|
It looks like 'North Korea meets Dubai' ASHGABAT, TURKMENISTAN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oVpY2FYFTE      
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2019 21:37
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 22, 2024 10:59 |
|
|
All the pictures are great but this looks like something that belongs on a pulp scifi novel
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2019 21:47
|
|
|
Yeah Ashgabat is great, it's honestly rather beautiful. Those streetlights alone.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2019 21:53
|
|
|
Milo and POTUS posted:All the pictures are great but this looks like something that belongs on a pulp scifi novel Yeah, like, Central Asian dictatorships are putting western oligarchs to shame. Craziest thing we build in the middle of the desert are golf courses. They also have a crater which is gas-fed and permanently smoldering. DARVAZA GAS CRATER ("THE GATES OF HELL"), DERWEZE, TURKMENISTAN:     
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2019 22:00
|
|
|
Huskalator posted:So did the Soviets **** this area of the world by putting a single industry per country or something like that? I feel like I read that somewhere. They definitely hosed some of them up by drawing Africa style colonial borders over them that make no goddamn sense upon independence. Like look up what the Fergana Valley is, and then take a good long look a a map that has political borders and elevation. Now notice what is going on and lol.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2019 23:05
|
|
|
Huskalator posted:So did the Soviets **** this area of the world by putting a single industry per country or something like that? I feel like I read that somewhere. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGwMEXYQE7E
|
|
#
?
Nov 11, 2019 08:44
|
|
|
I had a friend whose dad would lead hunts for boomers in Kazakhstan and poo poo and it would pay the bills for the non hunting portion of the year, but man he must have had to resist the urge to cap some fat rear end dentists weekly.
|
|
#
?
Nov 11, 2019 08:50
|
|
|
Yeah. I feel like alot of people have heard about the Aral Sea disappearing, but that's about where it stops. In truth it's a way worse disaster than things like Chernobyl and like the video goes into it's combined with other areas of Soviet mismanagement and lack of accountability (and general being highly indifferent towards the non-European Soviet Republics which had next to no representation in top level civilian and military governance) with how it's enabled pollution from testing grounds and production centers for chemical and biological warfare to seep into the soil.
|
|
#
?
Nov 11, 2019 09:03
|
|
|
drat it's shim lovely
|
|
#
?
Nov 15, 2019 19:22
|
|
|
Was Cities: Skylines made by a Turkmen developer?
|
|
#
?
Nov 15, 2019 19:35
|
|
|
Valko posted:I love these kinds of threads. these look like animal traps / hunting traps you get 100 guys on horse to scare all the animals in the same direction. they go into those caverns. they can't get out.
|
|
#
?
Nov 15, 2019 19:45
|
|
|
Sorry this took forever, I was away for a while and then I couldn't find these photos on my computer. Also full warning, the camera on my phone is terrible and I'm an equally terrible photographer so sorry about the quality in some of these photos. Tbilisi  Panorama of Tbilisi which is probably one of the coolest cities that I've ever visited. The modern bridge across the river built was by the previous president Mikheil Saakashvili and is officially called "The Peace Bridge" but a lot of locals hate it because they don't like modern architecture in the Old Town so call it "the tampon" instead. The big glass cannoli looking things across from it were also built by Saakashvili and aren't in use and from what my guide told me this is mostly out of spite because his successor doesn't like him. Some photos of Tbilisi Old Town:    Also you can buy swords and poo poo at the side of the road like you're in an RPG  Tbilisi sits on a bunch of hot springs and so has a bunch of bathhouses, which is what the building on the left that looks like a mosque actually is. I went and hung out there in the nude with a Cypriot guy that I'd just met at my hostel and a bunch of middle aged Georgian men who looked like Mike Stoklasa from Red Letter Media; while the guy who took tickets ate a whole roast chicken to himself in the corner, also in the nude. 10/10 experience.  Stalin poo poo So the most famous Georgian of all time was obviously Stalin and they have a big museum in his hometown of Gori, where they've preserved the house where he and his parents lived in. It has a hilarious tour where there's very little mention of all the people he killed and more about all the tacky poo poo he was given.     Stalin's personal clock/radio/lamp/ashtray combo:  There's a great selection of Stalin memorabilia for sale at the museum for any tankies that happen to visit (ignoring the irony of selling memorabilia of a communist dictator). Not gonna lie I was tempted by the lighter but it was actually pretty expensive.   