Kyrgyzstan Arrival June 24, 2009

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Day 1, June 24, 2009, Wednesday, Sharshembi:

Arrived at 1:00 am at the airport in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Needed a transit visa to be able to travel by car to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The transit visa was available after completing a two page form and handing over $15 to the unsmiling young woman at the counter. All attempts at charm and ineptitude were of no avail. The father of my friend Emil Ismailov, Borat, and two friends of Emil's came to meet me at the airport. From the airport we drove into Almaty and stopped for a visit with Emil's brother Anatoly and his wife's family. Tolic and his wife have a new daughter who is 40 days old and a truly beautiful baby. After a short visit and hospitality that included a small meal, we were on our way through the early morning darkness.

The surprising thing about Almaty was that even at 2:30 a.m., the streets in the Kazakh capital were very active. Traffic was hustling about. Cafes and petrol stations were open. I saw one mechanic working on an automobile in a shop. I was also surprised by the rather nice condition of the highways in the area. One of the results, no doubt of oil and gas money. Borat noticed the smell of sulfur in the air and said something about oil. I told him that in Houston, we call that “the smell of money.”
And it appears that Kazakhstan is putting it to good use for its transportation infrastructure.
We found the way to Bishkek after one wrong turn and were on a highway that crossed the foothills and the steppes between the Kazakhstan capital and the Kyrgyzstan capital. As the day began to break we could see the mountains in Bishkek which are part of the Ala-Too range, always marked by the white of snow, even in the depth of summer.

We arrived in Bishkek, dropped off Sapar and Faruh at their apartment buildings, and then picked up my translator and helper for this trip, Timurlan, Timka for short. He is 15 years old, has excellent English skills and is a serious fellow who is learning more English from me, while teaching me the ins and outs of Kyrgyz, the official language here. Many speak some English, but Russian and Kyrgyz predominate.

Bishkek is ringed with beautiful mountains that are as high as seven-thousand feet. During the summer the city is warm, the average temperature during the day is around 86 degrees, but because of a humidity average of about 50 to 60 per cent, it can feel quite hot in the mid-afternoon. Everyone seems to take a break around the house for a little nap after lunch to avoid the heat.

Houses are not air-conditioned, as a rule, but there is often a breeze that helps to keep you a little cooler. Arrival at the home of my friend, was another occasion to present us with food and drink. Chai, tea, is always presented to guests and visitors. Here they know I am a coffee drinker and I was offered coffee. It is instant coffee but very good quality and I do not notice the difference.

After the greetings, we all headed to a bed for more sleep. The result was that I had a serious case of jet lag after the 23 hours of traveling across a number of time zones, and crossing many lands. So much so, that I would get up for about an hour, try to read, or get fully awake and find myself needing to go back to bed all day the first day.

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Photos

Ala-Too Mountains
The early morning view of the mountains around Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Central Asia
Central Asia

Checkpoint Borat
The author crossing the border between Almaty and Bishkek on foot.