From Australia to Central Asia: A Backpacking Trip of Your Dreams

If you are looking for a non-typical destination from Australia, Central Asia has many undiscovered cities and breathtaking sights that you could find interesting to explore. While significant numbers of Australians take a flight to one of the European countries and spend a month traveling around Europe, countries like Kazakhstan and Tajikistan often stay out of the radar. But if you are looking for a novel backpacking trip, Central Asia can be a strong option. 

You could, of course, just fly directly to Almaty or Dushanbe, the capital of the region. And there are flights with a few layovers that can get you from Sydney right to the heart of Kazakhstan, but why not take a scenic long train journey? Start by taking a flight from Australia to one of the East Asian capitals and make your way to Kazakhstan.

If you are looking for something to kill time in your journey, why not try one of the exciting online pokies in Australia? Online slots could be one of the many ways in which you can spend long hours of train or flight time during your trip, with thousands of titles, soundtracks, and themes to choose from. Contrary to popular perceptions about gambling, when engaging in it as a form of entertainment, it can increase your cognitive abilities and focus – and even improve short-term working memory.

Online pokies very popular in Australia, and a large number of Australians participate in gambling in one way or the other. In fact, Australia has the highest per capita gamblers compared to the population. That’s partially because the legislation in Australia is quite liberal and allows several kinds of online gambling games, including licensed betting on sports and lotteries.

The availability of online gambling options on phones, not just laptops, has rapidly increased the popularity of gambling further and now people can gamble while traveling. But enough about gambling, let’s plan your next adventure to Central Asia!

The lake is situated in the Karakol gorge, on the northeast border with Altyn-Arashan gorge and is one of the fairly remote destinations of Kyrgyzstan. Although Ala-Kul is close to the Karakol town, getting there can be tricky and exhausting for non experienced hikers as the ascend to the lake is not the easiest. Nevertheless, it is one of the most popular trekking destinations in Kyrgyzstan as the views are just amazing.

Australia to East Asia

This journey can be done by a combination of air and train travel, and obviously pure train travel is impossible as the ocean separates Australia from Asia. But to begin with, you can hop on a flight from Sydney to Bangkok – some of the airlines that fly on this journey include Qantas and Thai Airways. The journey takes about 9 hours, and one way starts from 300 AUD.

Once you reach Bangkok, you will be surprised by how cheap Thai prices are – you can easily find a place to stay in a hostel or a budget hotel for as low as 20-50 AUD. Stay here a day or two, as you will see, Bangkok has plenty to offer – from The Grand Palace to the world-famous Temple of Emerald Buddha.

Another stop on your journey would be Delhi, India, where you can travel by air. Both AirAsia and IndiGo fly a few times a week, and the flight takes around 3-4 hours one way with fares starting as low as 150 AUD. Similarly to Thailand, India has a lot to offer – Red Fort, Humayun’s Tomb, and many of the local bazaars for you to explore. When it comes to staying a night in Delhi, budget hotels can be found for as low as 15 AUD per night.

Train to Uzbekistan

Now to the most exciting, and perhaps eco-friendly, part of the journey. You have an option to take two separate trains from Delhi to Amritsar, and from Amritsar to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. Of course, you can also substitute both parts of the journey by flying – there are several flights to Tashkent departing from Amritsar. But if you opt-in for a train journey, be prepared for more than 7 hours of train time each way.

This is where your Central Asian journey starts, in Uzbekistan. Chorsu Bazaar, the State Museum of Temurids, and the Mayodni will all surprise you with the traditional architecture and breathtaking views of Tashkent. If you walk around downtown, you will also see modern buildings and skyscrapers – and for the best view of those, go to the Tashkent Tower.

From Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan

Your train journey continues to Almaty, Kazakhstan, with many exciting stops on the way. We highly recommend taking a 3-hour train to Samarkand, a famous city in Uzbekistan before continuing further to Kazakhstan. If you have ever seen beautiful Oriental ornaments and tall buildings with a view of the desert in Central Asia, it was probably a picture taken in Samarkand. This iconic destination will not disappoint and is worth a stop in your journey.

From Samarkand, there’s a 2-hour train to Bukhara, a town in Uzbekistan with distinct Jewish traditions and historic museums. From Bukhara, you have an option of taking a short flight to Almaty or opting for an overnight train to Almaty, the capital of Kazakhstan. The train can take up to 30 hours, so it’s worth considering whether you can stay so long on a train journey. 

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