GHOST TRAIN TO KYRGYZSTAN - Shymkent and Taraz, Kazakhstan

.....previously, meanderings around Samarkand and Tashkent in Uzbekistan.......

Tekturmas mausoleum, Taraz

For something different we had a rather unexpectedly posh seat on the train from Tashkent in Uzbekistan to Shymkent over the border into Kazakhstan. Our position near a rowdy family with three little kids was a bit unfortunate, but it was still comfortable, and we were glad for the AC when the train stopped for two lengthy periods on either side of the border. The immigration and customs was carried out onboard, without any trouble- the officials typically friendly and inquisitive. 

The longest train we've ever seen, Tashkent - Shymkent train

Chaotic, but comfortable, Tashkent to Shymkent train

It was with slight trepidation that we checked into the hostel we had chosen in Shymkent. The reviews were generally good, but someone had written that they had been threatened with a knife in the male dorm and nearly killed! But for the price, we decided it was worth a go. As it turned out it was a cheap and basic room in a quiet and central setting, mostly full of single Kazak men in the dorms. They were all perfectly nice and polite- one man even said via Google translate that we were a beautiful couple! And no sign of knife violence!

We weren't particularly taken with Shymkent, a rather shabby town with a lot of rubbish, and mad drivers. Prices were slightly higher here than in Uzbekistan for basic items, but the worst part for us was the lack of much historical interest. Shymkent was once on the ancient Silk Route, but practically all evidence of that has been erased by now. Apparently, the attractions lay outside the city in some national parks, but we were keen to move on to Kyrgyzstan and didn't allocate any time to exploring further. 

Roses galore in a lush park, Shymkent, Kazakhstan

Funny old Soviet drinking mural, Skymkent

We spent a couple of days exploring the many parks in town, in particular the walk along the Koshkar Ata canal, beginning at a spring which held spiritual meaning for the locals. Many people were there collecting water to drink, having an early morning stroll or exercising on equipment (mostly men disconcertedly in their underpants). We followed the shady peaceful path as long as we could, Richard fascinated by the trout in the canal, which were apparently protected and multiplying in large numbers. We eventually arrived at Independence Park, a huge, shadeless square, where an enormous rocket-like memorial to Kazakhstan's 20th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union sat on a hill. Apparently it was composed of 137 different metals to represent the 137 different ethnic groups in the country. The park was well looked after, and will be lovely in a few years when the trees grow and provide some shade. 

Trout in stream, Koshkar Ata, Shymkent

Koshkar Ata canal, Shymkent

Shady walk on a hot day, Koshkar Ata, Symkent

Rocket-like Independence statue, Shymkent, Kazakhstan

A funny, but embarrassing incident occurred in a Shymkent restaurant, when we were seated and waiting for our food. A local guy built like a wrestler entered, made a bee-line for us, and insisted on buying us some plov, so we could try the Kazakh version of the classic dish. As he spoke to our waiter, we presumed our first order would be cancelled. But soon, dish after dish started arriving at the table, and as our benefactor stood there beaming, and we had to do our best to try to finish everything. It was an extremely generous gesture from this man, if somewhat badly timed. 

Finished the plov, onto the meat!

Mastava soup, and of course, plov

The platform at Shymkent train station was crowded with people when we arrived to wait for our morning train to Taraz. One helpful man of Russian heritage approached us to see if we needed assistance- he may have thought we were Russian. It was handy to have him translate for us every time their was an announcement about how late the train would be. When the it arrived, there was a bit of a scrum to embark (our Indian strategies coming back to us in our time of need!). Once on board, of course, everyone had a seat, and we were sharing with a family with two sweet little girls, who were travelling all the way to Astana. We watched as they prepared for their long journey, made up the beds for them all, set out their drinks and food on the little table, changed into comfortable slip on shoes, and unpacked playing cards and their jackets in anticipation of the cold evening. As we were only going a few hours up the line, we contended ourselves to look out the window at the surprisingly green outlook. We were expecting desert in this area, but there was much agriculture, farms and orchards. Looking out towards the Kyrgyzstan border, the view was all majestic mountains in their snowy glory. Kazakh style graveyards (the most picturesque) seemed to fill every hill with their castle-like tombs, and horses, cows and big bummed sheep dotted the country side. It was a beautiful trip.

