Kyrgyzstan is not dissimilar in many ways to Kazakhstan, but it is clear to see which country has the oil revenues. In turn, Bishkek, its capital was quite similar in many ways to Almaty, with its wide, tree-lined streets, but it has not been quite as successful at disposing of much of the old Soviet architecture. But that in many ways made it a slightly more relaxing stop, and certainly it would appear that Kyrgyzstan will be by far the easiest of the Stans for western tourists in terms of entry requirements. The drive from Almaty to Bishkek took around 4 hours and took us through a range of landscapes, from rugged barren mountainscapes to quite productive farmland, with cotton the predominant crop. All the cotton is picked by hand, as apparently hand-picked cotton generates double
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