Turkmenistan

Of the five countries that make up Central Asia, Turkmenistan is truly in a category all by itself. It may have shared a lot of recent history with the other countries but since independence from the Soviet Union it has very much gone its own way. An isolated brutal dictatorship way!

The country is closed to all foreign observation, media and internet, ranking above only North Korea and Eritrea in terms of freedom of the press. There are strict limitations for foreign visitors who manage to get the incredibly difficult visa and far more severe restrictions for Turkmen people travelling abroad. Money, transportation, luxury items, everything is restricted and there is a lot of very genuine fear of the government among the population.

The country is mostly an arid desert with very little land suitable for people and the country has the smallest population of any Central Asian country. It gets unbelievably hot in summer so if, like me, you suffer in temperatures over 40 degrees you definitely shouldn’t travel here in summer.

It all sounds pleasant I know! This is one of the most difficult countries imaginable to travel in and unless you can afford the very expensive tourist visa you will have a maximum of 5 days to do so. I accept that I really don’t pick usual travel destinations, and honestly this was one of the best trips that I have ever done!

My Trip

Turkmenistan was by far one of the most eventful countries that I’ve ever tried to get into. My first attempt at a visa application was unsuccessful, the second attempt was accepted but I didn’t hear back positively until I was already in Georgia. When I was in Baku trying to get onboard the ferry was a four day exercise in total frustration and the ferry itself was two days of absolute chaos.

Thankfully I succeeded due to the timing of my trip. The Mongol Rally was taking place at the time and I was lucky enough to find a team that let me join them across the Caspian and all the way through the country. For a place with extremely limited public transport this was an life saver.

We drove from the Turkmenbashy port to the capital, Ashgabat through some amazing deserts, interesting towns and even an underground suphur cave, cooling and relaxing at only 35 degrees! After exploring the crazy white and gold capital, genuinely one of the most bizarre places on Earth, we drove up to Darvaza and camped at the gas crater. The Door to Hell was the highlight of my entire trip and a true milestone for me personally, it was an unforgettable night!

The final day was simply a drive to the border, to get out of this country before the restrictive visa expired. This was not a country I would ever consider messing around with or trying to spend longer in. Its an incredible place but not somewhere I will ever go back to.