Lake Song-kol

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July 25 - I did not sleep great last night, but perhaps not so bad, considering it was back to the dorms. My earplugs aren't working well, but they do help a bit.

I woke up at 5am and got out of bed at 5:45am. I finished repacking and made some noodles for breakfast. I also started to upload a few pictures as well. Anna got up and left before me, so we said good bye again. She was heading back to Tajikistan and wasn't sure how far she'd get today, so she wanted an early start.

At 7am I headed out and found the marshrutka (bus) that went to the airport. It was easy and only took about fifteen minutes. At the airport, I had to go through security twice, but I could keep my water, which was handy. The flight was fine - less than an hour, and I even got a cup of water. In Bishkek, I chatted with an American/Aussie couple, and we got our luggage quick quickly. I went outside to see if I could find the minibus, but decided to go back in to ask at information first. I got some info about how to get to the bus station and then went to the marshrutka. I asked there if it went to the west bus station and he said yes. It took a while to get into town and it was hot in there. But when everyone got out, I asked him again and he said yes. So we went to the bus station next and he pointed me towards the marshrutkas going to Kochkor. It took about an hour for the bus to fill, and then we could leave, and then it was noon. Cheap though - only about $3 for three hours of driving. I felt a little bad about not even visiting the capital, but this part of the trip is more about nature than cities, so I was happy to go. I slept for half of the ride. About halfway there, someone needed something from the back, so we stopped and the car stopped. Something with the clutch, I think. So we started drifting downhill, backwards, so he could pop the clutch. It didn't work. So the men got out, help turn the car around, and stayed out while we drifted downhill, facing forwards, until he could get it started. So glad it worked again. We picked up the men and started off again.

Kochkor is nothing much - a tiny dusty town. I found the CBT office - they run a lot of the community based stuff - and asked for a homestay. I also asked about a horse trek to Lake Song Kol, which is why I came here. There were no groups already going, so they said to come back later. But they gave me a homestay and it's like a real western house. Own room, shower, wifi. Whaaat? I paid extra for dinner. I went out again to try another company, Jailoo, for the horse trek, but the woman was out. So I came home and updated the blog, because I could. At 6pm I headed back out to Jailoo, but she didn't have one going yet, though she had a 4 day hike instead. I said I would consider it. I tried CBT again and met a nice Romanian couple who live in France there. There was now a horse trek with a French couple, and the three of us may join them tomorrow. I had to get back for dinner, and the Romanians were going to camp in the yard at the same place where I'm staying, so we walked back together.

I ate a nice dinner and decided to do the horse trek. Hoping the Romanians decide to come too - they are nice and it will be cheaper. Stayed up far too late with internet access - skyped with Mom and Jeroen.

July 26 - Today I woke up early and finished repacking. I packed only a daypack for the next three days, and this pack is small, so there is not much. I did not pack my kindle, in case it rains, which is hard. I met the Romanians, Uana and Radu, for breakfast in the homestay at 7:30. Kind of a boring breakfast - just eggs and bread.

After breakfast I left a little early to stop at the shop and pick up some bread for lunch, since lunch is not included today. I got to the CBT office just before 8:30 and told him that the three of us would be joining the horse trek with the French couple that was already signed up. He wrote out our payments and I paid him with some of my US dollars. It came to $98 - not bad. The others arrived and paid and then we waited for the French couple and the driver that would take us about an hour away, to the start point with the horses. In the meantime I ran back to the homestay to get my water purification tablets, just in case.

We left around 9:15am and I met the French couple, Margaux and Eloi. Both finished med school and will be starting their six month rotations soon. I am beginning to feel really old, as I am now always the oldest person doing anything, rather than the youngest. Oh, the good old days. Anyway, everyone was really nice and it was a good group.

We arrived at the meeting point and were invited in for tea and bread while we waited for the horses to be ready. They was fresh cream for the bread and they were making it outside too. Very cool little contraption.

Eventually the horses were ready and it was time to go. I was a little nervous and somehow ended up on the horse with two day packs tied to it. I also wore mine, so that horse had some extra weight. None of the horses really looked like they were up for the ride, but it turned out that mine was least interested. Or I was the worst driver. I couldn't really ever get him to go on my own, so I ended up with the guide holding the rope to my horse to encourage him along. The whole way.

I learned an important rule about horses quite quickly. They fart. A lot. At least these two horses did. Sometimes it sounded like a fart and sometime it sounded like a warthog was behind me. Really funny. Along the way I also realized that sitting on a horse hurts after a while. Like riding a bike for the first time in a long time. And the knees - who knew it would hurt the knees? Radu named his horse Ramon, as he was interested in all the lady horses we passed, and I dubbed mine Ravioli. He didn't care about anything except eating.

We rode, and it became clear that the dog from where we got the horses was going to accompany us the whole way. I eventually named him Bear. He was adorable, but never got too close to us. He scouted ahead of us and waited for us and then scouted on again. Very cute. After a few hours we stopped for lunch beside a small river. I had my bread and some cheese from the French couple, as well as a couple dates. We relaxed a bit, and the horses had time to eat as well. We also fed Bear some bread. He gobbled it up like it was the best meal ever. Kind of sad. They were hobble by tying their two front feet together, or one foot to their harness. They would have to hop along with their front feet - weird to watch. When we started again, we had to cross a small river that the horses walked through. There was also a bridge, and I thought Bear would take it. No, he crossed at the river and almost got swept away. Twice. I was about to get off my horse to show him the bridge, but he made it. Scary.

