godfry n. glad

Hi, fellow heathens...

I'm planning a trip to China and central Asia next year. My primary goals are Xi'an and Samarkand. I'm pretty sure I'll have no problem in regards to Xi'an, but Samarkand, Bokhara, Tashkent and Kashgar all are problematic.

If anybody has any experience in these areas, I'd appreciate knowing the best time of year to travel in these areas and what I might need to watch out for and prepare for....

Anybody?


godfry n. glad

Loren Pechtel

That's a lot farther into China that I've gotten.

I would expect language troubles if you get off the main track, and a dictionary isn't going to be a big help--with a native teacher my accent is so bad (of what little of it I speak) that often I'm not understood by people who don't already know me. Looking up words and pointing them out would probably work better.

BMC

As far as Xian goes it's a pretty touristy place. Should try going in the off season if at all possible. With any highly populated touristy place it's quite likely there will be some petty thiefs looking for some easy victims. Travelling in a small group with at least one person who has a decent understanding of Mandarin would be ideal. If not and this trip won't be for a while try to learn a few key phrases via chinese dictionary and those pesky pronunciation tapes. Meeting a few native speakers might help a bit. The link here is typically for people who wish to teach ESL in China, but it does have a few links that might prove helpful.

p.s. Out of the two times I went to China both were very safe. In Shenzhen and Beijing both large cities and quite touristy I never had any theft problem whatsoever. I think 7 years of learning to read, write, and speak Chinese might've helped that.

G'luck to ya!

http://members.aol.com/lumabner/china.htm

Claudia

My brother went to Uzbekistan, I do not remember if it was in spring or autumn (as he is in madacascar now, I cann't ask him).
For Uzbekistan, I would avoid heart of winter or heart of summer. I do not think the weather is so good. At least, my uzbek student (who lives in Samarkand) said thet winter was very cold.
I do not know if the equivalent exist in English, but my parents have a book which lists all countries in the world and describe year climate, months rated in regard to touristic interest.

Loren Pechtel

Of course--that applies anywhere!

BMC

Oh absolutely!! However, if this is Godfry's first trip to Asia or China for that matter, I thought it was worth reiterating. A foreigner who doesn't speak the native tongue would be an easier target than a native to take advantage of, generally speaking.