Possible escape from visa hell

the porous city

I'm not sure how Genghis Khan managed to sweep across so much territory, given all the consulates to visit, letters of invitation required, etc ...anyway, I'm in Bishkek. I need to be in Istanbul around June 12th to meet Ozge. Not a huge amount of map to cover, really.

Option 1

Wait 7-10 days in Bishkek for Uzbek visa
Bus to Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Wait 7-10 days for Azeri visa
Wait 7-10 days for Turkmen transit visa
Overland through Turkmenistan
Ferry to Baku, Azerbaijan
Overland to Georgia (no visa)
Overland to Turkey and Istanbul (no visa)
...and arrive a week or two late.

Option 2

Wait 7-10 days in Bishkek for Uzbek visa
Bus to Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Wait 1-2 days for Kazakh visa
See touristy stuff in Uzbekistan
Overland to Aktau, Kazahkstan
Fly to Baku, Azerbaijan
Get visa on arrival at airport ($100)
Overland to Georgia (no visa)
Overland to Turkey and Istanbul (no visa)
...with time to spare.

(thank you, this guy)

update: except ... flights from Aktau to Baku are supposedly $700 or so. Maybe not.

last modified: 06:28:15 09-Jun-2008
in categories:Travel/Vagabond'08

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