T plus 43 - Shymkent (Kazakhstan) to Tashkent (Uzbekistan)

Ok, so I must admit I was a bit nervous about this border crossing after reading so many horror stories which ranged from having to pay a small bribe to outright extortion.

Happily, I can report that it was completely uneventful for me.  The whole process took less than an hour and there are even English-translated custom forms for you at the Uzbek side.  Maybe times have changed, but someone has certainly cleaned things up really well.

Here is the process:

1.  Get on a minibus from Shymkent's Autovokzal (bus station) Samal (Bus 69 from town centre).  600 Tenge (USD3.50).  Ask for Chernyaevka (Jibek Joly / Gisht Kuprik).  Repeat "Uzbekistan" 3 times to be doubly sure.
2.  It's a 3 hour ride, slightly less if traffic conditions are good.  But the roads are pretty dire.  Prepare to be bounced around.
3.  Drop-off is right in front of the Kazakh immigration building.  Get through a couple of cursory checks.  Make sure you have registered yourself with the migration police if you've crossed into Kazakhstan via a land border and have stayed for more than 5 days.  I have an earlier post on this.
4.  Walk over to Uzbek side - 50m, covered all the way. 
5.  It's a short line (maybe 10 people per counter) at Uzbek passport control.
6.  Proceed to customs check in the next room.  Ask for English (Angliska) customs form.  You'll be given 2 (two) copies.  Make sure you fill in both with identical information.  One is for your exit from the country.
7.  The customs checkpoint is supposed to be where all the hassle is, but I was waved through the X-ray machine without even being asked to open my bag.
8.  Walk out of the building and you're in Uzbekistan!  Like I said, less than an hour (it was 1.00pm when I entered the Kazakh-side).  Note, you can change USD or Tenge into Som at this point.  The going street rate is 4,300 Som to 1USD, and you'd probably get 4,200 to 1 which isn't terrible.
9.  Either grab a shared taxi (5,000 Som (USD1.20) to town) or hop on a bus which takes you 1km down the road (600 Som) where you can negotiate for a cheaper shared taxi to town (3,000 Som).
10.  And that's it!  This is assuming of course that you have your Uzbek visa and documents in order.

A friend went the reverse way i.e. Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan across the same border crossing a week back and he reported that it was pretty much hassle free too.  Looks like it's becoming much easier for travelers these days.

Ok, so there's a lot of information out there on the forums on the registration requirements for foreigners in Kazakhstan.  But it's one of those the-more-you-read-the-more-confused-you-get things.  I spent some time clearing this up, including paying the Malaysian embassy in Astana a visit.  They were very helpful, but ultimately it is the Kazakh authorities who call the shots.

I'll break this up into two parts:

Stay of 5 days or less

1.  No requirement to register
2.  Regardless of arrival by airplane or over land border

Stay of more than 5 days

1.  Some countries (like Malaysia) are allowed 15 days visa-free in Kazakhstan.  BUT this only applies if you fly into Astana or Almaty i.e. go through immigration at the airport and obtain TWO stamps on your white coloured migration card.  See below for pics.

2.  If you're arriving via a land border e.g. Kyrgyzstan-Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan, you will only receive ONE stamp on your white coloured migration card.  You must register yourself with the migration police to get the second stamp.


Procedure for registration at migration police

1.  Check to see where their office is.  It's at 29 Seyfulin in Astana and 86 Karasay Batyr in Almaty.
2.  Walk straight to the registration counter - it should have a sign saying "registration" or "регистрация" in Cyrillic.  It's counter No.7 in the Astana office and counter No. 3 in the Almaty office.  Ignore the long line of people at the counter for forms outside.
3.  Depending on your luck, the officer will fill in the form for you, or you will need to fill in a form (100% in Cyrillic) yourself.  If it's the second case, refer below for helpful translation.
4.  I was not asked for photocopies of my passport, but it's a good idea to bring one along.  In any case, there are always photo-taking and photo-copy shops near the migration police office.
5.  The whole process only took 15 mins for me.  But it could take up to a day.  
6.  I went one day an hour before closing and the place was packed.  The second time I went just after lunchtime and it was much more manageable.

