure that you will be encountering people who will discourage you from going on this trip but I say GO FOR IT!! I really enjoyed my time here and it was one of the most amazing and enlightening trips I ever did! Wishing you a stress-free planning and a safe journey across Central Asia! 🙂 

Line seperator

Are you on Pinterest? Pin these!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER:Many of the articles on Two Monkeys Travel Group are guest posts by a number of Approved Contributors and are hosted by Two Monkeys Travel Group. Approved Contributors control their own work and post freely to our site. This includes all text and images that they use within their own work. All contributors are instructed to follow internationally recognised copyright and intellectual property guidelines. Two Monkeys Travel Group takes its own responsibilities very seriously, so if you feel that any part of this work is abusive in any way, please send us an email so that we can investigate - [email protected]


DISCLOSURE: Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links. So when you make a purchase we sometimes make a small commission, at no extra cost to you. The cost to you remains the same, sometimes even cheaper if we have negotiated a special deal for our readers.We use all of the companies we have listed here and that’s why they are in this list, but of course we need to keep Two Monkeys Travel Group running as well as it can, which is exactly what you’re helping with if you do decide to buy or book something through an affiliate link! If you have any more questions about the companies we use or any other companies you’re looking at, just email us and we’ll be happy to help.Please see our full disclaimer page for more information.

Written by Two Monkeys Travel - Contributor

Two Monkeys Travel Group – Community Travel Blog is a travel blog and website. We quickly grew into a valuable source of inspiring travel stories, advice, itineraries and travel guides, with the aim of demonstrating how to live a sustainable life of travel, whilst living your own definition of success. If you'd like to contribute and write a guest post, contact us at [email protected]