Far away graveyard, Taraz

Looking like a picture frame, Shymkent to Taraz train

Sleeper train Shymkent to Taraz 

Our arrival at Taraz was complicated. The host at the fancy apartment we had booked assumed we had mobile phone access and would call her when our train got in- we were left waiting at her building's entrance without a clue how to enter or check in. The caretaker took pity on us, let us into her office to wait and called our host. All ended well, and we were surprised at the standard of the apartment compared to the cheap price. We had become used to such extravagant (for us) apartments in the Balkans and Romania, but in Central Asia the accommodation on offer was generally hostels, guesthouses or simple rooms in people's homes. 

Old fashioned hallway, Taraz apartment

Glimpse into our swish kitchen, Taraz apartment

Our home for a short time, Taraz, Kazakhstan

Most of our couple of days in Taraz was taken up with (a) looking at options for leaving the town, or (b) looking around at various tombs. For some reason, the train to Bishkek we wanted to take was about ten times more expensive than other comparative trips we had taken, and our lack of Russian speaking skills didn't help in trying to find out why. We decided to check out bus options with a long, crowded trip to the bus station on the other side of town, only to find language again making it difficult for us to suss out what the circumstances were. As the bus situation seemed very complicated, with multiple changes at the border, and irregular times, we bit the bullet and went for the pricey train. A side note has to be made about the extremely helpful ticket seller at Taraz train station. Without a word of English, she made a huge effort to help us find the information we needed and get our tickets for us. Most people working in this job in Central Asia only do what is strictly necessary, without going out of their way to help. 

Beautiful scene at Taraz

With that sorted, we visited two revered mausoleums, the monuments to Karakhan and Dauitbek, two governors of Taraz from the 11th and 13th centuries. These were contained in a park with some ruins of an ancient caravanserai, with a 200 tenge/£0.35 entrance fee. When Rich saw there was a pensioner discount, he showed his passport and we both got in for 100 tenge/ £0.17. How embarrassing! Anyway, inside, as typically with these religious buildings, there was a holy man on hand to sing a lovely prayer, which we listened to without understanding, but with appreciation. 

Sal at caravserai ruins, Taraz

A new and huge complex on a hill overlooking the Talas River was a bit of a strange place. It was reconstructed in 2002, after apparently being destroyed in the 1930s, and is dedicated to the burial place of a saint, or was he the commander of an army- no one is completely sure who he was. Anyway, we enjoyed the views over the town very much, and while we were in a peaceful, shady part of the complex, we were completely mobbed by a group of gorgeous school kids. Kazakh kids have got to be the cutest! We had a photoshoot for about half an hour, until a group of Japanese tourists showed up, and stole our thunder.

Massive monument to Tekturmas, Taraz

The beginning of the photoshoot, Taraz

Excited kids at Tekturmas mausoleum, Taraz

Cute Kazakh girl, Taraz

On our final night in Taraz we entered one of the many beer shops we had seen around Shymkent and Taraz. We assumed they were just the usual grog shops, and as we had already gotten our wine at the supermarket, we didn't need to explore that option further. What we discovered in Taraz, however, was a tiny shop with five or six different fresh local draught beers on tap. The price was unreal at 550 tenge/less than £1 for one litre, and tasted so good it even gave the Balkan beers a run for their money. We wished we had have unearthed this marvel sooner in the week!

