Hotel Amir Karakol

... Water is clearly the key to this piece of paradise. I take a few diversions into an ex Soviet holiday camp which has seen better days and I'm almost tempted to cross a raging torrent on a none to safe looking makeshift bridge to join some children on the other side. Every child cheerfully says "Hello, what is your name?" They all want their photograph taken so although I won't risk the river I oblige with the photo.<br> Autumn is here and leaves are changing colour ...

... its way along the reservoir and through tunnels. I'm back into my summer gear thankfully because it is now hot, not just warm. There are plenty of melons for sale now. Just before Bazar Korgon I turn off the main road to Osh and follow the Kara Unkur river northeast. The river has cut a wide swathe through the sandy soil and is only a comparative trickle at this time of the year. I gradually climb through small villages and ...

... lucky. To make matters worse he thinks he could have got one within a day when he was in Almaty. I feel for him. He is about to consult with the owners of Sakura to get their advice. He's a really good guy. I warmed to him immediately and would love to have ridden with him. Mihi tells me he has heard from a friend. Fuel is very scarce in Tajikstan and it is very cold already.<br> I live in this fantasy world some times. The plan is to head west from ...

... and don't want to waste it on those few miles. Maybe, maybe not. It depends! Great! The helpful young man phones Osh and yes, there is a road I can take which keeps me in Kyrgystan.<br><br>I finally get access to the net in the afternoon and catch up with blogging. I make another visit to the Chinese mosque and then return to the hotel, or guest yard as it is ...

... hacks off big chunks of the meat and I am forced to help myself. No lunch today then. <br><br>It's downtown to become solvent, pay my debts and find insurance for the bike. The first two are easy but there is no sign of an insurance office. I try a travel agency. <br><br>"What is this insurance?"<br><br>I produce my now much thumbed dictionary.<br><br>"Ah, they might have it in big cities but not here in Karakol."<br><br>"Do ...

The next morning dawned dry and clear and we set off for our primary task for the day. Catch a Sheep, kill it, dress it for eating and then cook it. We struggled up the valley chasing Olgas 1.8 metre twenty one year old legs. This was not easy to do and we walked for about two hours trying to even see a sheep. Unfortunately for us, all of the sheep had been moved into the mountain meadows. Where the hell are these meadows I thought as we lay there gasping as Olga ...

Heading inland from the lake we climbed up into the Jety Oguz valley for three days of cold alpine camping. This will be a great test of the stamina of the Urbies and the Crafties. To get to the valley we had to climb over a pass and then through a small township and into a national park. For those who know New Zealand this was very like climbing into one of the Coromandel valleys. Except that we were over 3300 metres high ...

The morning dawned bright and clear and spirits were high. We were off to Karakol town and the Hotel Amir. The urbies were delighted, soft beds (they thought) and hot showers. <br><br>A short stop was made at a weird new hotel development on the seashore. Well it might be a hotel one day, once they finish the landscaping, and one more thing, oh yeah, build a hotel. The pictures of this ribbon of sculptures, all fenced off from the road do not do ...

Our first bush camp was on the side of a hydro lake. This will be an interesting test for the new crews. We drew the short straw and our group of four had to make the first meal. It all went surprisingly well. The rest of the evening went downhill, except this time it was our own fault. Vodka is very cheap, around $2. 00 USD for 500ml and it is very good. <br><br>The fire was blazing, and ...

Arslanbob is the home of the world's largest walnut forest. One figure quoted is 19,000 hectares of walnuts. It seems a lot but the world likes walnuts so maybe the figure is correct. Our day&#8217;s activity was to walk to the forest. <br><br>The mountains totally dominate the local views as you would expect over 2000 metres and we headed of into the morning mist. Translation. "Climb up a steep hill and look at ...