KyrgyzAltyn Hotel Bishkek

A slight circumnavigation of part of Kyrgyzstan later, and I am back in Bishkek. Again. However, no more pottering about on jaunts, I have to head south. Not just for the winter, but also to get into China before my visa expires and the mountain pass closes due to snow. So no pressure then. <br><br>The road out of Bishkek was longer than thought, and I was nowhere near where I wanted to be with a couple of hours of daylight left. I spotted a truck stop ...

... br><br>I don't really. it would only confuse the issue and we'd have to get all formal with receipts and then the government would get the money.<br><br>S300 lighter I begin one of the most frustrating rides so far. I mean, have you ever tried riding 175ks at 70kph or 45mph? That would have been bad enough but immediately I enter this fantastic gorge where the limit is 60kph for 17ks and no overtaking. Well, that's the rule for me. Everybody else is overtaking and bombing along at a ...

... to 'stay to the side'. Fair enough. <br><br>A similar situation at the Kazakh/Kyrgyz border, where most of the border police seemed more fascinated by the nutter on the bike than any potential smuggling that may go on. Nothing that greased palms would not be able to sort out anyway. Ah ha - there goes another slip of money, thank you officer. Mirrored shades allow you to see a lot, without the other party seeing what you're looking at.<br><br>One of the problems with cycling here ...

... and is very east to keep going. My Grandparents very kindly bought me one to take away with me and I've had it with me my whole trip, but before Kyrgyzstan had not had an oppertunity to use it as I had done not trekking/ outside stuff. But I've been using ti here on variouse treks and it is really cool! You can make tea in minutes, purify water for the next day, cook on it... the guide on my horse trek in ...

Arrival in Kyrgyzstan was a bit of a shock to the system after 6 weeks travelling in China. A new language (Russian and/or Kyrgyz), infrastructure (not much), transport mode (deathtrap marshruktas) and pace of life (slow) awaited us. For the first time we also had no itinerary and arrived in the capital, Bishkek, without a plan. Our first stop (after a hairy experience in a windowless Marshrutka minibus where our faux Russian "shtop! shtop!" to get off ...

... 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.<br><br>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) &#8211; Lukovaya glade (3800m) &#8211; Puteshestvennikov pass (4150m) &#8211; Lenin glacier &#8211; Moraine under Lenin peak foot (4400m). Lunch, rest, walks. Return to Camp 1 on Edelweiss glade (3600m). 8km+8km, 7h, +800m, -800m.<br>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.<br>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).<br>Day 16 Downhill to Base Camp (4,000m) on the way of ascent.<br>Day 17 Reserve days in case of bad weather.<br>Day 18 Reserve days in case of bad weather.<br>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&#8217;s stroll in ...

... the city&#8217;s broad streets and the main city square of Ala-Too (formerly Lenin Square). Despite this greenery however, the city centre architecture is truly confronting. Government buildings, universities and concert halls are massive and forbidding, displaying typical brutal Russian architecture. It was more European and even more in your face than the Russian architecture of Tashkent<br><br>The city of Bishkek had a somewhat schizophrenic feeling with ...