Has anyone ever been to Kyrgyzstan ? I've been told it's wonderful but that you need a guide. Is it safe ? I've read there are still landmines near tajikistan's border

You don't need a guide. It's a stan like any other.
It's safe in the sense that fuck all happened to me during my stay. Some streets in smaller towns can be iffy since street lamps are not a given but nobody's ever harassed me in any way.
Expect to hitchhike a lot because marshrutkas usually don't reach the beginnings of trails. Luckily it's easy as shit since everyone does it and the first car will often stop for you. You're expected to pay a little though.
English is virtually useless, be good at pantomime and get an offline Russian dictionary because cell coverage can be spotty.

Is it kyrgistan tjat has an huge whole of eternal fire

>>2797405
>Luckily it's easy as shit since everyone does it and the first car will often stop for you.
Sounds awesome
>English is virtually useless
I've met a few different Kyrgyz travelling around Asia and they all spoke English well? Maybe it's selection bias for more educated types.
They were really cool people, made a few friends I still keep in touch with. I'd really like to visit. Flights to Kazakhstan seem fairly cheap and then it's only like 4 hours away on a bus to Bishkek.
Seems like you can do the whole Mongolian steppe type experience without the hassle of going to Mongolia.

>>2797636
I'd wager it's selection bias for youngness. 20s-30s everywhere are always far more likely to speak at least the few words they've learned while playing Counter Strike. When in the country itself though, you'll mostly be spending your time dealing with boomers since they're all the drivers, store and guesthouse owners and so on.

>>2797636
>>2797405

Thanks you for your answers. Yeah i planned to learn a bit of russian there not expecting a lot of english speaker over there.
Do you know any great places that really blew your mind in terms of flat and endless landscape ? I was also looking for the "mongolian steppe experience"
I was planning to go with my gf and i know it's a muslim country ? no problem over there with that ?

>>2797672
If you want flat and endless, go for Kazakhstan. It's all really mindblowing grass seas of absolutely fucking nothing stretching for hundreds of kilometers.
Kyrgyzstan is mountaineous and the flat parts are more densely populated. By "densely populated" I mean tiny villages, but it's not completely empty. Also, there are always massive mountains closeby on the horizon whichever way you look. I didn't really get the "whoa, desolate steppe" feeling like I did moving through KZ.
That's at least Bishkek and the Issyk-kul area, I haven't been in the South.
>I was planning to go with my gf and i know it's a muslim country ? no problem over there with that ?
Not in the slightest. It has to be one of the least muslim muslim countries I've ever been to. You'll have a hard time finding a woman in hijab and everybody drinks. Went with my fiancee too.

>>2797674
Thank you very much for your wisdom and for sharing some of your experiences. You're giving some great advices and i can't wait to go there now

>>2797395 (OP)
if you cba to learn basic russian, it's probably not for you.
unless you wanna pay 10k for some ''''''''''guide'''''''''' kek.

>>2797636
What’s wrong with going to Mongolia?

>>2797722
It's a bit of a hassle.
Direct flights to UB are expensive, even if you're only a few hours away.

>>2797732
Would you mind going into some more detail? I am planning to go there around April next year

>>2797395 (OP)
Yes, it's safe. I enjoyed my time there. It's relatively easy to get around via buses/marschrutkas like the other user said. At the bus stations, there will be minibuses and you just gotta ask in person. But, they'll be cramped.
The only safety issue I had was some drunk guy getting confrontational when he thought I was dating a Kyrgyz girl (I wasn't - a group of three girls and 2 guys asked me to join them for a beer when they heard me speaking bad Russian in a pub).
>>2797636
Very few spoke English outside of the hospitality sector. I recommend learning to read Cyrillic.
>>2797672
Picking up some Russian would be very helpful. If you want endless steppe, go to Mongolia or Kazakhstan. But, Kyrgyzstan is beautiful. Steep mountains and sheer valleys. It's a Muslim country, but people still drink and go out.
Attached is a pic of Ala-Archa National Part from when I was there last year.

>>2797575
>Is it kyrgistan tjat has an huge whole of eternal fire
that's Turkmenistan, it's tough to get there because of visas and their paranoia

>>2797395 (OP)
It's totally safe and no guide needed. you can hire a taxi for a day to drive you all over the country for like 20 bucks at any bus station lol

>>2799979
I went there last year, it's relatively easy to get there, you just need to sign up for a tour with a company.

Couple of questions, I am seriously thinking about visiting Kyrgyzstan in the new year possibly with some other stans in the same trip, my questions are;

>Is it a non negotiable to learn a little russian? (I will anyway) if not which language should I use
this question has partially been answered, I will some basic russian
>I really want to do Mongolia also so I was thinking about doing Kyrgyzstan-->Mongolia I would like to add Kazakhstan onto this additionally.
This would be my first time visiting a stan so I would be a little concerned but I am still confident.
>How did you keep yourself busy throughout the days and what was the duration if your trip? do you wish it was shorter or longer?
>I just want to go into the big open grass plains and camp in Yurtz, maybe catch some fish with a guide and ride some horses, I am just looking for premium outdoor experiences.
>Did you stay in hostels?
>What were some average prices? food, water, accommodation, transport etc

Noted that Kyrgyzstan is more mountainous then Kazakhstan but I am open to outdoor expieriences in both countries

Please post some pictures

>>2802088
Can you even visit multiple stans on the same trip?

IIRC some of them have been / are at war with each other, and Turkmenistan is impenetrable for the majority of foreigners (and Afghanistan, if you count that as a stan)

>>2802138
With appropriate planning you definitely could, although at this stage in my life I would only be interested in Kazakhstan & Kyrgyzstan maybe do the others later.

>>2802148
No Uzbekistan?

>>2802149
I have a huge trip planned and it can't grow any bigger, keen on Uzbekistan later though

>>2802138
Yes, you absolutely can. I went to Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan last year all in one trip. They're not at war with one another. There are some border disputes and some border stations in the more remote areas might be closed, but you can travel between them.