Silk Road travel advice

Jonny Bealby from our supplier, Wild Frontiers shares his shopping tips:
“The Fergana Valley is a little visited area of Uzbekistan and is a good place for shopping with silk factories to visit where you can watch and learn about the full silk making process. All round Uzbekistan you can buy locally produced pottery and ceramics that are painted by hand and are very beautiful souvenirs. And of course, everywhere in Central Asia is big on their carpets although Turkmenistan is the home of the original Turkmen rug. The carpets can be handmade depending on how much you want to pay and some tourists choose to have them sent home after their trip; you can spend thousands of pounds on a carpet if you want to.”

Jonny Bealby from our supplier, Wild Frontiers shares his advice on coping with road travel:
“The roads in Central Asia are very bad and travelling between places by mini bus or private car can be a bit hell raising although your driver will be very adept at swerving around pot holes. You will keep to a schedule because lengthy road journeys will be taken into account and extra time allowed for by your tour operators, but people should be aware that the roads are bumpy and uncomfortable, so it’s best to keep calm and be patient.

Fortunately, travel in China is very safe and still largely free of the major banes of travel in other parts of Asia: theft and begging. It’s never a bad idea to stay as safe as you can and there are ways to ensure your trip is as enjoyable and trouble free as possible. Bar the odd bag snatching, petty crime is not commonplace in western China. However, it’s always best to exercise the usual precautions and avoid having valuables on show. One of the most dangerous things you can do in China is cross a road: most motorists pay little attention to pedestrian crossings and a green light for you to cross still means that cars are permitted to turn in to or out of the road. Add to this bicycles, rickshaws and loads of other people and you have dangerous combination – keep your wits about you. Turkmenistan is heavily policed and generally safe; incidents of mugging, theft and pick pocketing are rare, but take sensible precautions and keep valuables out of sight. There have been occasional incidents of mugging and petty crime in Uzbekistan, but the streets are well policed. Policemen, or sometimes those pretending to be policemen, may seek to impose on the spot fines for seemingly bizarre reasons. If you are in any doubt you should ask for ID and pay any fines at the nearest police station. Politics is a very sensitive issue in Central Asia and it’s advisable not to involve yourself in conversations about or speak out against the government as it is considered a crime. Homosexuality is illegal in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan and is punishable by up to two years in prison. It’s advisable that same sex couples act discreetly at all times. For further information on health and safety along the Silk Road, please visit the FCO or the CDC websites.