Which of the following two trips would be more fulfilling? >Kiev

How about not a communist shithole?

>>1204926
How about you shut the fuck up?

>>1204864
Almaty and Bishkek are for those with a particular interest in Central Asia. Not beautiful cities by any means, so you gotta have an interest in what's behind the facade.

Kiev and Lviv are perfectly decent holiday destinations, just a little bit more challenging than your average European city.

>>1204864
I would definitely recommend Kyiv and Lviv

>>1204935
>>1204937
How do they stack up to Moscow and StP? I have been there and really enjoyed it.

Bishkek and Almaty just seem so mysterious which is part of the allure, however when I think about it more pragmatically I cant think of much to actually do or see.

>>1204941
I haven't been to Moscow or St. Petersburg, so I couldn't say. But from what I've heard they're in the same league.

If you're going to Central Asia, visit the countryside instead. Almaty was interesting for a few days, just to see what a completely different part of the world was like, but it's not interesting from a traditional touristic perspective. (That said, it's pretty comfy and I could easily have stayed in a hostel there for a few weeks.) From what everybody in Almaty told me, Bishkek is basically a poorer, more crime-ridden version of Almaty.

>>1204946
Also, if you do end up going to Almaty, stay at the Sky Hostel. I stayed both there and at Almaty Backpackers, and the former is definitely the more interesting place. Awesome view from the roof terrace over the entire city, and a lot more varied crowd (including a lot of Kazakhs who are very interested in conversing with foreigners). Much better location too, Almaty Backpackers is in suburbia far from the Metro.

>>1204946
I've never heard Bishkek was crime ridden.

>>1204941
>How do they stack up to Moscow and StP? I have been there and really enjoyed it.
Kyiv and Lviv are basically a poor man's Moscow/Saint Petersburg.

There aren't as many places of cultural and historical significance, but there are still a bunch.
Not as many good museums, but there are some, etc.

In all honesty, a city such as Bishek does not seem very mysterious to me. It's a fake, stale city which is meant make Kyrgyzstan look perfect.
The same can be said of Astana, although in this case it is more modern and developed.

A comparison between Lviv and Bishek would especially be night and day. Although Lviv is not mysterious (neither is Bishek, really), it has great history and culture.

>>1205019
central asia is probably one of the least visited areas in the world, how can one not see it as mysterious?

>>1205014
I guess the biggest danger for visitors is the high incidence of police corruption.

>>1205026
>how can one not see it as mysterious?
Simple explanation: It's not a mystery to most that they're shithole countries.

With the advent of the Internet, it's hard for anything to be mysterious. Maybe you should visit Transnistria.

>>1205033
I was actually looking at Transnistria but holy fuck there is nothing to do there.

>>1204864
Depends how much time you have but catching the bus from Bishkek to some town on the shore of Issyk-Kul is a good way to spend some time cool hikes around there too.

>>1205142
10 days total trip.

>>1205575
Probably not then it's a half day trip each way and I did a three day hike but if you asked the tourist bureau they might be able to recommended shorter hikes. If you are into scuba there is some ruins you can check out but it's pretty hard to organise someone to rent you equipment.