7 days to departure!

Broome sunset.

I wish I could tell you things were more or less on track for our upcoming departure, but alas we are currently four-wheel driving in the Kimberley in Western Australia and the Top End of the Northern Territory. A beautiful place to spend three weeks with our friend Renton before departure, but not an ideal place to prepare for our epic hiking adventure in the Stans. Notice the lack of internet cafes below.

However, we have obtained a one-way ticket to Bishkek and written up a rough 30-day itinerary for Kyrgyzstan, so it's all systems go.

When first undertaking research on Central Asia over ten months ago we fast learned that visas were going to be our biggest headache. Kyrgyzstan is the only country for which we (as Australians) don't need a visa. The capital, Bishkek, is also home to various embassies where we will be obtaining our visas for Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. That is, if all goes according to plan.

So, fingers crossed we will be successful with visa applications in Bishkek or else we're kinda screwed...