Karakol and Lake Issyk Kul

Trip Start Jul 30, 2008
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Trip End Ongoing


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Where I stayed
Lilya's Place
(Karakol hotels)

Flag of Kyrgyzstan  ,
Wednesday, October 22, 2008

OK OK, since Russell absolutely refuses to do this entry... I'll take it on. Our trip from Bishkek to Karakol was not exactly a smooth one. We got to the minibus station early in the morning and jumped in a bus, expecting it to leave immediately. Well, we were wrong. We had to wait until they crammed the bus completely full of people. This took a good 20 minutes or so, and on we went. The ride to Karakol was pretty bumpy, and all the passengers got some good air at least once or twice during the five-hour trek. When we got to Karakol, we stumbled our way around the small town for a few minutes until we ran into the tourism office (I was shocked that the town had one!- but our trip "Yoda"- aka Russell knew where it was). The girls in the office were extremely helpful in answering our questions and finding us accomodation for the night. We ended up staying with a Russian woman in her 60's named Lilya. Her apartment was pretty small, but impeccably furnished and extremely clean. We couldn't complain- and she prepared our breakfasts!

So, the plan here was to do a little horseback riding, but because of the inclement weather, that didn't really pan out. Instead, we went for a hike the first day (Russell termed it an "afternoon walk" I recall). We walked through the town and up the hill at its outskirts. The town was fairly small, and most of the residents seemed to have animals of one kind or another. This may have been the first place where people would literally drop everything they were doing to stare at the three of us as we walked by. Not that they were unfriendly, but it was just strange to get the stare-down everywhere you went. Anyways, as we walked up the hill we ran into a very nice goat and sheep farmer named Almas who invited us to come over and take a look at his animals. We did (I was the most reluctant, after hearing the horror stories about travelers invited to watch the slaughter...) and we talked with him for a few minutes about his life and his animals. After exchanging a laugh and a cigarette, we went on our way. The rest of our time in Karakol was really spent surviving. There wasn't a whole lot to do, and the weather outside was beyond frightful. It was downright NASTY. So we stayed indoors at cafes or in the apartment most of the time. The day we left Karakol, we got some faulty directions from Lilya on how to get to Kaji Say, and so were faced with the choice of taking a taxi or getting hypothermia. (See the Kaji Say entry for our decision). That's about all I can say for our time in Karakol. Oh yeah, another thing was the good breakfast that Lilya prepared for us each morning (twice in all I think). She gave us toast with her delicious homemade jam and tea, plus the last day she made her special pancakes! Man, I miss the eating in the KG!

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