Central Asia
Central Asia is a region in Asia.
Hitchhiking in Central Asia is easy and has a good reputation. People invite you easily in their homes (be careful that you do not abuse that generosity and treat them kindly).
The proper hitchhiking gesture in Central Asia is to flap your whole arm and hand vertically up and down, palm downwards.
Payment, Ridesharing & Taxis
One thing to be aware of is that ridesahring/paid hitchhiking is a big thing in central asia and hitchhiking does not really exist as a separate concept. So sometimes people will ask you for money (for gas). Inside cities a payment is much more expectes then in the countryside and truckdrivers are very unlikely to ask for money (as opposed to car drivers). So be aware of that and think about how you want to handle this. If you don't want to pay, you may want to politely clarify that you do not intend to pay before getting in a car (by language or note or sign or gesture). Also please be aware of how your actions as a foreign hitchhiker are percieved from locals and how they might influence this really cool concept of public transport. This is especially true if you are a rich/privileged western tourist as some people in central asia might just be a lot poorer than you. Regarding this topic please also consider that
- the local price for ridesharing tends to be not a lot of money from a western perspective
- if you go long distance you will most likely end up in a truck who won't ask for money so you will have to pay only for parts of your trip
If you are theoretically willing to pay for your rides, it is important to know what a fair amount is (especially in the Pamir region) -- however as that varies a lot from place to place it is hard to give general information here. More on that discussion can be found e.g. here and here
Note: Private taxis are common as are shared taxis and the destinction might be impossible. Part of what makes it tricky is that saying "taxi" is the preferred way for drivers to communicate to the illiterate foreigner that they expect some money for gas.
As people might consider this section controversial/debatable in a "hitchwiki", it should be noted that this is supposed to raise awareness to certain aspects of hitchhiking in central asia, not talk anybody out of doing what they want. Regardless of payment or not: Hitchhiking in central asia IS fun and mostly easy!
Opinion: In Central Asia, hitchhiking is a walking sport. You need to walk your way out of most towns, but it makes also more sense for people to see you walking and eventually offer you a free ride: If you get no free ride, then you are just walking, right?
Maps
yandex maps and 2gis are very common local map apps.
Countries
There are different opinions about the definition of Central Asia, so this one is by the United Nations Statistic Division. Choose a country for more specific information.
Resources
Caravanistan with its forum is a great resource for all travel questions regarding central asia including border crossings and even hitchhiking.
