Blogs from Karakol, Kyrgyzstan, Asia - page 3

The 3 day trek we did from Karakol Valley to Ak Suu was quite demanding, lots of walking up and down passes and on dirt roads you walk on stony paths, but the scenery was stunning so as tired as we were we had a great time. Now time to head to Djety oguz, the last time I ws there was 3 years ago when I travelled with Dragoman, it was a different experience i wanted to see it again as I have fun memories. We asked Talaai from Teskey GH about places to free camp there and Russ went to TIC to ask about transport to the sanatorium where you start the hike. We have to buy food provisions again. Sore from the trek we decided to postpone the Djety Oguz hike until the next ... read more

We got up early ready to leave Kochkor, Russ was up before me, he had been sick, puking and going to the bathroom a lot, he suspects the meatpie from yesterday, but he had this same problem and I suspect giardiasis from drinking stream water in Tibet. Anyway we said goodbye to the wonderful family who hosted us, I will miss the cute kids whom I taught how to count and sing the ABC, we walked to town, which with my heavy pack is not pleasant, and in the town center near the bazaar we haggled for prices to Karakol but it is steep, they want 2,000 soms for both of us, we are not having that so we negotiated a shared taxi to Balykchy an hours drive away and costs us 150 soms each, we ... read more

We were wet through from two days of rain. On the morning that we were due to leave Djety-Oghuz it actually snowed on us. When we looked up we realised that the snowline was now on the pastures that we had visited yesterday. We were due to head for Song-Kul Lake. The lake was another 1000m higher so we didn't think that we would be able to get in and out due to the snow. We decided to head back to Karakol and the warmth of Hotel Amir. We were able to dry out the tents and sleeping gear and have some more time in the town before the next couple of nights of bushcamping on the way to Osh.... read more

We headed back into Bishkek to sort out Uzbek visas. My Letter of Invitation still had not arrived however my photo had gone missing. My spare photos were in the back of the truck so I couldn't get to them so I went shopping for more passport photos. I was very impressed - the little man wiped away all the wrinkles on my forehead and got rid of my sunburnt nose! We got back underway and headed to the biggest lake in Kyrgyzstan - Lake Isy-kul. It was a bit of a slow day of driving and we set up camp at the lake quite late. We found a really good spot. I camped under the stars on the sands of the lake .... aaah it so tough! I didn't realise it buyt Isy-kul is the ... read more

The previous night's queasy cocktail of menace & vodka turned uneasily in my stomach when I woke, but I felt myself very quickly invigorated by the thought of what lay ahead... Three days up in the Tian Shan, (Mandarin for 'Celestial Mountains'), a mountain range which LP claims "comprises perhaps the finest trekking territory in Central Asia". I'd decided to explore it for myself rather than hiring a guide; both for financial reasons and also because I knew it would be more of an adventure on my own. Which it certainly was - probably the highlight of the trip so far! =) Day One: Jeti-Oghuz to the mouth of the Teleti Pass I'm travelling fairly light this time - a 42L Osprey Stratos about two-thirds full - so I decided to just take everything with me, ... read more