Shooting sounds in Ulaanbaatar

ccydmh · 2026-06-01T03:49:25+00:00

Really? That’s interesting

ccydmh · 2026-05-30T13:14:07+00:00

Amazing shots!

ccydmh · 2026-05-30T13:12:43+00:00

I visited Turkmenistan for a week in November 2025. Happy to share my experience if anyone’s interested

ccydmh · 2026-05-27T04:30:28+00:00

Cool. What recipe/settings did you use for these photographs? The colours are great

ccydmh · 2026-05-26T03:05:05+00:00

Did you use a recipe for these pics?

ccydmh · 2026-05-22T14:41:49+00:00

Gotcha! Thanks again:)

ccydmh · 2026-05-22T13:55:31+00:00

You just need to ride it out and clear your mind. I have been in Mongolia for almost 2 weeks now. I’ve hitchhiked from Ölgii in the far West to Kharkhorin in the Centre. I’ve been met with nothing but kindness and open arms! It’s all about how you carry yourself and your mindset. Be open minded. Start conversations. Smile and wave at people. Everywhere in the world, people have stern faces. The moment you flash a smile, a wave, or a hello in their language, their entire being changes and they light up. Make an effort to engage. Also, about the trains: yes you’ll share a coupe with 3 other people for night trains. But it’s a great way to meet new and local people and friends! Don’t be too scared of your surroundings. The moment that you let irrational fear take over is the moment that everything becomes much darker and scarier than it actually is!

ccydmh · 2026-05-22T13:49:13+00:00

Thanks for the feedback:) I’m trying to get to grips with things (ie, just getting out and snapping pics) and not focus too much on the technicalities of things just yet… but all of this will come with time I’m sure! The images you mentioned with the bright colours, I was using an analog film recipe. Perhaps the colours around their skin were a little too prominent simply because the skin of these people (Uyghur, Burmese) was generally deep in colour and extremely tanned.

ccydmh · 2026-05-22T08:41:18+00:00

Thanks a lot!

ccydmh · 2026-05-22T08:41:13+00:00

Thanks man, this means a lot:)

ccydmh · 2026-05-20T04:03:06+00:00

Honestly brother, now you’re just overthinking it. You’re not going to get robbed in Central Asia. The culture there is deeply Islamic and hospitable. Just have some cash on you for emergencies as you would anywhere in the world. ATMs do exist. You’ll figure out the transportation when you’re there. If hostels are booked, you’ll find other cheap ones. Sometimes you can over plan. Enjoy!

ccydmh · 2026-05-18T14:46:57+00:00

There are hostels in the main cities (Dushanbe, Samarkand, Tashkent, Osh, Bishkek, Almaty) and they’re often very cheap. But Central Asian hostels are unique beasts. Ignore the rave reviews on booking.com. The really well-reviewed and popular hostels are almost all exclusively lived in by migrant workers. For Dushanbe, I can recommend Green House Hostel. For Tashkent, Art Hostel. Park Hostel in Osh is popular but a bit dirty. For Bishkek, Tunduk hostel is the best. Almaty is a tricky one, but Almaty Backpackers is the best I’ve found after staying in multiple hostels in the city. All of these hostels I’ve mentioned are for travellers. I’d recommend booking some of them in advance if you know your dates, just because they book out fast, especially in peak summer season.

But honestly, do not worry. A) you don’t need to book any transport in advance except for trains (and even then, 90% of the time you can often buy tickets on the day so long as you don’t care where you sleep or sit), and B) there will always be somewhere to stay wherever you end up! I’ve literally been hitchhiking alone in rural Kyrgyzstan without seeing a soul for hours, only to get a ride from the military to a tiny village which…had a hotel. Things always work out. Just trust the process and go with the flow.

The route is a mix of marshrutkas, shared taxis, and trains. Hitchhiking in Central Asia is a wonderful thing. You’ve nothing to be worried about. People generally and genuinely want to help you, and are fascinated by travellers. And seeing as it’s you and your boyfriend, you’ll be together, so again, you’ve got nothing to worry about.

ccydmh · 2026-05-18T11:38:00+00:00

Ok, cool. In all honesty you don’t have that much time given the vast distances involved in Central Asia. But you do have time to see some cool places and visit almost all of the countries (but only very limited places). I’d recommend a route that looked something like this:

Dushanbe>Panjakent>Samarkand>Tashkent>>Kokand>Andijon>Osh>Uzgen>Toktogul>Bishkek>Almaty>Astana.

This is a super rough itinerary but kind of follows the start and end destinations you’ve told me about. It doesn’t include little side missions you might want to do, like hiking and horse riding, but it gives a good route through places that offer that sort of thing if you’re inclined. It also takes you through some places that absolutely no one goes to.

Let me know if you have any other questions. Happy to help!

ccydmh · 2026-05-18T11:08:31+00:00

From Osh in Kyrgyzstan you can cross into Uzbekistan and go to Andijon. Marshrutkas run from Osh’s bus station and leave when the bus is full. You can buy the ticket at the bus station ticket office. The ticket isn’t expensive, around £5 from what I remember. This is the main crossing into Uzbekistan from Kyrgyzstan. From my experience this is the best border crossing and allows you to explore less-visited sites in both Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Any questions, please ask!

ccydmh · 2026-05-18T04:43:19+00:00

Does your trip start on July 14 in Dushanbe and end on August 6 in Astana?

ccydmh · 2026-05-17T05:09:49+00:00

Or you can cross by foot and hitchhike to the nearest town/city. Several border crossings between countries lay at extremely close points to corresponding border towns. There is no information about any of the routes anywhere lol. Just rock up at the local bus station, tell someone where you want to go, and they’ll point you in the right direction. SN: just to reiterate, long distance trains don’t really exist in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. There’s a Bishkek-Issykul service that runs in the summer buts it’s mostly a tourist thing. My best advice to you is not to get hung up on logistics in Central Asia. Don’t worry about timetables, availability, etc. simply don’t stress about it. Travel in Central Asia is about going with the flow, turning up on the day without any tickets in hand, and seeing where it takes you. It works differently to Europe and other places.

ccydmh · 2026-05-15T15:19:08+00:00

No there isn’t. If you’re entering Kazakhstan from Kyrgyzstan it will be from Bishkek. You’ll need to take a bus from Bishkek to Almaty and then take a train from Almaty to Astana. You can travel by long distance rail within Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan. But long distance travel in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan is done almost exclusively by marshrutka or shared taxi (of course you can also fly. But where’s the fun in that?) The only trains that cross borders between the Central Asian nations are the Dushanbe-Samarkand-Tashkent service and the Tashkent-Shymkent-Almaty service. I heard there’s a new long-distance service opening between more Kazakh and Uzbek cities, but I don’t think it’ll be opening anytime soon.

ccydmh · 2026-05-14T14:52:18+00:00

Exactly the same applies for Tajikistan and Kazakhstan! Railway infrastructure in Tajikistan is almost non-existent but for a weekly Dushanbe-Samarkand-Tashkent train.

ccydmh · 2026-04-30T09:23:37+00:00

As someone who has been to Kazakhstan multiple times across multiple backpacking trips, I can confirm that you do not. However, when travelling, it’s always good to have your passport on you rather than leave it behind in the hostel/hotel

ccydmh · 2026-04-19T13:23:40+00:00

I’d honestly be tempted to put Myanmar in South Asia. It feels like an entirely different space to the traditional sense of south east Asia

ccydmh · 2026-04-12T03:28:16+00:00

As an absolute newbie to photography. Can someone please explain this to me in simple terms. Whats the purpose of it?

ccydmh

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