Golden Dragon Hotel Bishkek

... different country with their semi-nomadic way of life. Living in Yurts in the summer and in a village house in the winter...We are here late in the season, but there are still some yurts scattered around the plains and mountains...Snow-capped mountains and lots of water everywhere. The country is made up of 93% mountain area!<br><br>While waiting for the Chinese visa, which we arranged in Bishkek, we wanted to escape from city ...

... this happened in Astana the result was nyet. She returns.<br> "Your visa will be ready on Thursday."<br> "Great, fantastic, can I give you a kiss?"<br> "That is next week. In nine days time!"<br> The thought of 9 days in Bishkek - walking to the consulate and back a few times I've seen all the interesting bits such as they are - is not something I want to experience particularly when there is so much more to see.<br> "It will be $95."<br> This ...

... for a mile or so. His horsepower had moor oomph/less baggage than mine, but I gave it a good run for its money on the downhill. <br><br>My speed on much of this has been somewhat slow (around 10mph) as the Kyrgyz roads are not condusive to comfortable speed. Bumpy bumpy. However, it does mean I can ogle at the piles of honey bottles that now are on stands by the road. Bees are absolutely everywhere here, and the honey is sold in either litre of half litre ...

... cycling trips the others had done (see earlier, for example), the mountains they've been climbing, and, of course, the visa palava. <br><br>Well, that is quite enough for one day. I will hopefully be updating this again soon, but it may not be for a week or so. Also, I've been informed that in Xinxiang province, western China, there is no internet access to the outside world, or international phone calls. Therefore, I will be uncontactable and you will have to hope for the best....<br>

... zero, but we were warm inside the yurts, with a wood stove burning. At Tash Rabat, we had the added bonus of a Russian sauna t 3200 metres. It was very makeshift, and looked like someone's haphazard garden shed from the outside, but on the inside it worked like a bonafide sauna, completely with birch branches.<br><br>Kyrgyzstan is beautiful. The cities are not spectacular. Built during the Soviet years, they are mostly a dilapidated collection of Soviet style housing blocks. In fact ...

... the traditional decoration inside, as well as rickety hospital beds in a head-to-toe semi-circle. that night we were invited into the Yurt behind ours by a couple of Bishkek men (one of whom was a policeman and the other claimed to have been in the secret police and during conversation, revealed he had been on a secret mission to India, back in the day). With the vodka flowing, the jovial conversation (in Russian and being translated sporadically by ...

... y a aujourd'hui plus de 10 quartiers differents, et c'est pas facile de s'y retrouver je vous assure.<br><br>Pour le reste, Bichkek est toujours la petite capitale tranquille que j'ai connue. Tres active puisque le president fait en ce moment tout pour plaire a son peuple, mais il se fatigue, a vrai dire, un peu por rien. Voici 10 jours il a fait sa visite officielle a Karimov en Ouzbekistan pour savoir comment organiser une election truquee (bah oui, c'est sa premiere election a lui ...

... That&#8217;s why today the history of high-mountain paragliding is writing in new page of the history. And each of us could also be continuer of this new and promising occupation&#8230;<br><br>Program of the tour «Pamir Sky»:<br>Day 1-2. Arrival in Tashkent (Bishkek). Tour to the area of Beldersay and (or) Charvak lake mountain resorts for making familiarization flights is possible (to be agreed at preliminary correspondence).<br>Day 3. Transfer ...

... monitoring by rescue services.<br>Besides well-known peaks like Peak Khan-Tengry and Pobeda Peak, the area has over 30 peaks around 6000m-high. Some of them still wait for their first-ever climber.<br>Your overland journey to the foot of both Khan-Tengry Peak (7010 m) and Pobeda Peak (7439 m) may commence from nearby major Central Asian cities, having international air communication &#8211; either Almaty (former ...

... an unstaffed desk when I left to face a grinning Alan and the exasperated Polish husband. <br><br>Happily for us, our guide Vita and driver Slava were there to meet us. And we were very pleased to see them too. Vita, a vivacious young woman with huge rolling eyes and an infectious smile, and Slava our shy but literally bomb proof driver were to make our trip both interesting, and even in the very worst times, an awful lot of fun. Vita, like our guides in Uzbekistan ...