DARVAZA TO DOUGHUZ
After eating my body weight in yet again more bread we took a few more photos and called it a day. I couldn’t help but be impressed with he crater and I would put it at the top of my list when it comes to things to see in Turkmenistan, there just isn’t anything else like it
SORRY NO VISA ON ARRIVAL
I am driving up to Doughuz so I can hop across the border in Uzbekistan for the Silk Road adventure. It was only right that we broke down a few more times on our way, something that appears to be part and partial travelling around Turkmenistan!
VISA PROBLEMS
The guide had asked me what my situation was with a visa to be sure I wasn’t going to be stranded and after telling him to relax I can get one at the border, he was quick to correct me!
It turns out Irish citizens can’t get a visa on arrival so that makes things very difficult. I have to give credit to my guide who done all they could and rang the immigration just to check if there was anything we could do, the last thing I wanted was having to drive back to Ashgabat and miss out on Uzbekistan!
A BIT OF LUCK
Wi-Fi and internet here is almost non existent but we found an internet café and tried to apply for an e-visa. After 10minutes we were thrown out because it was lunch time so we counted out losses and went to check into the most opulent yet quietest hotel in the country.
After a little more research the driver found out that the “visa on arrival begins tomorrow”. I couldn’t believe my luck. From tomorrow Uzbekistan implements a new visa policy which would save my blushes! The guide even went as far as getting a copy of the presidents decree so I could take it with me!
THE WORST STEAK IN THE WORLD
What made this 4* hotel even more bizarre was the 1* food. It was by far the worst steak I’ve had in my life and the fact it couldn’t be cut by a knife gave me no hope if I were to actually attempt to eat it. Check out my Turkmenistan Instagram story in the highlights to see how tough it actually was. This was topped off by getting a bottle of fizzy water instead of still and I just couldn’t communicate “no gas”. There are bigger problems and life goes on 🤣
NEXT UP
Getting into Uzbekistan with a bit of luck!! Click to read
SAFE TRAVELS, DS x
128/229
This post is part of the Central Asia Series, click to explore or for episode 1 click here.
To watch the video of my trip, head to my highlights on my Instagram.
