Central Asia small group vacation

Planet

The transport on this tour consists of a mixture of private buses and public transport. Our private bus is for a maximum for 12 people so there’s no space wasted, further reducing our carbon footprint. The use of a smaller vehicle allows us to access, smaller out the way villages that we visit along the way in Kyrgyzstan. When we reach Uzbekistan, we switch to using trains for the majority of the trip. Rail travel is an efficient and sustainable way to travel, and allows us to cover much of the country, traveling like the locals. We ensure a large water keg is also provided on our private vehicle so our travelers can bring their reusable water bottles and reduce our plastic waste – we can also provide aluminum water bottle for anyone that needs them. We stay in two local yurt camps at Song Kul Lake & Issyk Kul Lake, both of which are powered by on site solar energy.

Food left over after group meals is collected and boxed up to be left where homeless/street people might easily find it and take it without them having to go through garbage for a meal.

All suppliers issued with RT recommendations in their local language and leaders and groups acting as “ambassadors” for spreading the RT message beyond just our travelers but also trying to involve the local tourism industry.

We include informal local language lessons to give our travelers a head start into understanding the culture and communicating with the people we meet along the way.

Wherever possible we take local transport in China. This can mean anything from public bus, trolley bus, tram or subway. We also have the opportunity to explore on bikes and on foot and travel overland on all our basix trips. When taking trains we travel 2nd or 3rd class (hard sleeper) which is the way the majority of locals travel - this gives us maximum chance to meet and share stories, food, games and the journet with local travelers.

At the end of out journey we encourage our travelers to donate unwanted clothes, toiletries or other goods which we then distribute to local organisations.

Our tour leaders are all Chinese locals.

On this trip You'll be immersed in the rich cultural heritage of Central Asia and make plenty of local friends on this overland journey from Beijing to Tashkent.

A highlight for all our travelers is the focus on meeting and staying with local people along the way. You'll stay in a yurt, the traditional Kyrgyz felt tent dwelling for the night just after you cross the border into Kyrgyzstan before continuing on to the village of Kochkor where we stay with women from the local felt making coop. Fatima and her mother will no doubt treat us to a great meal with many toasts of koumiss (mares milk) and if you are staying at Kuku's house you might even get to sleep in her backyard yurt!

There are a number of community projects in Central Asia that we are involved in. In Bishkek we sponsor two babushkas (elderly ladies) through the Babushka Adoption Foundation. You'll be able to take Valentina and Valentina out for dinner, something that they rarely get to experience since they have no family left in Bishkek to take care of them. Our sponsorship gives them a supplement to their tiny monthly pensions so they can have enough for food and medicine.

In Bukhara we have dinner at the home of Mavluda, the director of Bright Beam Women's Crisis Centre. She'll tell us all about the great work that they do defending and educating about women's rights, something that is quite a challenge in Uzbekistan. You'll probably have the opportunity to try her great home made plov, the country's national dish.

People

There are many opportunities for our travelers to meet local people and stay among local communities during this tour. We spend two nights at a Barbulak village initiative Yurt Camp by Issyk lake, this is a tourism project where all profits go directly back into the community. This village had never received tourist before and now much of the community are involved in running this business. We also visit a local women’s cooperative nearby, who hand make traditional woolen rugs that our customers can purchase. At Song Kul Lake, we stay in traditional yurts run by local young people, they are part of Destination - a local travel business acceleration project supported by USAID. Here we visit true nomads yurts, the group immerse themselves in this unique way of life and get to experience the incredible views and wildlife on the banks of the river.
In Kysyl-Oi, we stay in a Community Based Tourism guesthouse, run by local people. That evening, we take the group for a stroll through the village, which almost always ends with being invited into a local’s home for tea. In Samarkand, the group visit a local family for lunch, on the menu is Plov, possibly the most well-loved Uzbekistani dish and something you have to try while there.
Kyrgyz people are incredible hospitable, and this is felt throughout the country, in Suusamyr valley, the group always pass by the local yurt camps to meet the people living there. We are often offered local specialties such as mare’s milk and Kurut (a type of cheese), which the group will see being sold in abundance along the road.
We have City guides throughout this tour, to supplement the tour leader’s local knowledge as we arrive in a new city. These guides are always local and pass on the history, stories and feel of the specific location the group are in.