Blogs from Kyrgyzstan, Asia - page 8

Kyrgyz's are very proud, they celebrate independence with speeches and perade of government staff! Costumes have vibrant colours, a happy day for all. Horse racing event followed, but in some remote field 25km away, hard to find. Headless goat wrestling and chase girl on horseback, very fast furious. Supper with Peter and Katharina, two diplomats away from Bishkek for weekend. Wise words like:- In spring the roadside Mellon's come from Afghanistan, which are sold by weight, so to increase profit the're injected with river water, but same rivers are infected with Typhoid!. The vodka sells in Bishkek at €2/ltr, they use if for screen wash in cars, I think Russian pilots do opposite and drink aircraft screen wash fluids. As diplomats they often involved with unlucky travelers, to resolve mess, like a Swiss couple who purchased ... read more

Drive up to Nayrn at 2000m was just another 150km south. But staying at high altitude does make doing anything just bit breathless. First night is a CBT (community based tourism project), where local families provide a room or flat, mine was single room in flat with 3 bedrooms, on bottom floor of apartment block, but with little secure parking. To cut story short, some 5 youths disturbed bike at 11pm so moved to secure hotel parking 1km away. CBT price at 700som or £7 is cheap. Next night in posh hotel £8, big double room & nice breakfast. Jolly to Tourgart border, at 180km bit further than I thought, hope for spectaclar views of big mountains, some 60km roadworks = bumpy roads, otherwise perfect highway. China border is lonely spot, dozen big lorries, did meet ... read more

Balychky is town at other end of Issyk kul, which s another bit salty lake, just 180km long, the lake has 7 or 8 feed rivers but no surface river runs out! I found a guest house by asking taxi driver, small holding right down by lake, cow & calf, turkeys and guineafoul all cluking about. Whole family live in approx 3 building, grand parrents , ma & pa, I think 6 daughters from 4 to 21. Their main business is small shop, from what can 1 in 10 houses is a small grocery. Day out to Bishkek, to visit Kordai border and get some bike insurance - no so simple, did loose original bike V5 & customs declaration - stupid, but ended up leaving Kyrgyz and re-entry after fiddle on with help Omar a fixer, ... read more

Sunday 24th, and we are leaving Kyzl-Oi and heading back thru the full length of the Suusamyr valley. This was a very scenic valley with no villages, but just hundreds of yurt clusters where the named farmers had moved for the summer. Each farmer/yurt cluster seemed to have it's own bunch of horses - sometimes a few dozen, sometimes hundreds all grazing on the dry barren grasslands. They frequently had little stalls on the roadside selling dry cheese balls, fresh kymys (mares milk) and along another stretch of the valley were selling honey obviously produced from the thousands of beehives we could see along the roadside. At the end of the Suusamyr valley we turned south and headed over the Ala Bel pass (3184m), and then down a long descent into the Chychkan Gorge, where we ... read more

So for a day off in Karakol at 1700m, I found bumpy road south towards China over a 3700m col. That Alps are fun, but Himalaya have it x2. So at check point at bottom, just show passport, say U'r tourist & go where U want. Started with broken tarmack to gravel tracks, in some cases barely pushed flat across a gravel slide. Reducing tyre pressures made things go much better, 31/32psi, but really big horse fly found me in the 3min I stopped. Up and back by 4pm, just another 220km on trip.... read more