Blogs from Osh, Kyrgyzstan, Asia - page 5

As planned, we left the urban life to discover the countryside of Kyrgyzstan. We took a mashrutka (minibus) from Bishkek to Karakol in the Issyk-Kul region. Issyk-Kul, at a height of 1800m, is the world's second-largest alpine lake (after Lake Titicaca) and moderates the climate around the lake in winter and summer. Karakol itself is a few kilometers behind the lake but it is Kyrgyzstan's fourth largest city and a hub for hikers and climbers. Although a city, it lacks of any urban infrastructure. Many roads are unpaved in the middle of the "city" and a lot of garbage is burnt every night leaving a dusty cloud over the city. Actually, exept Bishkek and Osh, the country is very rural and people live in quite poor conditions. Some families don't have a shower and toilets are ... read more

Before the Kyrgyz side we have about 2 hours wait to get out of Uzbekistan because we had a minor problem with the truck, i believe from what i heard, the truck's carnet did not have the stamp from when it re entered Uzbekistan from Tajikistan, so lot of waiting and finally they let us through, all the while we are bundled up in a small cubicle huddled as it was raining and cold, when we got to Kyrgyz border there was no power so we have to wait awhile again to get processed, eventually we made it in and met our Kyrgyz guide Tommie, we drove to Osh where we stayed at a homestay, 2 houses for all of us, there was still no power when we walked the street to get dinner, rainy ... read more