Wild Kyrgyzstan - Part 1
Trip Start
Jul 20, 2004
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Trip End
Jul 20, 2012
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Bishkek,
Kyrgyzstan
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
In Kyrgystan, I would argue that the car model is either a status statement, a way to show that one works for the government or a thriving business or the cheapest model they could get abroad or on the domestic market. The majority of cars in Kyrgystan are Mercedes Benz. Not just in Bishkek but everywhere you look, people are driving a big Benz, even the families that put up their yurts during the summer months have their Benz parked next to the yurt. Compared to Uzbekistan, where the majority of cars are soviet model Lada, Wolga and Moskvich, in Kyrgystan these old Russian stables are almost extinct. Its the foreign models that rule and one can only speculate where the Kyrgys bought their cars - either while working abroad in Europe (as many cars still feature the German 'D' and license plate frame) or imported and bought in Kyrgystan.
BISHKEK
I got to Bishkek on July 2nd where i am staying with CS host Joe at The London School. The town has a very Russian feeling and is easy to navigate on foot and marshrutnoe minibuses (if you can read Russian). After 3 days in Bishkek, I headed to Lake Issyk-Kol.
TAMCHY
I started my 18-day trip around Lake Issyk Kul with a 3 day CBT Yurt stay in Tamchy.
Altyn Arashan Valley
It was fabulous and I was glad I stayed 3 days to observe how Russians and Kyrgyz families vacationing. It reminded me of my childhood when, every year, my grandmother made a guestroom available for summer guests. Here, every house offers "komnata" - a room for rent. My family, mother and daughter, provided me with freshly baked bread, tea/coffee and homemade rasberry jam every morning. I also got to practice making "Manti" - a kind of dumpling filled with meat. I loved my yurt, as I had it all for myslef (it had 3 beds) and at night I could see the stars through the yurts opening, or tyndyk, the wheel that supports the roof (its also depicted in the Kyrgyz natinal flag). I spent 2 days on the beach and one day hanging out with the family and hiding in my yurt because of rain. This was my first glimpse into Kyrgyz life and though I could have stayed longer, I was longing for the mountains and after 3 days continued to Cholpon-Ata.CHOLPON-ATA
I bid farewell to my family, thanking them for their hospitality and true interest in sharing their house, stories and food. I had more than my fair share of food and for all that I paid 350 som per day (including breakfast). For the road, Merim's mom gave me a freshly backed bread.
Out on the road, I realized that one has to wait a while for a minibus that has space. I waited more than 30 minutes until I finally got a seat in a bus. As I was contemplating about the bus system, it came to my mind that a shuttle bus system might prove useful during the summer months - one for the north shore and one for the south shore.
Altyn Arashan Valley - Travel hotel
It seems there are not enough minibuses to carry tourists and locals and who wants to pay the taxi sharks? The minibuses are pretty fast though and it seems that the majority of them all have the same music tape/CD - it feels like being in a 80's time capsule with the same songs being played all over Central Asia (Boney M, the song "it's a sin, etc.).In Cholpon-Ata, I stayed at the Blue Homestay, a lovely place near the bazar (paid 400 some without breakfast). The only drawback was the neighbors extremely loud TV every night until 10pm. The house has a very European feel (the owners are Russians) with a beautiful flower and fruit garden, including black and red currants, cherries and apples. I stopped at the local museum which had a decent display of jewelery, grave stones, mouth harps and local art displays, including the famous skydraks. The museum also included information (in Russian only) on the nearby petroglyph fields. However, when I got to the "UNESCO declared heritage site", I could hardly make out any pertroglyphs except for 2. The site looks rather abondened, with a broken fence and decaying sinage leaving one wondering where the pertroglyphs, shown in the museum, are.
One thing that made me feel reassuringly comfortable moving among a large population of Russians is their politeness - Russians use 'thank you', 'please', 'good day' and good bye' whenever they interact with others. I haven't heard so much politeness in a while - even the children are using polite phrases and their parents are strict and do not hold back with spankings if needed or hugs and kisses.
Altyn Arashan Valley2
Its an affectionate bunch of people.There is not much to do in Cholpon-Ata; its a Russian seaside town, neither cozy nor rejecting. I stayed 2 days and then headed straight for Karakol, foregoing the sleepy village of Grigorieva which offers opportunities for horseback riding and hikes in the canyon. But I was ready for the real mountains.
KARAKOL
Arriving in Karakol, people are dropped off at the main bus station which is about 20 min from the center by foot or shorter by minibus nr. 109. My minibus driver wasn't cooperative when I asked him which minibus goes to the bazar in the center of town. He colluded with the taxi drivers but I told him I wasn't interested in taking a taxi - so, he didn't tell me how to get to the center of town. But who needs him if there are friendly Russians around to ask. So, I asked a Russian woman for directions and she was happy to walk with me and practice her English. Her name is Tatjiana and I was glad that I met her. Over the course of my stay in Karakol, we met for dinner and walks and talked about life, Russia and Kyrgystan, food, work, interests, etc.
In Karakol, I stayed on and off at Yak Tours hostel for 300 som/day. The place is lovely, with a variety of rooms, a beautiful rose garden, a cat, 3 dogs and Sergey - the keeper of the place (the owner, Valentin, spent most of the time at his Yak Tour Camp in Altyn Arashan). Sergey is quiet a character; likes to have a drink or two, always smiles, is happy to help but doesn't do any cleaning.
