What an interesting and quirky country to cycle through. This nation is very mysterious due to the restrictive visas available for tourists. Heck, we could only got 5 days. Disclaimer: this report card includes our travel in a campervan.
Turkmenistan received a TCP/IP score of ★★★☆☆
Important Pointers
People & Culture (PC)
- The people are very happy to see tourists, even though they get very few. One nice lady asked us "why are you here in Turkmenistan?" as like why we picked their country
- Although welcoming, the country doesn't feel tourism ready - our route barely had anything to see or do
- The family we stayed with were very kind — like everyone we've met in Central Asia. We were glad to have shared 2 days with them while waiting out the storm… they would've let us stay longer but the visa ran out (see our Instagram for the family we stayed with in Sarahs)
Infrastructure, Safety and Politics (ISP)
- They had big wide roads with only one car on it. The roads are excellent but not fully used, perhaps it is future planning where they will have a massive influx of tourists
- Naughty police with speed cameras everywhere trying to trick drivers with their sudden 100 to 30 km/h speed drop sign
- The political situation here is as expected — it is a one man show. People would always speak positively¹ of their leader
Landscape & Nature (LAN)
- Our route went through vast desert with barely any trees for shelter
- The greenest part we saw was the town's parks which are well maintained and watered…and white²
Value for Money (VM)
- Food was very affordable, and chilled beverages are always available at small shops by the highway
- Petrol was like water, the price for 95 was 1.50 manat (15¢) per litre
- The currency exchange rate is bizzare because the black market rate is much higher than the official rates. Based on your exchange, you might find Turkmenistan to be very cheap or expensive compared to surrounding countries
- They are currently transitioning from an older currency so when we were at the markets, vendors we're still writing the old amount on the labels (which were 5 times the amount in Manat). It confused us a while until a store owner told us the situation
Camping & Outdoor Living (COL)
- Safe and easy to camp, as long as you don't mind a bit of sand or mosquitoes!
- There are less people in this country and when we stopped for lunch or camp, it was quiet and had nobody standing and staring at us like in the zoo
- During the hottest part of the day, it was very difficult to keep cool even in the shade
Special thanks to Markus (@markus_schorn) for the fun ride during the first 2 days
Return for a Retour?
Unfortunately we would not like to return Turkmenistan because of the current visa situation. It's really unaffordable for the average traveller. That aside, the country didn't have much interesting attractions for us.
¹ The President of Turkmenistan likes the colour white very much, so every public buildings and structure are painted white. Main constructions are in white marble
² People in Central Asia always say positive things about their leader. It is dangerous to say anything otherwise