Central Asia Trilogy: Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan

Meet at 05:00 at Suvarnabhumi Airport, counter L near Gate 6. Flight HY 532 departs at 08:10 for Tashkent (about 7 hours), arriving 13:10. Connect on HY 777 at 15:20, arriving at Manas Airport, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, at 17:30. Rest at the hotel.

Visit the ancient city of Balasagun in Chui Province, about an hour south-east, where the town has crumbled since the 15th century, and the Burana Tower, the minaret of a 10th-century mosque. It once stood 46 m tall and was last restored in 1970 to 24 m; it is a legacy of the Karakhanid dynasty (10th - 15th centuries). Drive along Lake Issyk-Kul for about 1.5 hours to Cholpon-Ata and visit the open-air Petroglyph Museum, covering about 42 hectares (263 rai) with carvings on thousands of stones about 4,000 - 6,000 years old.

Drive on a mountain road to Enilchek, about 2.5 hours from Karakol, a Soviet-era mining village (1830 – 1991) that once had more than 5,000 families and now has about 30. It is nicknamed the Ghost Village of Kyrgyzstan, but the surrounding scenery is outstanding. Then drive about 3 hours to Karakol.

In Karakol see the all-wooden Holy Trinity Cathedral (built 1895, a pilgrimage site) and the Dungan Mosque, a mosque built in Chinese style with a mihrab and Arabic inscriptions. Stop at Tamga for a panoramic view of Lake Issyk-Kul with a snack, then the Bokonbaevo Valley for a falcon hunting demonstration and photos with the falcons. Drive via Balykchy and the Chong-Kemin Valley (about 2 hours) to Bystrovka village (Kalmak Ashu) and stay at Ashu Guest House; walk through the village or rent a horse (not included).

Watch Kok Boru, a polo-like horseback game with two teams of 12 fighting over a dead sheep or goat, the national sport of Kyrgyzstan since 1998 and a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2016. Pass through Tokmok, a Soviet-era garrison town with an old fighter jet as its emblem, then visit Ala-Too Square in Bishkek with the presidential White House, parliament and the statue of Manas, the national hero. Fly Air Astana KC 110 at 19:25 to Almaty, Kazakhstan (about 50 minutes), arriving 20:15.

Visit the Central Mosque (completed 1999, white marble exterior), the State Museum of Kazakhstan with ancient costumes and the Golden Man, at least 3,000 years old, and Barakholka Bazaar. See the Zenkov Cathedral (1907) in Panfilov Park, a 56 m wooden Russian Orthodox church built with joints and wedges and no nails, then the Military History Museum of the Ministry of Defense and the Museum of Folk Musical Instruments.

Fly to Tashkent on HY 762 at 10:45, arriving 12:25. Visit the Khazrati Imam Complex, a religious centre completed in 2010 that includes the Moyie Mubarek Library Museum, which keeps one of the oldest Qurans. Shop at the Darvaza Trading Center, then transfer to the airport for flight HY 531 at 22:30 to Bangkok.

Arrive at Suvarnabhumi Airport at 06:40.