Do you guys have any travel locations that you wish to visit but, for any reason other than financial, cannot visit?
I have wanted to visit the Hindu Kush and Pamir mountain regions for years now. In particular I have always wanted to visit Nuristan, where you can find blond central Asians. But from the language barrier to the lack of transportation to the danger of visiting that region I can't go for the time being. Not to mention that visiting Pakistan/Afghanistan/Rural Tajikistan is a logistical nightmare in its own right. But if I ever learn Farsi I will plan to visit
This country alone is endlessly fascinating and mysterious. I would learn Farsi just to visit.
My uncle was telling me that back in the 60's, Afghanistan was THE hippie backpacker destination. Lots of people went to climb through its valleys and fields in search of themselves. I'd still love to go but I'm afraid it simply isn't worth the risk at this point
>My uncle was telling me that back in the 60's, Afghanistan was THE hippie backpacker destination. Lots of people went to climb through its valleys and fields in search of themselves. I'd still love to go but I'm afraid it simply isn't worth the risk at this point
I know, I have heard all about it and it makes me sad how this place is today. You hear the stories about hippies going into the mountains to look for hash/opium and coming back completely unscathed. I can only imagine how clean the air and the water must be up there. I would only travel to these regions if I could find a reliable local as a guide. Once you venture far enough into the mountains the laws of kinship begin to apply. If you dishonor an individual it is an insult to the entire family who are entitled to restitution by their own customs. US soldiers will tell you stories about RPG gun battles that happen between families over grazing land or an insult. So traveling there requires a high degree of awareness and tact. But I hold out hope
>Once you venture far enough into the mountains the laws of kinship begin to apply. If you dishonor an individual it is an insult to the entire family who are entitled to restitution by their own customs. US soldiers will tell you stories about RPG gun battles that happen between families over grazing land or an insult.
Sounds similar to North Caucasus
Absolutely. Kinship is a very common organizational principle in very rural and isolated areas. Anglo-Saxon society was like this, Greek society used to be like this (And still is in some very isolated areas) and rural Albania and Kosovo are still like this.
The benefit of this for foreigners and tourists is that the people tend to be very hospitable and welcoming to you (to the extent that they are not paranoid about your intentions, which is why you need a guide) because their honor reflects that of the Kin/clan which they represent.
I really want to visit the Tarim basin which isn’t the most inaccessible place in the world, but I also don’t want to shill out thousands of dollars for some CCP approved tour group
Very similar to the Icelandic society from settlement until 1200, if you read any of the sagas it’s about some guy who insulted another guy and got killed so his family killed his killers and that guy’s family killed his killers and then a multiple generation blood feud has begun
Didn’t many Norse families go to Iceland and Greenland to escape such feuds?
Sort of, outlaws did often flee to iceland or even flee iceland to greenland and for a short time Vinland. But a lot of Icelandic settlement was because of the centralization of Norway and wealthy landowners or political opponents were having lands stripped and given to supporters of Harald, so they fled to preserve some of their wealth or avoid being killed. But the feud tradition was strong. By the early 13th century it was political chaos on Iceland with chieftains murdering each other, it was only stopped by Norway stepping in and taking over the country
>Imagine how clean the air is
It's not. https://www.iqair.com/au/afghanistan
Farsi is incredibly easy to learn, but Afghanistan never adopted the standardized dialect of the Persian empire so I dunno how far it would get you.
3 weeks might be a stretch but if you find a method that works well for you, and if you're genuinely obsessed, you can reach a conversational level pretty quick. I was having fairly complex conversations in Mandarin after 30 hours of study. ('Conversation' comprises far more than speech; it involves context and body language too)
I speak Russian and Mandarin. Please record yourself starting a discussion, because you are full of shit. Learning the basics is great for travel but not fluency. And if you try to make the excuse that you "forgot", you never learned anything
>Siberia
>Tibet
>Iran
>southern Venezuela
Reason being is that I'm American, so it would be a hassle. Tibet is the one I'd love to see the most, but have to go with some lame ass guided tour.
>Tibet is the one I'd love to see the most, but have to go with some lame ass guided tour.
