Advertisement
Published: November 9th 2009
Edit Blog Post
Freedom Statue
In front of the museum Day 28, July 23, 2009, Beishembi It's election day in Kyrgyzstan. There is little question about the outcome. The current office holder has a lock on re-election. But the news today and tonight give the appearance of a contest. There have been a large number of man-on-the-street interviews and video of people going to the polls to cast a ballot.
I woke up quite late for me this morning it was 9:30 when Timka came to the room and called me to breakfast. I managed to struggle through the well fried egg and a little more, but only one cup of coffee. Yesterday's adventure went pretty well. Gulnara gave me a ride to Ala-Too Square, where I took some daytime photographs of the new flowers. The fountains were not working. I got new photographs of the Freedom statue, the Museum exterior, but did not get to go into the museum because it was closed for lunch until 2 pm. I was there at 1 pm. So I went to the park, found a shady bench spot to sit on and began a little people watching. Suddenly there was a young girl, I think about 10 or twelve telling me
Displaced by Ice Cream
Vendors come with heavy equipment. Art students are doing scketches. I would need to move because the ice cream vendor was going to set up a refrigerator and a freezer at that spot. So, I moved on looking for another shady spot but found none. The park is full of limestone sculptures that are really very interesting. I also walked a good ways to find I was hungry and stopped at the Red & White Restaurant which looked like a giant Coca-Cola ad and which had a very busy walk-up window. I went inside and ordered the hambuger, which is really a gyro sandwich served on a bun with a cabbage slaw and a small coke.
I then walked down the way to another restaurant called FatBoys where I had a cup of very good Columbian coffee. I looked at the available books in English but found nothing to read. So I am going to see if Emil can bring me something from Ms. Harper. I will call her later tonight. I found my way to the commercial center of Bishkek, about two blocks down the street. There I found an Apoteka that had my Enalapril and bought 20 tabs for $2.59. Then I realized that the Lion shoe
Fluffed-up flower beds.
As a part of the preparation for election day. store was just down the street. So, I went in and for about $35 bought a pair of sandals that were on sale, markd down from $55. They are quite nice and were made in Turkey. But I have not yet worn them, yet.
I headed back to the museum intending to see what was on display and to checkout the souvenir shops in the lobby, only to find that my breathing had become restricted, my head was pounding, and I was light headed and a little dizzy. I had figured out where the Lenin statue was and wanted at least to get those photographs. So I sat a few minutes in the outdoor art gallery. I saw a couple of nice small miniatures that I would like to buy, but without an interpreter I did not want to try negotiating a price. I felt a little better and managed to get about two blocks before my light headedness stopped me again. Then I realized that the American University of Central Asia (AUCA) was across the street. More photos. I walked half a block to take photos of the colossal sized Lenin statue. It was even bigger than in
my memory from last summer. I managed to walk to Cuy Prospect where the square is and to flag down a cab. I had him take me to Vefa Center where I hit the Kazcommerce ATM for a cash infusion and did some quick chocolate and tea purchases before heading back out to find a taxi to take me home. I was really beginning to feel bad. My head hurt and so did my feet. My sinuses had started hurting and I was not in good shape. Once home I went to sleep on the couch in my room. They woke me up to see if I wanted to eat, but I just had some iced tea. Then took a vicodin and a zolpidem so I could sleep. It worked. But today I have been a bit of a slug again. I read some Nursi, worked on identification of photos in the iPhoto files, watched election returns, and slept. I am writing this diary entry at 10 pm and believe I will be asleep in less than an hour.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.091s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 7; qc: 25; dbt: 0.0426s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb