To be honest, Sal was disappointed on the day we walked up the main valley. After about one and a half hours, the valley fanned out to gorgeous grasslands, with mountains on all sides, and yurt camps spread out as far as the eye could see. This is where we should have come for our yurt stay, not the Karakol Valley!! By this point Richard was very grumpy indeed about yurts in general, and it has to be said, from our experience, the yurts we saw were at best damp, dark and unwelcoming, and at worst mouldy and stinky. Oh well, we still enjoyed the walk immensely, apart from the many vehicles on the road.
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Yurts in the valley, Jeti-Oghuz, Kyrgyzstan |
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View from nomad camp, Jeti-Oghuz, Kyrgyzstan |
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Herding up the horses, Jeti-Oghuz, Kyrgyzstan |
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What a view! Jeti-Oghuz, Kyrgyzstan |
*A note about yurts- although most Kyrgyz people are now settled, the system of moving their livestock up to the jailoos (high pastures), and using yurts as their summer accommodation during the mild weather still continues. In winter, the semi-nomadic shepherds move themselves and their livestock back down to the villages, just as they have done for hundreds of years. Yurts are such a huge part of life here- the top frame is featured on many signs, and even their national flag.
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Friendly driver with yurt symbol on truck window |
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Yurts with mare's, Karakol Valley |
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Damp yurt for the night, Bokonbaev |
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Yurt symbol on gates |
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Yurt on the beach |
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Yurt top |
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Even see the yurt symbol on number plates! |
After our experiences around Karakol, especially with Jergalan and the Karakol Valley, we came to the conclusion, that we couldn't believe a word any of the locals told us with respect to places we wanted to visit. Perhaps they were just trying to be helpful, or maybe it's because the tourist industry is comparatively new, but people often had no idea what we were talking about, but tried to be kind and often advised us wrongly. We learnt to ask questions of other travelers who had been the way we wanted to go, but even then not many people were doing what we wanted to do (i.e. short day walks in different locations). So, mostly we winged it and found out as we went.
A couple of days on the beach before returning to Bishkek was on the cards, and we thought the northern side of Issky-Kol would make a change of scene. Unfortunately, another dangerous marshrutka ride was involved in order to reach our destination, and Sal thought she would be sick from the driver's erratic driving due to being on his phone for the entire journey. Rich tells her the scenery was even more quaint than the south side, especially with the leaves of the trees changing colour for autumn and the haystacks lined up in the fields.
Cholpon-Ata probably sees the most tourists of all Kyrgyzstan in the summer months- almost all are Russian or Kazakh. When we visited (mid-September) the place was virtually deserted, and lacking any character or warmth. We traipsed around the surprisingly pleasant beaches (apart from the usual piles of rubbish hidden in bushes and around corners), but our hearts weren't really in it. Our last day, we sat on the beach with a cold wind blowing in our faces, and attempted to eat a revolting undercooked chicken, and we knew it was time to leave.
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Lovely old chair, back street, Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan |
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View of/from main beach, Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan |
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Kyrgyzstan surrounded by the rest of central Asia |
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Our surprisingly limited trip through Kyrgyzstan (in terms of distance!) |
We found things in general a bit run down and grubby in Kyrgyzstan. Of course, it is an undeveloped country without much industry, but there seems to be an air of neglect about the place. People only do what needs doing and there doesn't seem to be much pride in their surroundings. Almost all the natural spots we visited were full of rubbish, a very sad sight to see, considering the small population and how much rubbish there was. We found all of this very contrasting to Uzbekistan and most of Kazakhstan, where everything was so spic and span. Also, we and many travelers we met had mild stomach problems the entire time we were in Kyrgyzstan, something we hadn't experienced anywhere else on this trip.
We also found that, while Kyrgyzstan obviously has a lot going for it in the scenic beauty department, for us, the sights were a bit thin on the ground. We missed the history and cultural stimulation that we had experienced earlier in the trip, especially in Uzbekistan, and found that aspect somewhat lacking. Of course, we stayed quite a long time in Kyrgyzstan, and probably were becoming a little burned out, but all that nature got a bit much!! Maybe the grass is just always greener on the other side- in Kazakhstan we were gagging to leave and move to the mountains and cool, fresh air, and then when we got to Kyrgyzstan we missed the history and culture!!
Kyrgyzstan is alive with tourists, more than we were expecting, and many more than we saw in the other Central Asian countries we visited (although that may have been to do with the time of year), and although local people were friendly and costs weren't too high, we had feeling during our time there of an undercurrent of a less than genuine experience. The best time by far we had was at the homestay we stayed at, due to the lack of "sights" and our close contact with an average family and their habits. But travelers are pouring into the region, particularly around Karakol, and it seems it's becoming a new "in" place to be.
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Jeti-Oghuz Sanatorium, Kyrgyzstan |
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*Here is a more detailed summary of costs for Kyrgyzstan for those who are interested (AUS$1= 53 som):
Accommodation
Accommodation in Kyrgyzstan was a decent standard on the whole- the basic guesthouses, homestays and hostels where we stayed being clean and comfortable. An oddity was often having to make our own beds- the staff would leave the clean sheets on top of the bed freshly laundered, and we made up the beds ourselves! A bit strange, but perfectly acceptable to us! Again, we felt the accommodation prices were high, considering the cost of living/average wages in Kyrgyzstan. Examples of these: 4,800 som (AU$87) per month for a government worker, 200 som (AU$3.60) per long day for a waitress, a teacher giving private lessons 100 som (AUS$1.80) an hour, a disability pension 3000 som (AUS$55) per month.
