# Your next vacation will be to a "stan" country. Which one do you pick? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 29, 2012, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-next-vacation-will-be-to-a-stan-country-which-one-do-you-pick/629748 "2012-07-29T09:21:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-next-vacation-will-be-to-a-stan-country-which-one-do-you-pick/629748/1 "2012-07-29T09:21:39Z")
For whatever reason, your next vacation must be to a country that ends in “stan”. According to Wikipedia, your choices are: Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan or Uzbekistan. I intentionally left off Hayastan (native name of Armenia) because it’s a native name and I thought it might be too easy. So which do you pick and why? I’m going to pick Pakistan. My college roommate was from Pakistan and he made it sound like an interesting place. AFAIK, I’ve never met anyone from the other countries. Pakistan is also probably the most advanced of the lot. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-next-vacation-will-be-to-a-stan-country-which-one-do-you-pick/629748/2 "2012-07-29T09:48:35Z")
Without doing any research, Kyrgyzstan. Probably because of _Gravity’s Rainbow_. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-next-vacation-will-be-to-a-stan-country-which-one-do-you-pick/629748/3 "2012-07-29T09:55:38Z")
I already live there. Stanislaus County, CA. ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-next-vacation-will-be-to-a-stan-country-which-one-do-you-pick/629748/4 "2012-07-29T10:07:55Z")
Kyrgyzstan, because Kyrgyzstan. Hey, it’s as good a reason as anyone’s got to go to any of these places. ETA: Is U-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan an option? If so, then that. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-next-vacation-will-be-to-a-stan-country-which-one-do-you-pick/629748/5 "2012-07-29T10:20:25Z")
Kazakhstan - because I’d like to visit the Baikonur Cosmodrome. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-next-vacation-will-be-to-a-stan-country-which-one-do-you-pick/629748/6 "2012-07-29T10:35:20Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Kazakhstan - because I’d like to visit the Baikonur Cosmodrome. This. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-next-vacation-will-be-to-a-stan-country-which-one-do-you-pick/629748/7 "2012-07-29T10:41:58Z")
I picked Kazakhstan because I am currently in Afghanistan, so it would be silly to go here on vacation. Kazakhstan is a huge country with lots to offer. I’d like to retrace some of the silk road and explore the countryside. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-next-vacation-will-be-to-a-stan-country-which-one-do-you-pick/629748/8 "2012-07-29T13:09:08Z")
Kazakstan-Borat! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-next-vacation-will-be-to-a-stan-country-which-one-do-you-pick/629748/9 "2012-07-29T13:52:29Z")
I’ve been to Uzbekistan, and really want to go back, so that’s my pick. Although, Kazakhstan would be nice, and someplace new for me. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-next-vacation-will-be-to-a-stan-country-which-one-do-you-pick/629748/10 "2012-07-29T14:23:30Z")
Kazakstan. I didn’t make it over when I was in the area, but I have a lot of friends who have travelled there and it seems like it has a lot to offer. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-next-vacation-will-be-to-a-stan-country-which-one-do-you-pick/629748/11 "2012-07-29T15:06:32Z")
You forgot [Kafiristan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kafiristan), from Kipling’s_The Man Who Would be King_. (OK, it is part of Afghanistan). I would pick Kazakhstan, with Kyrgyzstan as a second, But if you are going all the way there, why not hit several of them, since they are mostly in the same vicinity. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-next-vacation-will-be-to-a-stan-country-which-one-do-you-pick/629748/12 "2012-07-29T16:22:58Z")
> [@Roland\_Orzabal](#): > > Kyrgyzstan, because Kyrgyzstan. Hey, it’s as good a reason as anyone’s got to go to any of these places. > . This, though it was a difficult choice. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-next-vacation-will-be-to-a-stan-country-which-one-do-you-pick/629748/13 "2012-07-29T16:34:40Z")
Uzbekistan. Tashkent has always been on my bucket list. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-next-vacation-will-be-to-a-stan-country-which-one-do-you-pick/629748/14 "2012-07-29T16:50:19Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Uzbekistan. Tashkent has always been on my bucket list. We didn’t spend that much time in Tashkent, but I wasn’t particularly enamoured with it. Khiva, Bukhara, and Samarkand I all found much more interesting. Yes, those are the stereotypical Silk Road cities, but they’re all very interesting and distinct. You can fly into Urgench (we went to Tashkent for a day first), then take taxis all the way back down. It’s about a 6-8 hour trip by private car from Khiva to Bukhara (and you very briefly go through Turkmenistan) and when we went in 2001, it was something like $30 fare, and included the driver dealing with all the police checkpoints (lots of stops along the way. Uzbekistan is heavily policed, or at least was. We were out of Tashkent Airport for no more than 10 minutes and we found ourselves in a police station.) Then Bukhara-Samarkand will be about another 4-5 hours; then Samarkand-Tashkent 4-5 hours again. Plus, the open desert road driving, stopping by middle-of-nowhere food shacks to get some shashlik, salad, and a drink, all adds to the romance. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-next-vacation-will-be-to-a-stan-country-which-one-do-you-pick/629748/15 "2012-07-29T16:54:54Z")
Thanks. The bucket list just got amended. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jamicat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-next-vacation-will-be-to-a-stan-country-which-one-do-you-pick/629748/16 "2012-07-29T17:40:09Z")
The stan with the kashmire. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-next-vacation-will-be-to-a-stan-country-which-one-do-you-pick/629748/17 "2012-07-29T17:42:27Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Kazakhstan - because I’d like to visit the Baikonur Cosmodrome. My brother has been there many times to see his satellites get launched. It sounds like a marginally interesting if decrepit facility in the middle of a wasteland. I voted Kyrgyzstan for the delicious fermented mare’s milk. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-next-vacation-will-be-to-a-stan-country-which-one-do-you-pick/629748/18 "2012-07-29T17:56:49Z")
Go on vacation in one of the 'Stans? It’s like the question is made out to be a form of punishment. Please, whatever you do, don’t make me do [this.](http://www.centralasia-travel.com/en/trekking/tien-shan/horse) Why would you banish me to Kyrgyzstan for such torture? Do you intend to have me wander the mountainous countryside with genuine nomads? Oh, mercy, but there are no crowds there, no tour buses, no four-star resorts, no margarita slurpees served in cups you have to hang around your neck! The horror, the horror… ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-next-vacation-will-be-to-a-stan-country-which-one-do-you-pick/629748/19 "2012-07-29T18:27:17Z")
Istanbul. 🆒 Probably Kazakhstan, because of Borat. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-next-vacation-will-be-to-a-stan-country-which-one-do-you-pick/629748/20 "2012-07-29T18:40:16Z")
So Hawaiistan is not on the table? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-next-vacation-will-be-to-a-stan-country-which-one-do-you-pick/629748.md?page=2)