Sounds easy right?  Well, only because it took me two visits to work this out.  The migration police office is super crowded and no one speaks any English, expect for maybe one officer - the key is to find this person.  I did the civilised thing and lined up for a form, only to discover that they had given me the wrong one after I brought it back to the hostel to be translated by a friend.

Lesson learnt.  I marched back into the office the following day brandishing my laptop and a picture of the correct form on it.  I was immediately pointed in the right direction.  Seems like the more obvious you make it you're a foreigner, the better the outcome.  Don't bother being all polite and asking in broken Russian.  Also, in a huge crowd, try to differentiate yourself.  Waving a laptop above my head got me noticed in 5 seconds.  There may be other ways.  Be creative.

What happens if you "forget"?

Well, it really depends on whether you get checked, and if you get let off (unlikely).  Otherwise they have been known to impose a fine (USD200) and/or delay you until you miss your flight/train/bus.  Just get it done.  Why risk it.


Here are the two documents you'll need to take note of:

This is the Kazakh migration card.  You will receive BOTH stamps if you arrive by airplane, but only the top right stamp if you get in via a land border.  To get the bottom left stamp, you'll have to jump through some hoops at the migration police office.

I have read that if you ask really nicely in Russian at the land border, and/or you're devastatingly good looking, it's possible to get two stamps.  I don't know because the land border I crossed was really busy and there wasn't any time to explore this.

The cryptic Registration Form.   Translation NOT provided.  I didn't have to fill it up.  The nice lady at the counter generated a pre-filled one for me from her PC, with a smile.  It really depends on your luck.

Apologies for not posting this earlier.  I've back-dated the post to create a more logical flow.

T plus 35 - Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) to Almaty (Kazakhstan)

This border crossing was fairly simple, but watch out for the crowds.  It's best to go as early as possible, say around 8.00am - 9.00am.  Here is the step-by-step process:

1.  Head for the West Bus Station on Jibek Jolu, about 500m directly north of Osh Bazaar.  There are 3 clusters of buses - Rear (for North Shore of Issy-kul), Right-side (for South Shore of Issy-kul) and Left-side (for international departures e.g. Almaty, Taraz).  You want the Left-side stand.
2.  Ask for Almaty and be prepared to wait for the minibus to fill-up with passengers before it departs.  Usually within one hour or two.  Price is 400 Som (USD6.50), all in, including border crossing and drop-off at Sayran bus station in Almaty.
3.  The trip to the border (Korday, I believe), only takes an hour.  Drop-off is directly in front of the Kyrgyz immigration building.  Your bus will wait for you on the other side.
4.  It gets pretty packed here.  At 1.00pm, there were easily 500 people lining up in the metal cages which lead to the border.  Thankfully it's covered because you'll spend 45mins standing outside.
5.  Kyrgyz-side passport control is pretty straightforward.  Identify yourself as a foreigner and they'll pull you into a separate group to have your passports photocopied.  
6.  Walk over to the Kazakh-side.  More standing outside in covered metal cages.
7.  Make sure you pick up a white coloured migration form from the guards sitting outside the Kazakh passport control room.  Otherwise you'll have to double back and fight the crowds all the way.
8.  Fill in the migration form (see my post on Registration in Kazakhstan for a pic) and hand it over to the Kazakh immigration officer along with your passport.  You may or may not be asked for a bribe at this point.  Just play the dumb-tourist card here ("no speaking Ruski") and they'll eventually give up.
9.  Proceed to customs checkpoint in the next section and again, someone will probably ask to search your bag in hope of soliciting a "go away" bribe.  Be confident, start to open-up your bag and they'll wave you on without looking into it.  It all seems a bit half-hearted.  Maybe they're looking for people who start to panic.
10.  Step outside and ignore the army of taxi drivers waiting to pounce on you.  Your bus (and the other passengers) will be waiting at the petrol station 30m down the road to your right.  
11.  Hop on and continue the journey to Almaty, which is another 2-ish hours away.  You'll get dropped off at the Sayran bus station which is 5km west of the city centre.  You can either take the bus (16, 37 and 126 go to the centre along Tole Bi Road), or look for the new Metro station (I didn't take it, but it's on the (new) Metro map).