I feel the same way about North Korea. North Hangyong looks gorgeous but its dirt poor so its difficult to get a guided tour at all, and even those who do manage are not allowed to see much. I really want to visit North Korea but why pay to see a guided tour?
>I really want to visit North Korea but why pay to see a guided tour?
the mandatory tourguide is a big problem with North Korea. So is the morality of basically sightseeing oppressed people with every cent you spend making sure that oppression continues.
I want to visit Iran
Come to think of it, thanks to this piece of crap, I could travel to Iran with relative ease. From a quick google search it seems that getting a visa on arrival is still a nightmare, so it’s better to apply with the embassy. That being said our governments are on working terms so it would be that much easier
u must read eric newby book if u haven't op
Thanks for the recommendation! Noted
>rural tajikistan
nigga i've been there.. it's not a logistical nightmare (well it is compared to europe), and it's doable without speaking a single word of farsi.
All you need is patience and confidence. When you get dropped in the middle of nowhere and you feel happy and excited, you'll know you're in the right mood.
Pakistan should also be doable. For Afghanistan, you might need farsi but i've heard of people travelling there with just english. Afghanistan is pretty much the same as most of mountainous central asia in terms of travelling. The only added risk are the Taliban.
>All you need is patience and confidence.
I’m not that guy. I have plenty of confidence but I’m a piss poor communicator. I’d struggle. But I’m glad it’s not difficult to do
what do you mean piss poor communicator?
I've never been good at it either. A smile, some simple english and hand gestures is all you need. Who cares if you don't talk much? It's not like you can have deep conversations with the locals anyway. If they do actually ask anything, it's always the same questions:
>where are you from
>where are you going
>how old are you
>where is your wife
>do you like our country
and if you come across as a sperg, who cares, it's not like you're gonna see those people again. And you can learn from the experience to get better at communication.
In Tajikistan everyone speaks russian btw. While I do understand some russian, I often just typed stuff into google translate and shoved the screen into someone's face to read it. And then they'd answer in the same manner. Works all the time.
any place high up
I would go to Inaccessible Island.
However - In order to land, you need government permission
If you happen to get a pass your journey will go as follows:
>Arrive in Cape Town, South Africa
>Board a boat to Tristan De Kahuna which takes 6 to 7 days (at sea in the middle of the Atlantic - with near zero help if anything goes wrong)
>Land on Tristan De Kahuna
>Take boat to Inaccessible Island
That's a long ways to go for the end of the world
But there it is
"The end of the world"
Not to mention the trip back.
I really want to step on Pitcairn island one day. In addition to expenses the logistics are a nightmare and you only have a few chances per year. Worst part is if you are unlucky with the weather you won't be able to make landfall.
There are a few places.
>south West China
Not dalian, I'm taking south of xingiang, Chinese Afghanistan.
Tried to get in twice but failed, detained by Chinese the first time, caught up in a terrorist attack the second time.
>bhutan
Technically I got in but couldn't really go anywhere or do anything. Good vibes. Much like lhasa the hard part is having a genuine experience.
>manipur
Sort of did it, didn't see much, detained by police again whenever I tried to go anywhere
>papuan highlands
Specifically the autonomous regions and the ungoverned Islands.
>south of Brazil.
That wierd area in the central west of south america. Does anything happen there? Its not really the Amazon.
>China
Fringes of manchuria
>Iran
Everyone says good things about iran, not a party destination but civil
>That wierd area in the central west of south america. Does anything happen there? Its not really the Amazon.
If you mean central west Brazil that's pantanal, a swamp area (pic related). Nowadays just some farming and eco tourism. If you mean cerrado, then it's pretty much heavy agro business (mostly onions plantations).
nothing unreachable about South Brazil.
Any interesting blogs?
Bro, there are direct flights from Germany to Kyrgystan, where you can already see loads of blonde asians with green eyes.
From there, you can go to Uzbekistan and get a train direct to Tajikistan (which u dont even need visa as an European) .
I was in Central Asia for two months this April. It is a very doable travel, far from being Unreachable.
They all speak some degree of Russian, which I learned in 3 weeks and was enough for me to get by.
>Russian, which I learned in 3 weeks
Try the Pimsleur method, it worked much much better than anything I had tried before
try not lying
Darien Gap is pretty nice.