Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic
Long time no post. Travelling seems to do that to me, I don’t feel like writing much unless I am settled somewhere. A bit of a catch 22 as more interesting things happen when one is on the road.
We have been in Bishkek for almost a fortnight now, staying at a ramshackle place called Sabyrbeks. Sabyrbek is the name of the owner - bek being the Russian suffix for mister. His father was a famous Kyrgyz author who was gifted a house by the state. It is quite popular with backpackers so everyday there are new people to meet and share stories with. The greater majority of people passing through this way are European, with the odd Japanese thrown in for good measure. Nary a kiwi in sight though!
Most people probably haven’t heard of Bishkek, the capital of the Kyrgyz Republic, once part of the Soviet Union. Kyrgyzstan shares borders with Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Khazakstan and China; with the borders to the other stans being a quagmire of officialdom and buearecratic nonsense (they split peoples quite literally into foreign enclaves) making travel through this part of the world a nightmare of visas and paperwork. Cool people though.
We have been enjoying such simple pleasures as trees and rain, cheese and decent bread. The city itself is well developed, but in a sort of time freeze, with new European cars everywhere, potholed roads, no street lights, and well dressed people. We went to the Opera on Saturday night - Aicheruk - the story of the Kyrgyz national epic poem Manas - for a grand total of $2.50. The costumes were gorgeous… Members of the orchestra were in the bar between acts having vodka shots.
We have also been whitewater rafting on the Chu River yesterday. Great to be out on the water again, getting wet and doing something approaching exercise. In Kyrgyzstan there is only one company running rafting tours - The Silk Road Water Center. It wasn’t that cheap, but well worth it.
We have one more day here in Bishkek tomorrow, and then at 3:20am we are flying to Istanbul, from thence the beach awaits! Plan to visit Gallipoli, and there is a dance party in Macedonia later in the month which sounds interesting. Knowing our travel plans though, anything is possible.
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