Summer in Central ASia

I am a 23-year-old American currently on the visa hunt for a trip in Central Asia this June and July. I am leaving my job in scientific research and will be going to grad school this Fall. So I will be free, free as a bird this Summer. I will be in Uzbekistan at the end of June and early July. I'll be hitting Nukus, Khiva, Shakhrisabz, Samarkand, Bukhara, and Tashkent. But I'm very open to a spontaneous off-the-beaten track excursion.

I begin a ten-dayish trekking expedition in the Tajik Pamirs on July 3. I have hired a guide through a local NGO to guide me through a few of the high Pamir valleys laden with Yurts, through passes, and by alpine lakes. I am always looking for another person to share the experience. I know Russian so all the language burden would fall on me, and I have already done the organizing. It was very difficult to find a reliable tour operator, so this will be a rare, custom expedition indeed. I won't be traveling on glaciers or at a particularly fast pace, so only average physical stamina is required.

Then I'll be traipsing through Kygryzstan, with a possible brief stop over the Chinese border to Kashgar. In Kyrgyzstan I'll visit Song-Kol, Issyk-Kul, Bishkek, and am open to suggestions. In Kazakhstan I want to see Almaty, Astana, and Semey. Send me a message if you have a similar itinerary, or if you are interested in joining my tour in the Tajik Pamirs. I am an experienced, easy-going traveler. I'm definitely happiest and most at-home when I'm traveling.

I wish I could go with you, but I can't. I just saw your list of countries and loved them. I spent a bit of time in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan 2 summers ago and absolutely loved Kyrgyzstan. The only problem with this area are the visas, and I would definitely recommend getting the Kazakh visa before you go if you can... otherwise plan on spending a little time in Bishkek getting it done Happy travels!