Made it to Bishkek
I'm here, it's hotter than hell, there's dust throughout my hair and eyes, but I made it. Kyrgyzstan is like no other place I've been. The mountains in the backdrop are simply amazing. The plane ride was uneventful but getting through customs was more than a little annoying. The Lonely Planet Guide says you can buy a visa upon arrival, which is ostensibly true. Of course there's no guarantee that the little hermit behind the twelve inches of plexiglas will actually be working there. It took ninety minutes for the little man to show up and bark at me all while visions of Kyrgyz bagslashers, hunkering over my solitary bag on the carousel, danced in my head. Add to that I was making the independent traveller's biggest gamble: Arriving in a foreign place without preplanning (a) accomodation or (b) a way from the airport to the city. Fortunately I had sent a quick email to Milana, the overly competent russka in the Moscow ISTC office, asking if she could book a hotel/car for me and it all somehow worked out.
The 30 kilometer straight shot to Bishkek city was mind-melting. Windows down, wind whipping, yaks, goats and pyramids of watermelons flying by left and right. The Tien Chuan mountains tower in the horizon, shirtless boys dart back and forth on the road as they dodge taxis and trucks. Dust, dirt and diesel.
I will be exploring the city today and tonight and hope to find a way to Lake Issyk-Kul, the second largest mountain lake in the world, just an hours drive away. August 31 is Kyrgyzstan's Independence Day and I fear that the entire place will shut down completely, effectively locking me in here.
posted by rod at 1:50 PM
3 Comments:
Hey Rod
Glad to hear things all fell into place. I heard about the amazing mountains there. I checked out what the Lonely Planet had to say and it sounds like there is a lot to like for a pseudo-anarchist like yourself.
Lonely Planet says “What Kyrgyzstan lacks in gracious buildings and fancy cakes it makes up for with nomadic traditions such as laid-back hospitality, a healthy distrust of authority, and a fondness for drinking fermented mare's milk. It is perhaps the most accessible and welcoming of the Central Asian republics.”
Sounds like a great place to start your journey of the “stans”. Hopefully you won’t create any kind of international incidents by refusing to join your comrades in toast of fermented mare’s milk. Do you know the Russian words for fart and diarrhea?
BD
Dave, you're outdoing yourself these days in terms of wit.
Outdoing or Overdoing? Damnit, there I go again. I am feeling a bit cheeky lately. BTW, Rakesha says Hi. I'm gonna try to get Jeff to go out on Thursday, play some trivia at the Frog, drink your beer, and hope we see Coco. I'll let you know what the top gun board is looking like.
Cheers mate
BD
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