this dog owns  Putting stuff in Russian next to English led to this and I'm glad it did  Churches Turns out Orthodox Chruches are gorgeous. Photography was forbidden in the best one I went to (Sioni Cathedral), so enjoy this stock photo of it instead  The cathedral in the old capital of Mtskheta (the tour guide got sick of me trying to pronounce this) was a close second though     The Svaneti The Svaneti is a stunning region in the Caucasus that was filled with bandits 10 years ago and is now a stunning region in the Caucasus which is great for hiking. I was only here for a few days which was a shame as there's a 4 day hike you can do to one of the highest villages in Europe. Also I didn't get nearly enough photos as I wanted because the region is subject to power cuts and my phone died (my power pack had also died by this point).     I went to an amazing museum filled with a bunch of stuff from the region from as far back as the bronze age, with the legend of the Golden Fleece apparently comes from a local method of extracting gold from rivers (modern day Georgia being where Jason and the Argonauts sailed to).    On the way back from one of the walks I an old local guy stopped me and, even though he seemed to speak no English, after learning that I was English myself, launched into a heavily accented version of the "Now is the Winter of our discontent" speech from Richard III, before selling me some local booze in an old water bottle that was basically grape accented paint thinner. Georgia's cool, also enjoy some bad pictures of great Georgian food and drink     Whorelord fucked around with this message at 14:26 on Nov 20, 2019 |
|
#
?
Nov 19, 2019 15:41
|
|
|
Great photos, man. Georgia looks rad.Whorelord posted:... Ha, owns.
|
|
#
?
Nov 19, 2019 19:21
|
|
|
Looks like a great country to me!
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2019 00:01
|
|
|
Yeah Georgia rules. Haven't been there as an adult and I've been meaning to go back for years but something always got in the way. Like the war. I did however find all my other photos from Uzbekistan so I'll try to quickly pick and clean up a few more to share.
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2019 00:59
|
|
|
So, if I were a woman from California and interested in visiting Turkmenistan, where would be best to fly to and what would I need to wear? I read that old goon thread about the Mongol Rally and it sounds great but I feel like that region probably isn’t great for me to travel to alone, as much as I dislike that that’s the case. I’ve traveled by myself often in Western Europe and Central & South America, but this seems like a different level and I don’t even have rudimentary understanding of any of the regions languages unlike the other places I’ve been to.
MAKE NO BABBYS fucked around with this message at 11:00 on Nov 20, 2019 |
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2019 10:57
|
|
|
MAKE NO BABBYS posted:So, if I were a woman from California and interested in visiting Turkmenistan, where would be best to fly to and what would I need to wear? I read that old goon thread about the Mongol Rally and it sounds great but I feel like that region probably isn’t great for me to travel to alone, as much as I dislike that that’s the case. I’ve traveled by myself often in Western Europe and Central & South America, but this seems like a different level and I don’t even have rudimentary understanding of any of the regions languages unlike the other places I’ve been to. It's probably way safer than Central and South America. As for languages Russian, Turkish (Turkic languages are still pretty similar) or possibly Persian would be useful.
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2019 11:03
|
|
|
In what way would it be safer, can you elaborate? E: I don’t mean this to be pedantic at all, genuinely curious. And thanks for the language recs but I don’t think I can learn another at this time and I mostly meant that beyond memorizing a couple phrases none of the languages I know are close or would help me much. MAKE NO BABBYS fucked around with this message at 11:08 on Nov 20, 2019 |
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2019 11:05
|
|
|
Way less drugrelated violence and kidnappings and nothing to balance it out qua increased unsafety.
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2019 11:21
|
|
|
Yeah. Like a lot of these countries are autocratic shitholes you wouldn't want to live in, but the upside is that there are cops all over the place and generally violent crime is kept under control. Travelling alone as a woman is always more difficult sadly but I doubt it's worse than South America. Just dress conservatively (i.e. no asscheeks poking from the shorts, seen a couple of those) and youll probably be ok. Obviously some people would speak English, I was surprised to meet some kids in Samarkand that spoke English and not Russian, but this will definibe the minority outside of major urban areas. At least learn the Cyrillic alphabet, so you could figure out place names and directions.
