Advertisement
Published: July 18th 2009
Sorry no photos, the internet here in Bishkek is very slow and I couldn't use the laptop. It's a shame we had some beauties!
What a difference a border crossing can make. After leaving Tashkent we spent a day driving through the beautiful and fertile Fergana Valley, quite a contrast to some of the desert type countryside we have seen and then on to the Kyrgyzstan border. From Minarets to mountains in a couple of days - no more majestic cities with tiled mosaic mosques, the cities are quite run down and Russian influenced with the exception of Karakol on a lake which is a faded Russian Spa town which has the most beautiful wooden Russian Orthodox Church and wooden Chinese mosque. The scenery is totally different, with snow capped mountains, deep fertile gorges and very lush green plains. Kyrgzstan boasts the largest walnut forest in the world where we spent a night with a family in their home in the shadow of the huge mountains in the Fergana range. It was absolutely spectacular. It is intersting to see how other cultures live - and it is certainly different. It also boasts the second largest mountain lake in the world, Lake Issyk-Kol (next to Lake Titicaca in Peru). It is salt water and has thermal springs so never freezes and is apparently quite warm (I haven't ventured to try however!) We have spent a few nights around the lake which is surrounded on all sides by mountains. As such the weather is unpredictable and most days it has been very hot but the evenings are quite cold and we have had a few spectacular thunder storms, one of which was just after we had set up camp in a Nature Reserve. It had its consolation however as we drank whisky to keep warm till it passed. We have done some amazing trekking and at last are beginning to feel fit again after six weeks of idleness. We have been over 3000m most of the time.
The Kyrgyz are also famous for their beautiful horses and horsemanship. Riding is a way of life and we have seen quite young children handling very big horses with great skill. As we were making our way to a Yurt camp by the lake where we were to spend a couple of days we happened upon an inter-village sports event so stopped to watch. It turned out to be Buzkashi, which is a cross between rugby and polo but instead of a ball a headless goat is used and the rules seem a bit vague but the goat has to be picked up from the centre and deposited over a goal line. Two teams battle quite violently on horseback to gain possession of the goat. It is quite gruesome so I apologise to my vegetarian friends. If you saw Michael Palin or Bruce Parry you will have seen this game played. There was also some horseback wrestling, some ground wrestling and a horseback race involving a young woman and a young man - not sure what the rules were or what they were to achieve, but the woman won! It was a great way to spend an afternoon and unexpected.
The yurt camp was set in a beautiful valley just back from Lake Song-Kol. It is reputedly the coldest place in Kyrgyzstan and I could well believe it. Again the days were hot and sunny but the nights were really cold and on our second morning there was fresh snow on some of the hills quite near us. The camp is at 3200m. While we were there James and I went out walking, watched eagles soaring just above us and shepherds rounding up their flocks on horseback - brilliant. We came across a family from Bishkek on holiday for a few days in a yurt. They invited us to join them and we had a great hour or so. We were seated on rugs on the ground and immediately out came the vodka and a Kyrgyz delicacy, fermented mare's milk! The vodka I managed to get down in one (which is how you're supposed to do it apparently) although I prefer mine with a hint of lime and ice). The fermented mare's milk took a bit longer - it is a definite acquired taste. We were also offered some very fatty lamb which we politely took but managed to dispose of without them seeing. It was amazing how much we learned about them without speaking a word of their language. We even managed to exchange addresses! It was very special way to spend an hour.
We have travelled over three major passes, the highest being 3600m and again the scenery was breathtaking. A few of our fellow travellers who have been to New Zealand say it certainly rivals NZ scenery - although our Kiwi friends on board disagree! The highest pass opened up on to a vast grassy plain with yurts dotted all the way along. This is where shepherds bring their sheep up from the villages for summer grazing and they move about to fresh pastures, taking their yurts with them. It is a very hard yet simple way of life. It is completely untouched by tourism except for hikers, cyclists and mad people like us. The wild flowers have been wonderful, Edelweiss is the national flower and above 2000m it covers whole plains. Delphiniums, geraniums and hollyhocks and masses of herbs are all growing wild along the sides of roads. The people welcome us with open arms and so friendly and hospitable that it puts us to shame. While we were camping in the National Park we bought a lamb from a local friendly shepherd (look away now vegerarians!) who did the necessary and we put it on a makeshift barbeque spit made up from truck parts and we had a supper of delicious fresh lamb. Needless to say our alpha males fought over how to do it and be in charge of the barbeque. We also made a casserole for the following day with the bits we didn't put on the barbeque and we still had enough to feed us for days.
One thing Kyrgyzstan is not renowned for is road building. I will never again complain about the odd pot hole on Upton Way. The roads are dreadful and in some parts no more than tracks or worse (washed away or non-existent) Krisrtina has been put through her paces on some of the roads and hight passes and has had a few sticky moments having to drive through rivers were roads are washed away or across fields because the road has just disintegrated. Steve and Lucy would never put us in any danger and if they think the road or track is a bit tricky then we all get off and walk.
Truck life hasn't been so easy on this leg of the trip we have been pretty full with 20 passengers and some huge egos (both men and women). Fortunately it all goes over our heads, and most of time we all get on really well. It's all part of life's rich tapestry as James would say. When we start on the final leg of the trip from Bishkek to Kathmandu most of the big egos will have left apart from Mike (Kiwi) and Hank and Felicia (Texas) and we will be 14 which will be a more manageable number with a lot more room on the truck.
We were reflecting around the campfire the other night what we miss and don't miss from home.
Firstly I am hugely missing family and friends, a nice glass of chilled white wine, some decent coffee and my deep pocket sprung mattress and squashy pillows! Things we are not missing are - work (sorry ex-colleagues), MPs expenses and endless talk of dropping pensions.
It has been great to read your comments and e-mails, we really appreciate it as it keeps us in touch with some form of reality as most of time we don't even know what day of the week it is let alone the date.
We have no idea at all what to expect from China and Tibet but we are really looking forward to it.
I'll let you know what it's like as and when we can.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.145s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 7; qc: 46; dbt: 0.123s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
diana levett
non-member comment
Surpassing your expectations
Well done on your outstanding reports on the last two legs of the trip. It is probably good that the scenery has changed completely now from minarets to mountains to keep the variety going. We are glad that your health, energy and enthusiasm are keeping up. To judge from your vivid descriptions the whole experience is probably surpassing your expectations. You are also getting a taste for strong liquor! Yellowtail will never be the same after this. After our little bit of welcome heat here it has all gone pear-shaped with the Jet Stream getting stuck over us again as school holidays start. Really heavy rain showers, then hot sun, so you don't know what to wear or whether to be indoors or in the garden. I'm afraid MP expenses have been replaced by increase in Swine Flu and the serious situation on Afghanistan. Lots of love Di and John