Mountains on the Kyrgyz side of the Torugart Pass

T plus 30 - Kashgar to Bishkek

OK, so there are two options for the China to Kyrgyzstan border crossing.

1.  Over the Irkeshtam Pass from Kashgar to Osh.  This is the cheapest option where a bus will take you point-to-point (USD120).  It's something like 22-25 hours in the bus, however.  And you don't get a guide to smooth things over at the border crossing if you run into trouble (unlikely though).  Also I was told that the bus from Kashgar may not depart if there are not enough passengers.  A bus onwards (12-15 hours) to Bishkek from Osh is about USD50.

2.  Over the Torugart Pass from Kashgar to Naryn.  This is expensive (USD400), but if you are able to find other travellers to split the cost, it could come down to USD100 per person for a carload of four.  Randomly finding fellow travellers is tough though - there aren't that many tourists in Kashgar.  So unless you're travelling in a group, be prepared to pay.  The upside is that dedicated Chinese and Kyrgyz guides will help you through the respective immigration points.  A shared taxi (5 hours) from Naryn to Bishkek is about USD10.

In both cases, the best time to cross from China is on a Monday, where people are headed back from the Kashgar Sunday market.  Or possibly Friday or Saturday if you're coming from Kyrgyzstan. 

I found John's Information Café (www.johncafe.com, +869982581186 - speak to John directly) really useful for making arrangements for the Torugart Pass crossing and he'll hook you up with Mr. Kubat (kubat-tour@mail.ru, +996772689262) who'll pick you at the Kyrgyz side of the border and take you to Naryn (3 hours).  The reverse journey is also possible - just contact Mr. Kubat first.  Both guys are honest and dedicated operators and will go all the way to deliver.  In Kashgar for example, I was the only passenger on the 30-seater private bus to the Chinese border, but John made it happen anyway.

All-in, I left Kashgar at 9.30am and arrived in Bishkek at 9.30pm.  Exactly 12 hours for a border crossing which a lot of people complain about in forums.  I didn't encounter any issues at all, although the roads in Kyrgyzstan were pretty dire.  The incredible scenery made up for it though.

Apologies for the slightly shoddy quality.  All taken through a dirty car/bus window while having my teeth shaken loose.

Part of the beautiful Tien Shan Mountain Range on the Chinese side. 
You can just about pick out the moon in the top photo.

From Top:  the long line of freight trucks waiting to get into the Chinese side; the mid-point of the border crossing which is occupied by both Chinese and Kyrgyz border guards; the soviet-era building which houses the Kyrgyz immigration check-point.  Sorry, no photos allowed.

Top:  Kids flagging down cars to sell vegetables (Kyrgyz side)
Bottom:  A series of pack-up-able countryside cabins which reflect the nomadic nature of the Kyrgyz people.

The sigh-it's-so-pretty landscape of Kyrgyzstan.  Unlike China, who build their highways around the mountains, or blow them up to make way, the Kyrgyz roads carve their way through a series of valleys and mountain-sides which offer spectacular, unspoilt panoramas.  I've never seen so many horses in my life! 

Be warned:  being driven on these roads is like participating in the World Rally Championships with Collin McRae in the driver's seat.  1/3 of the way from Naryn to Bishkek is on a dirt trail.  Although it's being paved as we speak.  Most cars will stick to the "good part" of the road, which is usually one car-width.  Like a pre-coordinated game of "chicken", these guys will drive headlong into each other and veer apart at the last minute.  Which can be slightly unnerving, but you'll get used to it.