Hyatt Regency Bishkek

... front of the queue. Visas, I am told by the security guard, are on Tuesdays (tomorrow) from 14.30 to 16.00. THANK YOU LONELY PLANET. I do a bit of meandering and get back to the lodgings to plan my strategy!!! for tomorrow.
If it is at all possible get all visas before you leave, DO. You can spend weeks trying to get them on the road. Time when you should be travelling. And, they are invariably more expensive.

... br>
The ride from Karakol along the plain to Bishkek starts with the snowcapped Central Tian Shan mountains to the south, Lake Issy Kol to the north overlooked by another range of snowcapped peaks, the Kungay Alatau. It is a glorious sunny day. The mountains to the north seeem to merge with the blue of the lake leaving the snow capped peaks, like clouds, hanging in the sky. I stop for a break and am quickly joined by four young locals and their donkey. We share peanuts, dried ...

... back to his house for his 25th birthday dinner. Into the car, and then we turned down a dirt road. 'Uh oh, this could be curtains' was my initial thought. However, no need to be so cynical. Into the courtyard of their house (with sheep waiting to meet their maker in a barn in the corner) we pulled up, and then inside was a most amazing spread. Truly fantastic. They got pretty excited when they remembered that there was an English teacher living in the village (I know!!), so went ...

****, forgot to post this when i got back, read on and you'll understand....


This is the end, do do do, my only friend etc... I'm writing this on my last day in Kyrgyzstan, but as I don't want my mother to know when I'm coming home, I will be home by the time I post it. Sadly I'm not being taken in a blue bus as Mr Morrison would have everyone think, but in a big white airoplane. I'm now killing time ...

... definite need of a vege/salad fix. The scenery here was magical.
The huge glacial mountains (which we climbed almost to the foot of) fed the bustling streams down to the bright azure blue lake. We could definietly have stayed for longer here, taking another two days to trek up to the next glacier and lake about 4 hours away.


But it was time to say good-bye to our American friends and for us to head (by hot and stuffy minibus) to ...

... shops for beer and vodka. Strangely enough we dined at the same restaurant the following night with the new crew and it all went flawlessly. If anything was a metaphor for the journey the last night dinner was it.

Steve, Ben Fiona Olga disappeared to a Bishek nightclub and arrived back at the hotel at 3.00am. After some persuasion Fiona was forced to reveal that this nightclub was actually a very risque ...

... realization of flights along the route line to Lenin peak summit are planned to be investigated, and also questions concerning para-mountaineering are planned to be considered, too, namely: improvement and creation tactics of making flights in high altitude mountain zone and testing of usual paragliding equipment as well as specially created for mountaineers. During period of festival work Master Class of basic start techniques, piloting techniques ...

... glade (3600m) – Lukovaya glade (3800m) – Puteshestvennikov pass (4150m) – Lenin glacier – Moraine under Lenin peak foot (4400m). Lunch, rest, walks. Return to Camp 1 on Edelweiss glade (3600m). 8km+8km, 7h, +800m, -800m.
Day 05 Transfer to Sarymogol village (3000m). 30km, 1h, -600m Lunch. Horse riding to the foot of Jiptik pass (4185m). Camp 2 (3600m). 12km, 4h, +600m.
Day 06 Horse riding to Jiptik ...

... Day 15 Uphill to the top of the Peak Khan-Tengry (7010 m). Downhill to Camp 3 (5900 m).
Day 16 Downhill to Base Camp (4,000m) on the way of ascent.
Day 17 Reserve days in case of bad weather.
Day 18 Reserve days in case of bad weather.
Day 19 Helicopter hop to Karkara and further on by road to Bishkek. Accommodation at hotel, back to the amenities of long forgotten civilisation, a night’s stroll in ...

... would exchange money. Well, that day it didn’t. Then we reluctantly tried an ATM which told us there was no Visa card service that day either, although thankfully it spat back out our Visa card. We eventually changed some of our precious US dollars at a doubtful looking money change booth in a supermarket. We at least were able to change some money but it was not without the exchange guy barking furiously at Alan to remove his hand from the counter ...