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Travel to the Aral Sea?

EMNofSeattle

No Russian ever called me deplorable
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For years, really since middle school, I have studied the plight of the Aral sea, a shrinking former inland sea between Kahzakstan and Uzbekistan.

so for some time, I thought it would be kind of interesting to visit the Aral Sea and see some of the former port towns and the like.

what worries about doing so is, I'm not really an international traveler type, the only foreign country I've visited is Canada (not really much of an adventure considering I live in a state bordering that country) So I'm wondering if anyone here has actually visited Kazakstan or Uzbekistan, in the Aral Sea region and if anyone who has traveled to that part of the world has advice on who to contact, getting visas, etc etc etc etc.

I would be interested in traveling in the next three or four years or so, and am just brainstorming right now.
 
ive never been and I probably never will considering most of it is just this:

 
I accidentally deleted my long winded reply so I will say what I can after an extreme amount of Rum and frustration.

I too am a fan of extreme vacation spots such as North Korea and Turkmenistan, so I will issue what advice I can based on my former studies and my quick studies on this one.

What I will say straight off the bat is that this particular region you would like to visit has very few sources, and so makes me worry, from my studies of other Central Asian States I have noticed that Border Regions are extremely dangerous areas and so as a matter of course I must recommend you do not travel to the region you are inquiring about or at the very least consult the United States State Department before Traveling to this region.

Other than that I would recommend you do your own research, I have compiled a list of links I hope are useful to you.

Kazakhstan
Uzbekistan
Aral Sea travel guide - Wikitravel

Other than this I will absolutely not condone any other link regarding this area as I do not feel based on my searches I have the information necessary to inform you.
 
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Yeah after doing some cursory research, it appears at least the Uzbekistan side is not a great place.

It seems that Kazakstan is safer.

I don't think it's fair to compare the central asian states with North Korea however
 

Go where you want to go, do what you want to do.

Just don't look for rescue when your 'plans'get you in a bind.




"If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there." ~ Lewis Carroll.
 
Here's the UK Government's travel advice.

"[h=3]Crime[/h]Most visits are trouble-free. However, mugging and theft occur in cities and rural areas. Foreigners can be targeted.
There have been a number of violent attacks and muggings on the expatriate community in Atyrau and Aktau in western Kazakhstan, and in Astana and Almaty. Attacks have largely taken place at night, in and around local nightclubs and bars or when arriving at home late at night, as the majority of apartment buildings have dark stairwells and no lifts. Avoid walking alone and where possible pre-arrange transport. Keep valuables in a safe place and out of public view. Avoid travelling in unofficial taxis, particularly at night and alone, or if there is another passenger already in the car.
Robberies have occurred on trains, so always lock railway compartments on overnight trains.
Passenger lists on aircraft are not always kept confidential. There have been instances of people being met from an aircraft by someone using their name and then being robbed...."

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/kazakhstan/safety-and-security

See what my government thinks of where YOU live!

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice
 
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Whenever I travel, I like to learn the local language first before I go there.

Best way is to take one of those quickie foreign language crammers. I have done those.

Also take a community college foreign language class. I have also done those.

Sometimes getting a private tutor helps too. I have even had those.

Learning Hebrew was fun before visiting Israel. Alef bayt gimmel dalet ... .

Learning Greek was fun before visiting Greece. Alpha veeta gramma thelta ... .

For my next planned trip it will be Switzerland -- although I am already fluent in German so no worries there -- going to the German part of Switzerland. Ah bey tzey dey ... .

Now is not a good time to visit Egypt.

Eventually I would like to learn Italian and go to the Vatican. I already have some Latin down, so that should not be all that hard. Ah beh keh deh ... .

As a kid living with my international parents I have lived all over Europe and North Africa.

As a business professional I have travelled to London, Paris, and Geneva.

On my first foreign vacation trip I chose to visit Jerusalem where the God(s) of the Jews and Christians reside, in my view.

Seeing their temple grounds and churches and the historic places where They communed with Prophets like Moses and St. Peter was fascinating.

Then my second trip to Greece was equally fascinating to see the birthplace of philosophy and the historic places where the Christian God(s) communed with St. Paul. The Eastern Orthodox Church has preserves many ancient sites in Greece.

I've been to the French part of Switzerland so I would like to see the German part next.

Then probably the Vatican and Rome after that.

Whatever floats your boat !!!

Travel is fun when you can afford it and when the places you are going are safe and won't get you killed or your head cut off my an Islamist fanatic.

Switzerland is the only pure democracy and the only place on this Earth where gun ownership is mandatory and 100%.

I would feel safe in Switzerland.
 
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If youre going someplace foreign for the first time I would recommend you go to a travel agent- they should know the reputable tours available that can get you to where you want to go. It will cost you a bit more as compared to winging it but at least you won't stumble around with a proper guide. We live in a golden age of international tourism so I heartily suggest anyone to go out and see the world, it will broaden your horizons.
 

A particularly useful thing to look at in that website would be the maps, its normally the case that certain áreas are fine and others not so much. So the Foreign Office provides maps that are color coded in Green, Orange and Red. The great thing is that its often extremely specific and localized EG ´´Bierut is generally ok as long as you don´t go south of the football stadium" "Georiga is probably ok just stay the **** away from South Ossetia" (Though thats probably changed since i checked in 2013- Also somewhat paraphrased)
 

Ah so kind of like LA then?

It seems like your countries advice is general crime prevention tips I use when I travel in my own country
 
Uzbekistan I would be wary of

But I would love to see Samarkand
 
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