Blogs from Yssyk Kol, Kyrgyzstan, Asia - page 3

Today we had the pleasure of watching a falcon hunting demonstration and a game of Kok-boru or Ulak Tartysh (goat polo) which is a national sport of Kyrgyzstan. The falcon hunting was interesting, but it was more or less feeding a bunny to a falcon rather than actual hunting. Tough for the bunny, but I guess it's really no different than feeding animals in a zoo. The goat polo was really a sight to be seen. Basically, they kill a goat, remove the head and hooves, then use the goat's carcass for the game. The teams battle for posession of the goat carcass like rugby on horseback. The object of the game is to toss the goat onto the opposing team's goal (a ring of tires). It sounds brutal, and it is. But, the goat is ... read more

Day 12, July 6, 2009, Monday, Duishombu: We are back in Bishkek. I awoke this morning the first time at 5 am, but knew that trying to stay awake would be impossible, so I went back to the bed and slept again until about 8:30 am. Bishkek is warm and sultry this morning, but there is something nice about being back to the familiar. A good shower, consistent hot water, food on demand, and even when you don't want it. Coffee for me and permission to make it myself. We did finally made it to beach sometime after noon yesterday. I swam in the cold water, we ate watermelon (arpus) on the beach, played with the youngsters, Alea, Adelia, and Eldar. Timka and I rented one of the ponton pedal boats and he pedaled us out ... read more

Day 11, July 5, 2009, Sunday, Jekshembi: Well, yesterday's poor weather resulted in some new information and a fun day after all. I am always reminded of the quotation in Pooh's Birthday Book for July 2nd birthdays which is “Suddenly, Piglet realized that it was a much better day than he had thought it was.” My friend Joe Weaver had one and he maintained it religiously, always sending some homemade art project to you for your birthday. At any rate it was that kind of day. The weather was cold and windy and the beach was out of the question. So, we loaded up in two cars with Gulnara and her friends and headed for Cholpon-Ata. There we went to a park that I had seen from the lake the day before. Several small structures appeared ... read more

Day 9, July 3, 2009, Friday, Juma: Yesterday's excursion was less than fully successful. And the problem was the 15 year old being a teenager all morning. First he did not want to go to town, even though I tried to explain that there were things I wanted to do there. I needed to use the internet and I know that after 8 days of not having access that I would have an hour's worth of work on the net, along with some emails that would require a response or at the very least would need to be read. But Timka was no help in finding the internet cafe. He finally got moving around 11 and we flagged down a cab and were overcharged again for the trip of about 2 kilometers into Cholpan-Ata. It should ... read more

Day 7, July 1, 2009, Wednesday, Sharshembi: Today is the last day that I can tell people I am Altimish-Alti, since tomorrow is my birthday and I will have to begin saying that I am Altimish-Jeti. Sixty-seven, and I am celebrating my birthday for a second time in Kyrgyzstan and this time I am at the 2nd largest alpine lake in the world, and probably the 4th or 5th highest in altitude. I think we are at about 5-thousand feet or so. What an experience for me. Timka and I made it to the beach yesterday around 11 am after a quick breakfast of blini and cream after he got up around 10 am. All of Emil's family begins the day around 9 to 10 am during the summer and it is consistent down to the ... read more