Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
PRACTICALITIES
¨
Video systems
Central Asia has the same video system as Russia, ie Secam, which
is incompatible with Australia, most of Europe (apart from France and Greece) and the
USA.
¨
Electricity
The entire former USSR is nominally 220V at 50 cycles.
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Newspapers and magazines
Steppe Magazine
(www.steppemagazine.com)
is a glossy
and artsy twice-yearly magazine concentrating on Central Asia. It's for sale sporadically
in Central Asia and the UK or by subscription.
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Weights and measures
Central Asia is metric. When you buy produce in markets
make sure you know whether the price is per piece
(shtuk)
or by the kilo.
expecting 3500, 4000 or
4500 in the end.
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The Russian word for
'discount' is
skidka
.
Bribery is a fact of life in
Central Asia but try to avoid
it where possible - it feeds
the already-widespread
notion that travellers all just
love throwing their money
around, and makes it harder
for future travellers. In fact a
combination of smiles (even
if through gritted teeth) and
patient persistence can very
often work better.
The Russian for 'may I
take a photograph?' is
fo-
tografirovat mozhno?
(fa-ta-
gruh-
fee
-ra-vut
mozh
-na?).
The Dari equivalent is
aks
gerefti?
the night should register you
and give you a chit of paper.
¨
Kyrgyzstan has ended the
need to register.
¨
In Kazakhstan tourists
who fly into the country
are generally registered
automatically.
¨
Tourist-visa holders in
Tajikistan only need to
register if staying for over
30 days.
If you do need to register, the
place to go is OVIR. There's
one in every town, sometimes
in each city district, function-
ing as the eyes and ears of
the Ministry of the Interior's
administration for policing
foreigners. Though it has a
local name in each republic
(eg Koshi-Kon Politsiyasi
in Kazakhstan, OPVR in
Tajikistan, IIB in Uzbekistan,
UPVR in Kyrgyzstan), every-
body still understands the
word OVIR. In some remote
areas where there is no OVIR
office you may have to reg-
ister at the
passportny stol
(passport office).
Post
The postal systems of Cen-
tral Asia are definitely not
for urgent items. A letter or
postcard will probably take
two weeks or more to get
outside the CIS. Kyrgyzstan
and Kazakhstan are probably
the most reliable places from
where to send packages.
Central post offices are
the safest places to post
things. It can help to write
the destination country in
Cyrillic too.
If you have something that
absolutely must get there,
use an international courier
company.
DHL
(www.dhl.com)
and
FedEx
(www.fedex.com)
have offices in major cities.
Express Mail Service
(EMS) is a priority mail
service offered by post of-
fices that ranks somewhere
between normal post and
courier post. Prices are
considerably cheaper than
courier services.
Photography &
Video
Equipment
Memory cards for digital
cameras are quite prevalent
in Central Asia these days.
Most internet cafes can burn
your photos onto a CD, as
long as the burner works.
Electricity is quite reliable
for charging batteries, ex-
cept in the remote Pamirs.
Good quality batteries are
hard to find in rural areas.
Photographing &
Filming People
Most Central Asians are
happy to have their picture
taken, though you should
always ask first. You may
find people sensitive about
you photographing women,
especially in rural areas.
Women photographers may
get away with it if they've
established some rapport.
Responsible
Travel
Tourism is still relatively
new to Central Asia so try to
keep your impact as low as
possible and create a good
precedent for those who
follow you.
One of the best ways to en-
sure your tourist dollars make
it to local communities is to
support community-based
Registration
This relic of the Soviet era
allows officials to keep tabs
on you once you've arrived.
¨
In Uzbekistan the hotel or
homestay in which you stay
