Blogs from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Asia - page 8

After 2 months of predeployment in Fort Bragg, everyone was anxious to get to our destination. We left Fort Bragg and stopped in Leipzig, Germany to refuel. From there we flew to Manas Air Force Base in Kyrgyzstan on what was my birthday, in southwest Asia just north of Afghanistan. So both our stops were in what use to be communist East Germany and the former Soviet Union. Go figure. The scenery there was gorgeous, but it wasn't long after we left that the Kyrgyz Parliament voted to close the base after the they and the U.S. failed to agree on a higher rent for the property. We arrived in Kabul, Afghanistan on December 10, and from there our unit started getting split apart. I ended up going to Camp Lightning by Gardez for 2 weeks, ... read more

After months of planning,fretting; tackling rental agreements; visas, train times; tickets and packing the house up, we're finally off! Having said our fond farewells to the family and been waved off at St. Pancras by Pens brother Geoff, we spent the next 48 hours rolling slowly across western europe. The greatest novelty on this leg, apart from the toilet and the samovar, was when our train sidled into a siding for a change of wheel gauge at the Polish/Belarus border. It was literally jacked up whilst we were on it, the wheels slipped from under us and replaced - a fittning reminder of the transition from the West to the former Soviet Bloc. We pulled into Moscow at about 11am on saturday, August 23rd, and our first task was to find the station that our train ... read more

We left Narryn after breakfast and headed for Kochkor . Great Scenery all along the way. Kochkor is one of the three major centres (Kochkor, Bishkek and Osh). We tried to change money here as we were too late for the banks when we got to Naryn. Alas, the bank teller was on their lunch break for a couple of hours and then they ran out of money after the Polish couple first yelled at them in Russian (not so helpful) and then cleared them out of currency by changing $500! (I think we were paying the price of the yelling). We managed to borrow some money from Claire and went for a magnificnet Laghman (a noodle dish) Yummm.. Had a felt making demonstration in the afternoon. It was a kind of collective where they taught ... read more

Een korte rit in een Mercedes-busje brengt ons vanuit Almaty de grens over naar Kirgiziл. Verstrengeld tussen de Centraal Aziatische Stans, komt dit land er torenhoog bovenuit! Bergtoppen hoger dan 7000 meter, diepe ingesneden groene valleien, gletsjers en ijsblauwe Alpine meren bedekken 90 percent van ’s lands oppervlakte. De barkoude winter houdt het vee op stal in laag gelegen dorpen. In de zomermaanden trekken de nomaden uit hun huis naar de hoger gelegen weilanden (jailoos) en verblijven er in joerts. Kirgiziл is een prachtige bestemming en bovendien een perfecte afwisseling na de Russische stadszichten. Na een paar dagen Bishkek trekken we richting Cholpon-Ata, een badstadje aan Issyk-Kul, het grootste meer van Kirgiziл. De combinatie van extreme diepte, thermale activiteit en hoog zoutgehalte zorgt ervoor dat dit meer nooit bevriest. Tijdens de zomermaanden kri... read more

KYRGYZSTAN Herewith, blog from Kyrgyzstan and its just the three weeks late. We’re currently enjoying the Monsoon in India! Thanks to those who have sent messages … but please everyone we really enjoy your comments so don’t be shy! Kyrgyzstan is an amazing country; 90% of it is above 1,500m and the Tien Shan mountains, which run into China, form a beautiful backdrop to Bishkek the capital city. Arriving at Bishkek Airport Tashkent Airport had been voted the 2nd worst airport in the world and it did not disappoint. Manas Airport in Bishkek has the accolade of being the voted the worst so it was with trepidation that we boarded the flight from Uzbekistan facing the prospect of yet another scrum at passport control. So there we were with no visa, no guide book, nowhere ... read more