Ready for another scrum to board the train from Taraz to Bishkek, we arrived early, and found a practically empty platform. As the train rolled in pretty much on time, we rushed to find the right "vagon" (carriage), and jumped on only to find that, apart from a couple of sleeping railway employees, we were the only passengers on the entire carriage! The attendant indicated we should set up and sleep anywhere we wanted to. Puzzled, we saw evidence of past passengers, in the form of rolled up bundles of used bed linen, but without anyone speaking English, we had no way to know what was going on. In the end, we rode the entire eight hours without another soul getting on or off. Just like the high cost of the ticket, we were never to find out why there were so few passengers.

Completely empty train from Kazakhstan to Kyrgzstan

The two rail attendants onboard were so curious about us, great communicators and for Kyrgyzstan so typically friendly- we were really happy to be heading back there. Apart from a few encounters, we hadn't found the Kazakhs overly welcoming this time around. Our last epic trip to Kazakhstan had been so memorable and we had loved the people and the landscape, but this short trip was simply less interesting. 

Anyway, it was a long and slow journey, with lengthy standstills at the border posts on the Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan side. The guards were very interested in Richard's various potions and spices, but after a detailed search and the drugs dog giving everything a good sniff, they were satisfied. Wouldn't be surprised if they were bored out of their brains and wanted to see what the foreigners were carrying. We were comfortable on the train, and obviously able to spread out and enjoy the last of the Kazakh scenery, but by the time we arrived in the wee hours of the morning into Bishkek station, we were quite exhausted. An amazing fact, that says a lot about the train system in this part of the world, was although the train had originated in Russia, we arrived at the final destination only five minutes late.

Looking out the train window towards Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan has very few trains, and Bishkek station is not busy at the most active of times. At 2.30am on the morning we arrived, there was little action. The couple of taxis there picking up other passengers wanted US$20 for the six minute drive to our accommodation, and not yet having any local money, we felt a bit stranded. Luckily, a friendly man from the train took pity on us, and gave us a lift when his brothers came to collect him. Who knows how far out of their way they went for us, but we were very grateful. 

Our trip through a tiny portion of gigantic Kazakhstan

....finally in Kyrgyzstan!.......

TOO HOT TO HANDLE- Aralsk and Turkistan, Kazakhstan

.....our Sufi pilgrimage in the Mangistau region, Kazakhstan, here.....

The Kazakh are, and have always been, nomadic horse-based people since they were the first to domesticate horses in around 3500 BC. The word Kazakh means adventurer, or free rider, and they dominated the steppes (arid grasslands) of Kazakhstan for hundreds of years. They divided themselves into “hordes” in the 15^th century, which represented different areas, and to this day this remains an important part of their heritage. The hordes were the last great nomadic empire. In the 1700s, one of the hordes needed Russian protection, and this began the decline into Tsarist rule and the mass immigration of Russian settlers up until the 19^th century. The Kazakhs were influenced by the Russians, and to this day have the closest relationship with Russian of all the Central Asian countries. It was the Bolsheviks that changed Kazakhstan the most, after the Russian Revolution. Communism was a disaster to the nomads, as part of the agenda was to turn them into settled farmers. The strong and proud nomads refused and killed all their herds rather then submit. This led to huge famines, helped along by Stalin who valued the nomad's land. To complete the horror, Stalin ordered tens of thousands of deaths of anyone he thought had thoughts of independence and likely to make trouble, in what was know as “The Purges”.

Before the Soviets, Kazakhs assigned themselves according to their clan mostly, but when the borders were drawn up in 1924, their new nation was invented and they were given a new identity. There were positives sides to the occupation such as the growth of industry, woman's rights, education, health care and infrastructure (“What have the Romans ever done for us?”). In 1991 Kazakhstan became independent following the collapse of the USSR, along with the other Central Asian countries.

Amongst the ruins in Turkistan, Kazakhstan

Where we are in the region

Our route through Kazakhstan- the yellow dotty line

These Kazakh blog posts are really living up to our blog name!! 

