Having seen another Turkmenistan post, I also wanted to share my own experience, but also to focus on some of the less touristy elements of the country. I went for 5 days in January this year, entering from the Uzbekistan border and flying out of Ashgabat.
On the first day, I got to the Uzbekistan border at about 8am, with the crossing taking about an hour. My driver then picked me up on the Turkmenistan side and drove about 6 hours to Mary, a city in central Turkmenistan. I was absolutely shocked at how horrible the road quality was - all the videos I had watched talked about how nice the roads are. Turns out, that's just Ashgabat, the rural highways are in an absolutely terrible state.
After resting overnight at a hotel with only very limited internet access as Turkmenistan's internet is the most censored in the world, my driver took me to the Gonur Depe Archeological Site and Merv History Park. I must say, it was amazing. The archeological sight had the ruins of ancient temples and even a human skull! The fact there were no other tourists at all made it possible to truly enjoy this wonder. The history park was also quite interesting. A highlight was when lots of women and children came up to me to take pictures, they had never seen a tourist before! Later, after arriving back in Mary, I took a walk around the city to see something few foreigners see - the residential areas and houses.
After Mary, next up was Ashgabat. The hotel had uncensored WiFi which I was very grateful for. After arriving, I went and explored the old part Ashgabat, the part not covered by white, marble buildings, which is rarely seen by tourists. It resembled an old, Soviet neighbourhood, as you would probably expect, not too different from the old neighbourhoods of Uzbekistan. When heading back to the hotel, a very nice Turkmen lady who spoke excellent English helped me understand the Ashgabat bus system and which buses to take back to the hotel - thank you so much to her, she was wonderful!!!
My driver did take me for a tour of the new parts of Ashgabat the following day. The white marble buildings were absolutely surreal to look at, I had never seen anything like it before. Just rows and rows of them. The monuments were also quite cool, although admittedly, nothing too special. At night, my driver took me to the Darvaza Gas Crater, which was an amazing experience, I'm glad I got to experience this before it burns out. The contrast of the heat with the cold night air was truly something to experience. The road there was terrible though.
The day of my flight out, there was not much to do so I decided to explore the city more myself by taking buses around the city (some independent travel is allowed on a private tour). It was a bit risky as if I got lost it would be difficult to get back to my hotel given there was no WiFi, but it was interesting to see more residential parts of the city and parts still under construction, seeing locals commuting to and from work. I would imagine most tourists do not get to see this. On the way back, I snapped a secret photo of the Presidential Palace from the bus. There are many soldiers around it, making it difficult to get a photo when walking.
Turkmenistan is truly a unique experience. The people were wonderful - my driver, the lady helping me understand the bus network and the families coming to take photos were all so nice and warm. The archeological and historical sights were really interesting, as were the white marble buildings and monuments of Ashgabat. Yet, the lack of open WiFi was a major inconvenience and the road quality was surprisingly terrible. I was also not a huge fan of the food admittedly. Overall though, a worthwhile experience.
Picture 1: Park in Mary
Picture 2: Statue of Niyazov in Mary
Picture 3: Ruins from Gonur Depe Archaeological Site
Picture 4: Merv History Park
Picture 5: Roads and Buildings in Ashgabat
Picture 6: Statue of Niyazov in Ashgabat
Picture 7: Turkmenbashi Mosque
Picture 8: Darvaza Gas Crater
Picture 9: View of Ashgabat from a high point
Picture 10: Construction in Ashgabat
Picture 11: Presidential Palace