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2019 11:36
|
|
|
Ka0 posted:My favorite part of the Aral sea excerpt from portmanteau.com wow it sure is good that the soviet union collapsed in 1990 then, saving the aral sea  oh
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2019 11:44
|
|
|
BEAR GRYLLZ posted:wow it sure is good that the soviet union collapsed in 1990 then, saving the aral sea The evaporation is the result of policies from way before 1990, by that time there was no longer anything that could really be done to reverse it even though the consequences weren't yet readily visible.
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2019 12:07
|
|
|
mobby_6kl posted:Yeah. Like a lot of these countries are autocratic shitholes you wouldn't want to live in, but the upside is that there are cops all over the place and generally violent crime is kept under control. Travelling alone as a woman is always more difficult sadly but I doubt it's worse than South America. Just dress conservatively (i.e. no asscheeks poking from the shorts, seen a couple of those) and youll probably be ok. Yeah, especially if you want to visit a mosque. In which case you'll probably also want something to cover your hair and neck. And definitely try to learn the cyrilic alphabet. It's not as diificult as many are likely to believe, can definitely be done in a week or two.
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2019 12:15
|
|
|
Good to know about the alphabet, I am good with languages but I have terrible ADHD and it’s hard to do deep language study even though I have an alacrity for it. Definitely okay with dressing conservatively and wearing a head wrap, expected to do so, but I am tall, have large breasts, very long red hair, a small septum ring and am fairly heavily tattooed (not beyond my wrists, not on my chest or neck/throat/face but my feet and legs are heavily tattooed) so I feel like I could be a target. I could just be being a silly American with this fear, but I’m just not really easily “inconspicuous” as a person. Taking a nose ring out and wearing long flowy clothing is easy. Where would be best to fly into? Should I arrange for a translator? It’s funny because I’ve gone to S/Central America with minimal fear but this seems scarier for some reason?
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2019 12:38
|
|
|
Whorelord posted:I've got a bunch of photos from when I went to the Republic of Georgia, does that count as Central Asia? When I was in Georgia on some youth exchange program, I told a georgian participant that this was my first visit to Asia. He corrected me, saying that Georgia was Europe. I made a mental note not to tell georgians what I think of their country's geographical location.
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2019 12:59
|
|
|
Captain Jesus posted:When I was in Georgia on some youth exchange program, I told a georgian participant that this was my first visit to Asia. He corrected me, saying that Georgia was Europe. I made a mental note not to tell georgians what I think of their country's geographical location. MAKE NO BABBYS posted:Good to know about the alphabet, I am good with languages but I have terrible ADHD and it’s hard to do deep language study even though I have an alacrity for it. A guide/translator is definitely an option and they'll do whatever you want but I feel like it limits your adventures a bit nevertheless. On the other hand local knowledge can be great too so... I'd fly to Ashgabat, I doubt there are many international options. Although you could start in Baku or Tashkent too if you have the time.
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2019 13:17
|
|
|
Many years ago there was a thread about a guy who took a little ford fiesta or similar small car on a cross continent race from England to I think Kazakhstan. It was awesome and I'm still jealous of him for being able to make that trip.PERPETUAL IDIOT posted:
mobby_6kl posted:Yep it was posted here at some point: AFewBricksShy fucked around with this message at 14:58 on Nov 20, 2019 |
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2019 13:32
|
|
|
I don't think it's likely to happen to a tourist, but isn't bride kidnappings still kinda common in Central Asia?
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2019 13:38
|
|
|
Georgia is loving amazing. Combine ridiculous amount of natural beauty, truly ancient ruins, churches, fortresses and stuff (think thouthand+ years) and ancient and very developed wine culture and you get a great place to visit or I suppose even live in.
