Blogs from Kyrgyzstan, Asia - page 31

Ok, so I'm not actually in Issyk Kul, but it is the only place in Kyrgyzstan that the Travelblog lists, I felt like I should list it as where I am at least once. And I was there for 9 days and I would have added to the blog had I not been in the least frequented area of Issyk Kul, the very small town of Tamchy. It was probably chosen as the place for the American School camp because it is much cheaper than any other town on the lake. It's beautiful! It's somewhere over 6000 feet above sea level and surrounded by mountains. Unfortunately I didn't get out and about very much. I was teaching English at the camp for two hours every morning, and then spent time at the beach or watching a ... read more

Fjellene som strekker seg mot og i noen tilfeller over 7000 meter er juvelene i det ellers arme tadsjikiske riket. Trumfkortet er den nesten 900 km lange Pamir Highway over det oede Pamirplataaet som har gjort det mulig for oss aa tilbringe noen uker naer himmelen. Derfra gikk ferden til Kazakhstan - og saa fort som bort derfra igjen! Oppvarmingen Fra Uzbekistans storslaatte bygg og til sammenligning utbygde infrastruktur, gikk turen over grensen til lillebror Tadsjikistan. Vaart foerste moete med landet sa mye om hva som var i vente; grensebua var en rusten container og kleskoden til grensevaktene meget tilfeldig (les: jeans, sandaler, kamuflasjejakke og falsk D&G caps). Tadsjikistan mangler mye av det meste og er det minste og fattigste av de Sentralasiatiske landene. I tillegg har landet vart preget av borgerkrig inntil for 10 ... read more

Hello everyone! Happy belated Canada Day to all and happy early Fourth of July to sundry :) I did nothing for Canada Day, which is very sad, but I did tell everyone I know that it was Canada's national day and made their lives that much better for the information. So, I have been here a week and a half. The culture shock is finally finished with (no crazy emotional roller coasters at the moment), although I still miss home etc. But I am now able to generally find my way around the city and am enjoying the food and all the new experiences, so that's good. I'm going to do 2 posts today because I have lots of pictures, and because Ala Archa National Park really deserves its own post. So, to catch up. I ... read more

Hello there! Just to let everyone who was worried know that I arrived in Bishkek completely safely, with no trouble at all. The taxi driver who got me from Almaty was even kind enough to take me home to his wife for tea before driving me to Bishkek; I must have looked absolutely exhausted at 5 am! Anyways, will post pics soon (I do have a few), but Nazgul, the woman who is renting me a room, is waiting outside and I probably shouldn't keep her long. Bishkek is lovely and safe and everyone is very kind. I am, however, dealing with culture shock (quite difficult, actually) and am fairly emotional at the moment. I forgot how hard that is, esp in such a completely different environment. And I now completely understand the tradition of praying ... read more

Near the town of Cholpon Ata lies some ancient petroglyphs right next to the runway of former airport built during Soviet times and is apparently not operating. Not really that fascinating but since were there we stopped by to look. Then drove to a resort complex on the shores of Issyk Kol lake called Raduga in the small village of Sary-Oi, it is off season and the weather is crap, cloudy and rain in the forecast, it seems like we're the only people in the resort. We stayed the night here and was served plov and salads for dinner but can't ask for a second serving coz their food is quite limited which pissed off a number of people but we are far away from the town we cant really get out to eat out. ... read more