The train we took from Aktau to Aralsk was our first proper long distance Kazakh train (we were trying to block out all memories of the common train from Beyneu to Aktau!!) It was an old banger, all right, but somehow had an interesting and shoddy character, and we liked it. As the train began in Aktau, we were able to board early and make up our beds before the journey- that was after the pre-requisite photo session with some families in the carriage. We then watched with horror as the carriage filled up almost entirely with families with kids/babies, but actually, once we were up on our little bunks, we were quite separate and undisturbed from what was happening down in the carriage. As before, we had access to the only tiny window, and during the heat of the day had the hot and dry desert wind blowing in our faces, which was slightly better than no breeze at all.

Sneaky pic from the top bunk, train Aktau to Aralsk

Restaurant car, train Aktau to Aralsk

Fellow passengers, train Aktau to Aralsk

Catching up on study, train Aktau to Aralsk

The train stations we saw in Kazakhstan were all quite rough and tatty compared to the spic and span, well run versions we had experienced in Uzbekistan, and the Kazakhs were much more relaxed about security, with no showing of passports or metal detectors at entrances.

The scenery on the train trip was almost entirely flat steppe (arid grassland), apart from a small section with sand dunes, and we finally saw our first two humped camel!

*Note about camels: We've been confused about which camel is which. Basically, there are two varieties- Dromedary (one hump) and Bactrian (two humps), with a few different cross breeds (mostly what we saw). We were disappointed not to see more Bactrian- apparently they are only really in Tajikistan.

Ship of the desert, train Aktau to Aralsk

Train Aktau to Aralsk

At 27 hours, it may well have been our longest train trip out of Oz. Kazakhstan is an absolutely huge country (ninth largest in the world- Australia is sixth), and although we love train travel, we needed to break the journey.

Arriving in Aralsk at one am, we quickly found a close by hotel, which wasn't perfect, but for US$7 each, with WIFI and a hot shower and literally out in the middle of the desert, we couldn't complain. We were surprised to meet a few overland groups in the town, and they were surprised to see us come from the train!

The Aral Sea was at one time the fourth largest lake in the world. Now it is greatly decreased, a victim of Soviet insistence that cotton should be grown extensively in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, and irrigated using the mismanaged water from the Aral Sea. The coast line from the once port town of Aralsk receded to 100 kms from the town during the 1940s to the 1960s. A dam was built in 2005 to try to regain water in the northern part (Kazakhstan), but the southern part in Uzbekistan was considered a lost cause. The water is now about 20 kms from Aralsk, some villages are within walking distance, and fish numbers and species are once again on the rise. So, although production is tiny compared with what is was (as is evident from the enormous trawler hulks in the defunct harbour), there is some hope. We heard there was a second dam being built, but we weren't able to ask at the local NGO, as they were closed when we were there. The positive work was not really apparent in Aralsk itself- a hot, dusty, and desolate place, with the empty harbour stretching as far as the eye could see.

Streets of Aralsk, Kazakhstan

Aralsk train station toilets

As we had to wait an extra day for our next train (the trains in Kazakhstan became booked up very quickly, and we were lucky to get seats at all), we killed some time looking at the “attractions” of Aralsk. Of the two museums, only one was open during our three days there, and even though there were few English signs, we got the gist of most of it. We were really interested in the current state of the sea, but most of what we found out was from the internet. We wandered down to the defunct harbour, and found some local lads paddling naked in some tiny pools of water amidst the rubbish and waste. The old factories and cranes lining what was the shoreline decades ago were a sobering scene.

The old harbour, Aralsk, Kazakhstan

The bazaar was the heart of Aralsk, full of dusty vehicles, people moving about and scraggy little parks and squares with statues of unknown heroes. The smell of grilling shashlik was in the air, and we enjoyed wandering around the many small stalls and shops, especially liking the lower prices for produce than we had been paying in Mangistau.