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2019 14:18
|
|
|
AFewBricksShy posted:Many years ago there was a thread about a guy who took a little ford fiesta or similar small car on a cross continent race from England to I think Kazakhstan. It was awesome and I'm still jealous of him for being able to make that trip. https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2168901&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=1 Negrostrike posted:I don't think it's likely to happen to a tourist, but isn't bride kidnappings still kinda common in Central Asia? It probably still happens sometimes and I haven't researched it to tell for sure but my feeling is that it's mostly a symbolic tradition and not an actual kidnapping at this point. As in, everything goes as normal and then the groom's buddies would take the bride somewhere and he'd have to find them and pay a ransom or something. And I doubt anyone would be dumb enough to try it with a foreigner anyway.
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2019 14:29
|
|
|
MAKE NO BABBYS posted:So, if I were a woman from California and interested in visiting Turkmenistan, where would be best to fly to and what would I need to wear? I read that old goon thread about the Mongol Rally and it sounds great but I feel like that region probably isn’t great for me to travel to alone, as much as I dislike that that’s the case. I’ve traveled by myself often in Western Europe and Central & South America, but this seems like a different level and I don’t even have rudimentary understanding of any of the regions languages unlike the other places I’ve been to. why turkmenistan? aside from the sort of novel factor of going to a north korea style dictatorship and the gates of hell i can't see too much to attract anyone to it
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2019 14:58
|
|
|
Negrostrike posted:I don't think it's likely to happen to a tourist, but isn't bride kidnappings still kinda common in Central Asia? Our guide in Kyrgystan claimed to have been kidnapped and not in the modern pretend way.
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2019 16:45
|
|
|
MAKE NO BABBYS posted:So, if I were a woman from California and interested in visiting Turkmenistan, where would be best to fly to and what would I need to wear? I read that old goon thread about the Mongol Rally and it sounds great but I feel like that region probably isn’t great for me to travel to alone, as much as I dislike that that’s the case. I’ve traveled by myself often in Western Europe and Central & South America, but this seems like a different level and I don’t even have rudimentary understanding of any of the regions languages unlike the other places I’ve been to. Lmao do not go. Do not go solo. Do not go with someone who isn't a seasoned traveler. This is not the most progressive or forward place in the world and you will bother someone you wish you didn't by merely existing as an American woman.
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2019 17:22
|
|
|
Lol what a wuss OP, just to be clear, I shall not be held liable if you do go and get kidnapped by Taliban, ok
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2019 22:56
|
|
|
What did they do to get rid of the bandits in the Georgian countryside in the last 10 years?
|
|
#
?
Nov 21, 2019 02:13
|
|
|
Promoted them to police
|
|
#
?
Nov 21, 2019 02:15
|
|
|
Milo and POTUS posted:Promoted them to police Didn't Georgia literally fire every one of their police officers for being corrupt?
|
|
#
?
Dec 9, 2019 07:20
|
|
|
Glenn Quebec posted:Lmao do not go. Do not go solo. Do not go with someone who isn't a seasoned traveler. This is not the most progressive or forward place in the world and you will bother someone you wish you didn't by merely existing as an American woman. I'm not an expert but I know several people who biked throug Central Asia, including couples and one woman who did it solo, and none of them had any negative experiences at all. The universal experience was that everyone was amazingly welcoming and kind to the point they were regularly turning down offers to come home to have tea and eat with families because they were being overwhelmed with hospitality. If you're going to a mosque women should cover their hair, but otherwise there's no need to worry excessively about clothes. The women I knew exclusively wore form fitting spandex biker gear because those were what they had and didn't have any issues. This is what an ordinary grocery store looks like in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan:  You're not going to freak anyone out just because you show a little skin. Tattoos might get you weird looks but it's not going to be anything worse than you'd get in like, Japan. Honestly you're probably safer walking the streets anywhere in Central Asia than you'd be in most cities of the United States. Let alone in South or Central America, which is one of the world's most dangerous regions.
|
|
#
?
Dec 9, 2019 08:12
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 22, 2024 10:59 |
|
|
Haschel Cedricson posted:Didn't Georgia literally fire every one of their police officers for being corrupt? They did They also reduced their crime statistics with insanely Draconian punishments to the point that even if you were innocent you had to take a plea bargain. Basically this: 
Whorelord fucked around with this message at 08:16 on Dec 9, 2019 |
|
#
?
Dec 9, 2019 08:13
|
|