Bishkek, Hotel Viva, 1400 som/AU$25 with breakfast
Kara Koo, Asel B and B, 400 som/AU$7.30 with breakfast
Bokonbaev, Gulmeira Guesthouse, 1200 som/AU$22 with breakfast
Tosor, Tosor B and B, 1500 som/AU$27 with breakfast
Karakol, KbHostel dorm
400 som/AU$7.30 per person, double room 1100 som/AU$20, no breakfast
Karakol Valley village,
A frame hut, 1250 som/AU$22.70 no breakfast
Jeti-Oghuz, Emir
Guesthouse 1233 som/AU$22.50 no breakfast
Jeti-Oghuz sanatorium,
1480 som/AU$27 no breakfast
Cholpon-Ata, Guesthouse
on Akmatbay-Ata, 680 som/AU$12.40, no breakfast
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Great room in Karakol |
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Homestay in Kara-Koo room |
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Our tiny A-frame in the Karakol valley |
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Room at Jeti-Oghuz |
Transport
We sorely missed the trains in Kyrgyzstan!! Most travel was done by either marshrutkas (minibuses) or share taxis. Both were equally uncomfortable, due to death defying drivers and us fearing for our lives. Typical smells on marshrutkas in Kyrgyzstan were usually overwhelmingly fermented cheese, followed by garlic, salami, sweat and vodka. We were lucky enough to take one train- the summer only slow-mover from Bishkek to Issyk-Kol, but it had finished it's run by the time we returned from the lake. Transport was not expensive, but we became annoyed with the greedy attitude to tourists, and the drivers' constant need to try to overcharge us for trips. This never happened in Uzbekistan, or Kazakhstan (to our knowledge!).
Shymkent - Bishkek big
bus, 2500 tenge, 8.5 hours
Bishkek east bus
station – Issyk Ata, marshrutka, 70 som, 90 mins
Bishkek west bus station –
east bus station, marshrutka, 11 som, 15 mins
Osh Bazaar, Bishkek - Bishkek
train station, 150 som, 10 mins
Bishkek train station
- Balykchy, train, 70 som, 5 hours
Balykchy - Kara Koo,
share taxi, 150 som, 35 mins
Kara Koo - Bokonbaev, share taxi, 70 som, 30-40 mins
Bokonbaev - Tosor, marshrutka, 100 som, 30 mins
Tosor - Karakol, marshrutka, 100 som, 1.5 hours
Karakol - Ak Suu
sanatorium, marshrutka, 30 som, 30 mins
Karakol - Jeti-Oghuz,
share taxi, 150 som, 45 mins
Karakol - Karakol
Valley, marshrutka, 10 som, 30 mins
Taxi anywhere around
Karakol, 70 som
Jeti-Oghuz - Karakol,
marshrutka, 100 som, 45 mins
Karakol - Pristan, marshrutka, 15 som, 30 mins
Karakol - Cholpon-Ata,
marshrutka, 150 som, 2.5 hours
Cholpon-Ata - Bishkek,
marshrutka, 300 som, 3.5 hours
Bishkek to Almaty,
marshrutka, 400 som, 4.5 hours
(Petrol was roughly 38 som/AUS$0.62 a litre)
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Marshrutkas lined up ready to go, Karakol |
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Marshrutka interior |
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NOT our transport, but very cute! |
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Blocking the view of the road! Kyrgyzstan marshrutka |
Food
Sadly, our un-love affair with central Asian food continued in Kyrgyzstan! The usual suspects of beshbarmak (greasy noodles, usually with horse meat), plov (greasy rice and meat dish), mantys (dumplings), shashlik (greasy meat and lumps of fat on skewers) and laghman (greasy and tasteless soup) were on offer, as well as such local variations as ashlyanfu (cold gelatinous noodle soup) and gyanfan (lean meat and vegetables with rice). It was the same few unappetising dishes that we saw everywhere in Central Asia. The food taste and quality at restaurants and cafes was awful, and so we used the fantastic bazaars for buying produce and bread. The exceptions to this were in Kara Koo, where our homestay provided delicious meals, and in the hostel in Karakol, where we had the luxury of a kitchen and could cook ourselves basic meals with fresh ingredients. All restaurants had at least 10% tax added, which really got up our noses.
bread 20-30 som
1 kilo strawberries 50-120 som
big bag grapes 45-70 som
1 kilo plums 50 som
1 kilo pears 50 som
3 large tomatoes 15 som
1 kilo nectarines 80 som
small bucket raspberries 150 som
small bucket blackberries 130 som
bunch spring onion 15 som
100 g almonds 70 som
chunk cheese 73-80 som
smetana 60-90 som
whippy ice cream 20 som
snickers bar 55 som
meal restaurant with drinks 500-800 som
meal fast food 140-200 som
guesthouse breaky 150-200 som
1 litre beer 50-60 som
1 litre milk 84 som
1 litre juice 53-95 som
1 litre water 20 som
fermented drink/ice tea at street stand 10 som
.......next, Last Stop Central Asia, Almaty......