Old mural in the train station showing Aralsk in it's heyday, supplying fish to Russia

Shop in bazaar, Aralsk, Kazakhstan

Old Russian van being used as an ambulance, Aralsk, Kazakhstan

We came across some of the town drunks- there was the guy spread eagled unconscious every day outside the supermarket; the totally wasted man unable to walk being practically carried away by a rail guard on the train platform; and the disarming woman who appeared out of the bushes covered in leaves near the closed museum who tried to follow us. Then there was the happy old drunk who sat next to Rich on the train platform as we were leaving, and chuckled away and told stories for more than an hour, even though it was clear we absolutely no idea what he was talking about. Actually, it was a common theme in Aralsk, that the friendly locals would approach us (not usually drunk!) and start chattering away in Russian, assuming we could understand. We just smiled and repeated our few measly words (we didn't speak Russian, we spoke English only, we were from Australia and were here on holiday, and we liked their town), and they seemed happy!

We were lucky at most places we stayed in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, that they were very accommodating with our late train departures, and all let us stay on in the room past check out time.
Our next night train from Aralsk to Turkistan had a very different feeling to the other trips. It was arriving from Russia, absolutely packed (mostly with very different looking Russian people), pretty crappy and cramped, but very fast. As soon as we boarded, the train took off again, and once we had turfed off the guys lying on our beds, and gotten the bunks made up with the pretty flowery sheets (!!), we basically just slept until arriving in Turkistan the next morning. It was a nice feeling to take it for granted our belongings were relativity safe on the trains in Central Asia. With our bags tucked away high up above us, and room to keep our small bags with us on the bunks, we never felt nervous about theft. Of course, there are bad people everywhere, and it may sound naïve to say it, but it's really hard to imagine people here stealing! Certainly none of this sleeping with one eye open with everything chained together, as we do in India!

South Kazakhstan is the most Kazakh part of Kazakhstan, and we felt a distinct change arriving in Turkistan from the desert areas we had come from. It was so nice so see green and gardens again! We felt we had finally left the desert behind, although the dirt and dust that covered our bodies and bags from the last month and a half would take a while to wash off!

Turkistan used to be the name for Central Asia as a whole, but now is limited to one town. It is where the great Sufi teacher and holy man Kozha Akmed Yasaui lived most of his life and was buried. In the 1300s, the powerful leader Timur took over the place and decided to build a far grander mausoleum than was already there. Having had read that Turkistan was the second most important pilgrimage place for Sufis in Kazakhstan, we were looking forward to reliving some of our experiences in Beket-Ata, and learning more about the mysterious strain of Islam. The LP really talks up Turkistan, but as we had already seen the best Silk Road Timur architecture (in Uzbekistan), and also the fact that there were no pilgrims around for the three days we visited, we were left very disappointed. The complex was small, with just one big building (the mausoleum), and various smaller, lesser tombs, which were plain and not particularly interesting, or closed. Perhaps if we had come here first we would have been more impressed. 

 Kozha Akmed Yasaui's mausoleum entrance, Turkistan, Kazakhstan

 Kozha Akmed Yasaui's mausoleum, Turkistan, Kazakhstan

Poser, tiles, Turkistan, Kazakhstan

Anyway, it was still an appealing little town, with a cracking market- apparently well known in Kazakhstan for being particularly cheap and diverse. We certainly appreciated the prices, as well as the ice cream stalls every few metres! The mix of buses, shared taxis, exchange booths, food wafting and sellers calling out gave a bustling and lively feel to the place. The population was ethnically mixed and dress standards varied greatly from modest dresses that covered everything to short shorts and singlets. Scarves and caps were still very much evident. We were happy to see plenty of friendly faces.

Scary head, Turkistan bazaar

Man fixing shoes old style, Turkistan bazaar

Buying bread, Turkistan bazaar

Happy boy! Turkistan bazaar

Couldn't resist this photo, bazaar, Turkistan

Local newspapers on bazaar, Turkistan

So many melons everywhere, Turkistan, Kazakhstan

We also had the experience of staying in the town's number one nightspot, as our hotel doubled as a restaurant and disco every night. Although we enjoyed the spectacle of people dancing and having a great time, we were glad we had a quiet room on the opposite side of the hotel!

