Rolling in Raspberries in Osh
Trip Start
Nov 14, 2007
1
61
92
Trip End
Apr 20, 2009
Osh,
Kyrgyzstan
Sunday, August 17, 2008
We are in a land of bounty for sure. We just finished a six day horse trek up into the mountains, over wild rocky passes, past blue lakes, fields of alpine flowers and livestock. Relishing the nomadic hospitality that we so loved in Mongolia, giggling with the cutest children and the oldest Babushka's. Galloping like Mongols. For two days of eight hour rides we saw no-one but a distant shepherd, to arrive in the evening into Kyrgyz Yurts full of food, chai, babushka's and babies, sliding asleep next to the dinner table, waking to crawl to our tent and sleep again under the wide starry skies. Bliss!
Kyrgyzstan has been our most freely adventurous country. So easy to get around, so easy to meet awesome travellers and wonderful locals, so easy to trek alone or organise a horse trek within 18 hours, so easy to get fresh produce in buckets by the side of the road and sniff out a delicious Shashlik (kebab) cooking over hot coals. And, best of all, swim in the beautiful lakes at surprisingly comfortable temperatures, or soak in a hot spring at surprisingly hot temperatures. Seems like heaven, until you get to Bishkek, which is growing on us after our initial shock of the ex-soviet city. Even so, Bishkek has internet and shashlik, that's all we need.
Andrea, Pat's sister joined us for two weeks from London, which was really fantastic, she easily leapt into our adventurous hiking and horseriding ways, proving that being an accountant in London hasn't taken the adventurous Aussie spirit out of her.
We are now in Osh, eating raspberries and cream on fresh bread for breakfast and dinner, Shashlik for lunch of course, waiting for the right people to come along to share transport into Tajikistan, yep, The formidable Pamirs!! Too exciting.