After lunch we rode another couple of hours, until about 5pm, when we arrived at the yurt camp. They gave us bread and tea and we had some time to relax. They had the best bread at this place. Uana woke up not feeling well today but decided to come after having breakfast and feeling a little better, but by this time she was quite tired. She took a nap while we talked and then got up for dinner. We had dinner around 8pm and it was a potato dish. Tasty. And the people running the yurt stay were a 16 year old girl and her 24 year old brother. Their parents were in a village nearby, making jam. All the jams here are homemade, and they are always available with the bread. She made dinner and set up our beds, and the brother showed us how to milk the horses. They ferment the horse milk to make a national drink called kymys. They drink tons of it and it's for sale along all the roads. I tasted it but did not like it. The others liked it pretty well.

July 27 - Slept pretty well in the yurt last night and woke up a bit before breakfast. I'm sharing the yurt with Margaux and Eloi as the others are sleeping in their tent. I stayed quiet until they were up and then we all had breakfast. Yummy bread again, along with cooked veggies. Quite good. From there we said good bye to the girl and got back on the horses. And whoa, that hurt. The next few hours went by with a bit of pain. I also realized I had gotten sunburned the day before, even with the sunscreen. So much direct exposure at over 2000m was enough. Today it was cloudy, on and off. Sometimes I needed a fleece, sometimes I was sweating. The brother from the yurt came with us and helped herd the horses a bit so they would go faster. We had to climb a pass, and it was a lot of work and hard for the horses. They were breathing hard and sweating by the time we climbed the pass. From there, we could see Lake Song-kol, which was our destination. Here we took a break to give the horses, and our butts, a rest. There were several other groups here as well, and it seems every tourist in Kyrgyzstan is French. Amazing.

We started to ride again, and here we said good bye to the guy from last night's yurt, and his dog, who followed him for the ride. We still had Bear, though. We rode again until lunch at another yurt, and here we had manti, a type of dumpling. I ate way too much. After lunch we said good bye to our guide Bek and the horses and Bear. They were heading back and we would be walking along the lake for 2.5 hours to get to the yurt camp for the night. When we started to walk, it was starting to thunder. That made us walk faster. I could see rain all around us, but it never hit us. Amazing. But it made some beautiful skies. And some cooler weather. In less than two hours, we made it to the yurt. But there were many yurts and we had to find the right one. On the back of the ticket that Bek gave us, it said #8. The yurts were numbered, though not chronologically, but we eventually got to #8. We gave her the ticket and she said we had to go somewhere else - her daughter walked us back to #5. Then they said three of us would sleep there and two in another place. But we said no, two were in a tent but all five would stay for dinner and breakfast. Hard with minimal English. Eventually it worked out and we all stayed.

We had a couple hours of downtime before dinner, and Margaux slept the whole time. She had woken up in the night with a bad stomach, throwing up, due to the mare's milk, probably. She didn't feel well all day, but did really well to get to the camp. She woke up and ate a little for dinner. We had a noodle soup and a nice salad. But this place had fried dough instead of bread. Such a disappointment. Before dinner I took a walk down to the lake with Radu and Eloi and they went for a swim. It was a bit sunny again, but the clouds were dramatic. We ate dinner and then went for another walk. I saw a couple I had met at the airport in Bishkek and the light was really good for pictures. There was also a large flock of turkeys wandering around.

After the walk we were going to play cards, but a couple of Polish guys that they had met before came up and asked if they wanted beer, and then proceeded to look for some. They came back with coke and vodka instead. Margaux and I went to sleep, but the others went back to their yurt camp and hung out until a little after 1am. I got up then to go to the bathroom, and it was crazy windy and just starting to rain. I had to walk quite a distance to the outhouse, of course, and I saw a lot of clothes on the ground that had blown off the line. In the yurt I could also hear the plastic on the roof flapping around like mad. But with the earplugs it was fine.

July 28 - I slept quite well, despite the rain. I slept for at least ten hours, quite the accomplishment on this trip. I slept under two heavy blankets and my silk travel liner, and it was nice and warm. But it was quite cold inside the yurt when I got up. I wrote a little in my journal and the others got up and we had breakfast - some pancakes and the fried dough. It was also gray and a little rainy. We had asked the driver to pick us up here at noon, so we could enjoy the lake, but now I was just waiting for him to collect us, since it was windy and cold. In the meantime I made a list of things to do, since I had no book to occupy myself. He did come at 11:15, so that was nice. The driver back took at least two hours, and it was so weird. We drove through a small river, that was unexpected. And the music he played was from some crazy melancholy playlist, mostly from my teens and early 20s. It brought back a lot of memories and just felt strange. But eventually the songs got less depressing and we sang them out loud. At a picture/pee stop, Roxette came on and we sang it very dramatically. Then Hotel California and all was right with the world.

Back in Kochkor, we made plans with the French couple to have dinner at 7pm and went for some lunch on the way to the homestay. I had a plov, a rice dish that I had somehow missed out on for the last four weeks. And it was good. I got my same room back and did some research and tried to make some plans for the rest of the trip.

At 7pm, I met the others, plus two other French guys that they had met before, for dinner. The food wasn't as good, but it wasn't bad. I had a noodle dish with some meat and onions. We saw another French girl there that we had met at the rest point for the horses on the trail the day before and chatted with her. After dinner we stopped in a shop and they bought yogurt and I bought an ice cream. Very France vs USA, with France coming in for the health win. Came back to the homestay and continued to plan, despite having done it for hours before. It's like a job I have to pay to do. I booked a dorm - another dorm - for tomorrow night. Now just hoping that the weather is better for the rest of my time in Kyrgyzstan than the internet would have me believe.

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[D MJ Binkley]

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Your life is rich in experiences and travel. Cherish each moment.