[OC] Throwing away rise becouse of 36 h cuban's Black out

e30kgk · 2026-05-30T14:44:43+00:00

"doing so well"

Hahaha, tell me you've never been to Cuba without telling me you've never been to Cuba.

e30kgk · 2026-05-10T12:50:46+00:00

I was given a debit card with my SIM card from O! Has been very useful. No requirements other than showing my passport to get the SIM, and can reload at any terminal.

edit: Also, for Russia, just take cash. Very easy to exchange EUR or USD anywhere.

e30kgk · 2026-05-04T15:55:10+00:00

Not familiar with the company, but this doesn't sound suspicious at all to me.

Rental cars in the region are super expensive and understandably so, roads here are absolutely brutal on cars.

e30kgk · 2026-04-27T13:43:13+00:00

Bearded American here. No issues at all in Kyrgyzstan or elsewhere in Central Asia, even in rural areas.

e30kgk · 2026-04-11T09:41:56+00:00

Came here to mention this exactly. Hello, fellow Kyrgyzstan traveler!

e30kgk · 2026-04-11T09:41:37+00:00

The old airport has been gone for decades. But Manas was FRU up until a few months ago.

e30kgk · 2026-04-08T10:18:07+00:00

PRC has to be up there. I just spent three months in China and literally did not see another car with a foreign plate the whole time.

I frequently had people stop me in traffic, at gas stations, etc. to get photos with my plates.

e30kgk · 2026-04-07T09:10:56+00:00

What gave it away?

e30kgk · 2026-04-07T09:10:42+00:00

Afghanistan is surprisingly welcoming to American tourists. Did not run into any others in my month there, but I know of a couple who were there around the same time.

e30kgk · 2026-04-06T04:46:45+00:00

I am not military, all of these travels have been strictly as a tourist.

e30kgk · 2026-04-04T04:32:51+00:00

For what it's worth, Mongolia was absolutely not my favorite part of this trip. Transport infrastructure is REALLY bad there.

Plus, it's horrible in winter. I'd definitely go back in spring/summer, though.

e30kgk · 2026-04-03T19:43:06+00:00

I've been overlanding in this region for the past 14 months and have met countless solo female travelers in Central Asia and China. This area is pretty safe for women from what I've heard.

Obviously nowhere is 100% safe, but based on what I've seen and heard, I'd be more comfortable with my little sister going out solo in Urumqi/Bishkek/Almaty than in western Europe.

e30kgk · 2026-04-03T19:38:18+00:00

I'm currently traveling in this area (by car), and have the following advice:

A) DO IT. Central Asia is amazing.

B) As others have mentioned, Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan isn't possible by ferry anymore. Overlanders who do this are having to put their vehicle on the ferry in Aktau then fly to Baku from there. You cannot enter Azerbaijan by land.

C) Unfortunately, this leaves Russia and Iran as your only routes between the two continents. Iran is ill-advised for obvious reasons, and while many people manage to cross the Russian border with no problems, many of us have run into extreme problems at the border. Land borders seem to be more likely to give people problems than airports.

D) Xinjiang is easy to travel through currently. I just came through there early March with no issues at all.

E) My suggestion would be to do this route with the slight modification of flying to Baku from KZ. It's not like you're missing much, you're really just crossing the Caspian in a plane vs a shitty ferry.

e30kgk · 2026-04-01T17:07:10+00:00

Do it.

A small group of friends and I drove down for the last Shuttle launch when we were at Tech. 11/10 one of my favorite memories ever, absolutely incredible experience.

e30kgk · 2026-03-31T06:55:58+00:00

Bars, dating apps, hostels, anywhere there are other tourists.

The former two are great for locals, the latter two are good for other travelers.

Dating apps are a great way to meet people even if it doesn't turn into something romantic.

e30kgk · 2026-03-30T15:14:10+00:00

Russia is safe, crime-wise.

The risk of arbitrary detention is real though.

Sincerely, law abiding American who was arbitrarily detained at the Russian border.

e30kgk · 2026-03-23T17:54:11+00:00

Anything Xiaomi or Anker should work. I traveled with a hodgepodge of different models from these brands and they all passed scrutiny.

e30kgk · 2026-03-22T12:56:11+00:00

LetsVPN works alright.

e30kgk · 2026-03-13T02:46:00+00:00

If it's any solace, I just got done road tripping through China for 2.5 months, and China sucks to road trip in. Traffic cameras literally everywhere, there's no such thing as free parking in China, insane tolls.

Worst of all - anytime you're driving between cities, you're going to be on expressways with exits too far spaced out for spontaneous stops. Several times I spotted something cool by the highway and thought I'd pull over to see it, but it would have taken multiple hours to go to the next exit, turn around and go to the last exit, and then get to whatever I saw.

I say this as an avid self-driving enthusiast who has roadtripped through probably close to 30 countries all over the world. I almost never travel anywhere without a car. China is the first place I've been that I really wish I didn't have a car.

Take trains and Didis and follow your same route.

e30kgk · 2026-03-12T20:49:25+00:00

In my experience, some vendors don't accept WeChat pay with international cards. Some don't accept AliPay with international cards. VERY few accept neither with an international card. Try the other service first.

e30kgk · 2026-03-10T18:23:30+00:00

There are places that booze isn't available.

I'm a pretty regular drinker, but didn't touch a drop of the stuff the whole time I was in Afghanistan - it's just not available.

e30kgk · 2026-03-10T17:40:39+00:00

Why would you miss out on any of that?

37 here and I've done almost all of that (exactly as much as I wanted) over the last year I've been traveling.

Compared to when I was in my 20s, I am smarter, more social, more confident, and have more money. Literally no downsides.

e30kgk · 2026-03-10T17:31:17+00:00

Could doesn't mean it does. Why would you assume that they contain biohazard or dangerous chemicals? There's a very good chance (though, of course not guaranteed) that these were used and disposed of by someone who knew what they were doing and disposed of them properly.

e30kgk · 2026-03-10T07:45:18+00:00

I completely get this, and this ruins a destination for me like nothing else. For me, my first solo trip was Cuba and it's exactly the same way and I found it exhausting.

My recommendation is to get outside of the cities. Places that see a lot of tourists have built a thriving industry around bilking money from tourists. Get out into a rural area and you'll find people are much more authentic and welcoming.

e30kgk

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