I love planning independent itineraries and am now prepared for a three-week tour of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan & Tajikistan.

People tell me that nowadays AI can plan the trip for you and even make all the bookings. But where’s the fun in that?

OK, so it takes a bit of time but not that much in the scheme of things, and there is tremendous satisfaction when it all comes together at a very reasonable price.

There are plenty of go to sites like Rome to Rio, Get Your Guide & Caravanistan to help you make your choices.

So, having visited Turkmenistan & Uzbekistan in 2018, me and my travel buddy Hamish will get to complete visits to the five Stans.

We are scheduled to start in Astana and via trains, planes & automobiles we are set for Almaty, Turkestan, Shymkent, Bishkek & Dushanbe, plus visits to lakes, mountains and national parks.

I will report back on how the plans go…..