East Auckland traveller Catherine Denning-Kemp explains why she’s keen to soon visit Central Asia with a small group of friends.
Central Asia has for millennia been a crossroad of civilization.
This area of the world has always evoked feelings of adventure, romance and travelling the ancient trading routes.
The decision to visit the ‘five Stans’, being Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, has been driven by a lifelong fascination, first inspired by James A. Michener’s Caravans, which I read as a 16-year-old.
I dreamed of the hippy trail from London to Afghanistan and wished I could have experienced this.
A chance encounter with Jane Daniels and her clothing collection built around the beautiful tiles of that region followed.
I’m driven by a desire to explore a part of the world that remains largely untouched by mass tourism, but still has amazing history, culture and natural beauty.
I’m looking forward to driving over mountain passes at 3378 metres (our Mount Aoraki is only 3724 metres).
Each country will offer its own distinct flavour. The ancient city of Merv and the Darvaza Crater in Turkmenistan.
Beautiful mosaics in Uzbekistan. Stunning lakes and mountains in Kyrgyzstan. Yurks, camels, markets and walnut forests.
This trip has been in the planning for at least 12 months. Searching the internet, reading blogs, reading Lonely Planet, listening to podcasts.
Then narrowing this down to three companies and comparing the itineraries.
Deciding on Intrepid and choosing tailor-made options, getting a group of friends together and selling them this vision and finally booking.
A few people are anxious as this region is between Iran and Russia, but Intrepid wouldn’t be organising tours if this area was unstable.
Flights to be booked and Istanbul in Turkey will be our hub for access. It’ll be exciting to spend time there. I’m almost counting down the days.
Photography opportunities will be amazing, so I’m learning more about landscape and night photography skills. Alas a drone is not allowed.
I encourage anyone to step out of their preconceived ideas and try a culture different from what they’re used to.