Bishkek - Changing of the Guards
And that's the downside of the place; all those lovely rooms succumb to dusk, dirt and spider webs. I doubt that the carpets have ever seen a vacuum cleaner. Nevertheless, I made Yak Tour hostel my base and was a happy camper there, always listening to other travellers' stories and exchanging ideas for places to go. The first day was spent checking out CBT, TIC and Ecotrek for gear and trekking info. All 3 organizations are extremely helpful. At the TIC (Tourist Information Center), I met Christel from Switzerland and we decided to partner up on a 4-day trek from Karakol Valley to Altyn Arashan. We rented our gear from the extremely helpful and fun guys at Ecotrek - tent for 160 s/day, raincoat for 60 s/day, mat for 20 s/day and stove plus gas for 330 s. Christel stayed at Neofit guesthouse where she was the only guest. We met the next morning to repack our packs and store our things we didn't need at the hostel. Because Christel had back problems and we didnt really want to pay for a porter, I would carry her big backpack with the tent and she carried my smaller/lighter pack. I just wished I had brought my own tent and mat which are lighter and easier to carry. Well, next time.We sat off by minibus 101 (15 som) which dropped us off at the forestry, the last bus stop and started hiking from there. It took us about 4 hours to the turn-off to Kurgak-Ter Gorge. Here we met a Swiss guy to whom I had talked in Karakol and who was out here for just one day. He advised us to go up to a small lake/pond and camp out there.
Karakol - Salam Aleikum Restaurant
So, we hiked for another 2 or so hours, all uphill, to be finally rewarded with a lovely green valley, a stream and a small lake/pond. The area offered a couple of beautiful camping spots but we chose the one that had a fire place. After relaxing and putting up the tent, we made a fire and cooked dinner over the campfire. It was a truly lovely spot where we could have easily stayed another day or two. But, we had to move on the next day when we left the campsite about 9am and started the hike up to Al-Kol Lake at an elevation of about 3600 m. The morning was beautiful - blue sky, sunshine, few clouds. But the weather in the mountains can change rapidly and by midday dark clouds had appeared. We made it to the top of the gorge by about 11.30am. From here, we could see the lake - a magnificient green-turquoise color with a glacier at the very end of the lake. However, to get down to the lake where we intended to camp, we had to continue for at least another 45 minutes and by now, it had started to hail. We took cover under a rock ledge and waited for about 30 minutes beforee making a move. I knew that the weather wouldn't change much - in the mountains, bad weather sets in around early afternoon and usually stays. After the hails stopped a bit, we made our way down to the lake and set up camp right away. And sure enough, the tent was up, our bags inside and it started again. It pretty much continued to hail on and off the entire night until early morning ( we were happy to find out that our tent was holding up rather well).
Karakol - Salam Aleikum Restaurant - dress up
In the morning, we could see that the glacier was covered with fresh snow (so were all the mountain peaks). We left camp at 9am and made the steep climb to the trail of Ala-Kol Pass at 3860 m in about an hour. Once back on the trail, it was just following the trail up, up and up. We met a few porters and trekkers on the trail and by about 11.30am we reached the top of the pass from where we had a magnificient, picture-perfect view of the lake, the mountains and the freshly snow-covered glacier. From the top, we could see the valley to the left which stretched out for kilometers. By now, dark clouds started to move in and we hurried to get off the pass and into the valley. As soon as we got down, the nightmare started - for the next 4 hours we walked in hail storms and ducked 5 different thunderstorms. I was looking around me and realized that I was the tallest target around for lightening since Christel and the 2 other trekkers were way behind me. It was frightening and fascinating at the same time. Looking back, I could see that the trail we came down from the pass was covered with snow and so were the surrounding mountains. I saw a lighting bolt hitting a huge rock that stuck out from the mountainside and black smoke went off followed by deafening thunder. By now, I was soaked wet but still warm as I kept moving. Eventually, I lost the trail and had to bushwack for almost 2 hours through the forest following hardly noticable animal trails. I finally made it down to the yurt camps not realizing that Christel had followed into my tracks and, like me, got out the "wrong side of the valley" shortly after me.
Karakol - Salam Aleikum Restaurant - dress up2
Cold and wet now, we just longed for a hot shower or the hot springs ahead. So, we drudged on and put down out packs at the first place we came to; Altyn Arashan Travel hotel where we stayed in a dorm (350 som including the use of hotsprings). The 2 Russian owners and their dogs were warm and welcoming (200 som for dinner and 100 for breakfast). We still had our food we bought for the trail and didnt need to buy any food there. After we filled our bellies it was time for the hot springs. Oh, it was heaven on earth - my cold body imersed in the hot water, I just could feel the pain and coldness leaving the bath. I spent 30 min. In the hot pool (every pool is in a kind of shack which comes with a key and unlimited time use). Next to the travel hostel is Valentin's Yak Tour Camp where we had planned on staying but we found out that guests at the Camp have to pay 250 som for the hot springs (plus 200 som for the dorm at Yak Tour). So, we were happy at the travel hostel and could have stayed another day at this place - it was relaxing and tranquil with breathtaking views of the mountains.By 11am the next morning, it was sunny and warm and we set out on our way down the valley to Ak-Suu. It was a beautiful 4 hour hike. From Ak-Suu, minibus 350 took us back to Karakol. The ride costs 25 som and buses run about every 20 minutes. Back in Karakol, we returned our wet gear and moved back into Yak Tour hostel to do laundry and rest our weary bones. The next day, Christel left for Kochkor and Sol-Kol Lake whereas I relaxed a bit more and planned my next trip. In the evening, I met up with Tatjana and we went to a new bar/restaurant which had just opened 2 days ago - Salam Aleikum Restaurant which plans on offering yurt stays, Kyrgyz folklore shows and dinner. The place is run by 3 young entrepreneurs who modeled the restaurant after the Labih Hauz restaurant in Bukhara.
