Kyrgyzstan

Trying to make up for "the long silence" in China where many sites were blocked...

Kyrgyzstan was a country of surprises: 94% mountainous rising to over 7000m in the south - a climber's paradise; a higher rainfall than Mongolia resulting in trees and vegetation growing to mountain tops and colourful alpine meadows with small butterflies (blue, brown and white) flitting by; bright blue lakes and deep, fast flowing rivers with glacial water supplying fish and encouraging water sports; a variety of people groups; the nomadic life; the hand to mouth existence for many; the number of Christian churches and persecution especially in rural areas.

For 3 weeks I was fortunate to be travelling with a personal tour guide and fluent Kyrgyz speaker , Andrew, and his Brazilian friend, Patricia, an experienced traveller and linguist. Bartering in Kyrgyz resulted in lower prices so maybe Andrew should have been earning commission and tour guide fees.

Travelling around Kyrgyzstan by big taxi or mursrudka (minibus) is quite slow and journeys long due to the condition of the roads and terrain. Many of the trips took 5-9 hours but fares were reasonable by our standards eg £10 for 9 hour trip. Often journeys were interrupted by mixed herds of sheep, cattle, yaks and goats crossing the road guided by a skilled horseman.

We visited 2 lakes which were both very different. Son Kul, an alpine lake beside summer pastures for nomads' flocks (jailoo) with the opportunity to see mares being milked and products being made from milk. Surprisingly I could drink the kumis (fermented mare's milk) and it was a treat to have homemade butter, cream and cottage cheese. Big blue skies with distant snow capped mountains behind a brilliant blue lake surrounded by flat, flowery grasslands made it very scenic and with the slower pace of nomadic life it was a good place to "chill" in both senses as the temp dropped to freezing and large hailstones fell. That was a night for sleeping in clothes with extra blankets.  We were fed fish from the lake and stayed in a yurt similar to a Mongolian ger but with colourful cushions and mats (tushuks) on the ground for sleeping and the cooking stove to the side rather than being in the centre.

In contrast, Lake Issyk kul, the 2nd biggest salt lake in the world, surrounded by nearby mountains, is more touristy although we were in a quieter spot for a few days and at 6.30pm one evening were the only ones on the beach.  And yes, we went swimming - much warmer than the North Sea but oops, we got sun burnt and had to track down some after sun lotion.  This and sun screen are hard to find in Kyrgyzstan so was glad to have some with me, thanks to Sina and Donnie. This area is known for it's fruit growing and we feasted on the cherries growing outside our local shop (permitted to eat them). A flat noodle meat dish and a sizzling meat and veg platter quickly became favourites for meals and although we spotted many plump marmots in the wild they didn't seem to make it to the menus. We walked to a boulder area and saw some ancient drawings, mainly animals on some of the boulders. At the far end of the lake, in and around Karakol, there was more evidence of Russian style houses with painted wooden shutters on the windows and stucco decoration above and more of the gigantic statues and building structures. En route to and from the lake we drove close to the mountains bordering Kazakhstan but a visa would have been necessary to cross over.

Through we Andrew gained access to the Peace Corps network who kindly provided us with accommodation on a few occasions and reduced prices in a hostel near the lake. We were also able to meet up with some of his English students who gave us more insight into the Kyrgyz life.

With various friends I had 3 hikes in beautiful valleys beside icy flowing rivers and tall trees and once we reached the  flowery meadows we'd find nomads with their yurts and animals. Also met some "local" holidaymakers hiking with their families who showed me different "mushrooms" and a hairy caterpillar. They were also thrilled to see so many young, wobbly foals.

Enjoyed exploring villages/towns with my camera at hand. From Naryn in the mountains we visited Tash Rabat, a caravanserai from 15 century in remarkably good repair, for travellers on the silk route. it was set in a remote but scenic valley and the challenge was to count the 40 or so "rooms"-failed.
In the North we climbed the Burana Tower, a large minaret from 11 century and one of the 1st of it's kind in Asia again with a backdrop of mountains.

Returned to Bishkek to retrieve the famous huge, pink flowery suitcase and needed assistance in getting it down from a 5th floor flat. It was still too expensive to post stuff back from here so waited until reaching China.  Not even sure if the 20 pcs from here reached their destinations as I'd stuck stamps on the cards and think they should have been sent inside envelopes? 

Had an exciting 9 hour trip in a people carrier to Jalalabad travelling up and down mountains and through many tunnels of up to 5km to reach the fertile plains around Jalalabad. One town seemed to be the centre for watermelons and so our transport was loaded up with them providing us with an interesting balancing act.  We then slurped our way through a melon and took some photos to mark the occasion much to the stall holders' amusement.  When we eventually reached Jalalabad after our "meloncholy" trip it was good to catch up with my German nursing friend whom I'd met in the hostel in Bishkek and people spot as many Uzbeks live there. Also took lots of photos of the displays in the market and the unusual products as well as the walnuts, a big part of the economy mainly grown in the huge forest at Arslanbob.  It was also good to meet some of my friend's friends: her adopted Uzbek "Mum"; a South American couple and a German running an English centre.  Seeing lots of job opportunities if I did the TEFAL course?

For a few months I had been communicating with folk through Lonely Planet's Thorntree forum to find companions to share the costs for crossing into China from either Osh or Naryn and eventually it was through Naryn which worked out best.  This involved 10 hours by taxi over the mountains in two stages to Kazerman  where the road is only open for 4 months of the year. Some of that ride was on the edge but fortunately not over the edge. Had an interesting stay in a CBT house stay (like a B&B) and was surprised that in a smart, newly furbished kitchen the running water was to outdoor sinks and shower- a case of different priorities? The second stage was the shorter 4 hour trip to Naryn when 5 of us were squashed into a taxi bouncing over the next lot of mountains. And so with 3 guys, 2 Dutch and 1 French, we had an exciting time crossing into China over the Torugart Pass as there were fewer tourists than lorries and an uncertainty about us being allowed through. We were kept waiting for 3.5 hours at the pass for our transport into China but fortunately it was a sunny day and with about 50 varieties of wild flowers and some butterflies it was a photographer's paradise and so the time passed quickly.  It was a few hours before the Kyrgyz influence left the countryside and even once we reached Kashgar after the 13 hour trip from Naryn there were more Kyrgyz and Uyghur influences than Chinese.

And so here ends the mountain trails of Kyrgyzstan. Let the exploration of China begin...