The heat had returned, and we found it was really wearing us down after so long, and on the spot we decided to change our plans and leave Kazakhstan a week early, and escape to the mountainous country of Kyrgyzstan. Unfortunately, we had left it too late to book a train, so for the first time on this trip we had to make other arrangements. The first step was a extremely comfortable large minibus to take us to Shymkent. Twenty minutes into the trip, we broke down, and Rich and I feared the worst (that's what travel in India does to you!). The locals on the bus were calm and accepting, even in the heat, as though it happens all the time. Forty minutes later a replacement arrived and we were on our way again. The Kazakh pop was a great accompaniment to the views of the fields mostly growing melons, and also small herds of camel, cattle and sheep, and the odd cowboy on a horse to round them up.

Once we arrived a Shymkent, we waited several hours and then boarded an overnight big bus to Bishkek, which reminded us why we always prefer to take the train! It was quite painful to begin with, as the bus was an old banger with no AC, and not much leg room, but was made worse by our very uncharacteristically annoying neighbours in the seats in front. The kid was an obnoxious brat with no discipline from his mother who preferred to stick her earphones in and play with her phone. After the kid spat his chewing gum in Rich's lap, and tried to hit him on the head with his toy car, Rich firstly appealed to the mother to control him, and then when that didn't work, whacked him hard on the hand. That did!! Immigration took place in a blur in the middle of the night, and we arrived more than half asleep in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan at four am.

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A last note about costs in Kazakhstan:

Costs are about half what they were last year in Kazakhstan, due to a devaluation in their currency, the tenge. For us, this made a huge difference in our budget, and instead of being one of the most expensive countries to travel in Central Asia, as it was in the past, it was only a little more than Uzbekistan........and much of that was because we were in remote areas. Here is a break down of costs in Kazakhstan for those who would like more details:

(US$1= 325 tenge/AUS$1= 261 tenge)

Accommodation

Beyneu Hotel, Beyneu 6,000 tenge/AU$22

Aktau Hostel, Aktau 4,000 tenge/AUS$14

Hotel Altair, Aralsk 6,000 tenge/AUS$22

Hotel Edem, Turkistan 7,000 tenge/AUS$26 including buffet breaky

Accommodation was surprisingly cheap in Kazakhstan, and, because of the out of the way places we visited, varying in quality. Mostly it was great value for money, comfortable, and with our own bathrooms and a hot water shower.

Our spacious "suite" in Aktau, Kazakhstan

Crazy wallpaper, hotel room, Aralsk, Kazakhstan

Transport (per person)

Urgench to Beyneu train platzkart 108,000 som 19 hours

Beyneu to Aktau train common 1,100 tenge 9 hours

Mangyshlak train station to Aktau bus 80 tenge 30 mins

Aktau city buses between 50-80 tenge single trip

Aktau hostel to city taxi 300-400 tenge 20 mins

Hostel Aktau to Akshukar/Koshkar Ata taxi 400 tenge 20 mins

Akshukar/Koshkar Ata to hostel bus 90 tenge 20 mins

Hostel Aktau- Beket Ata group minibus 5,000 tenge each

Mangyshlak to Aralsk train platzkart  3,313 tenge 27 hours

Aralsk to Turkistan train platzkart  8495 tenge 11 hours

Hostel Aktau to Mangyshlak train station, taxi 1000 tenge 30 mins

Turkestan station to town marshrutka 20 mins 50 tenge

Turkestan to Shymkent big minibus 800 tenge 1 hour 40 mins (+ 40 mins breakdown)

Shymkent to Bishkek big bus 2500 tenge 8.5 hours

Obviously, we travelled by train most of the time in Kazakhstan. They weren't up to the standard of the Uzbek trains, but still quite comfortable, apart from the extreme heat. They were always clean and tidy (apart from at the end of a long journey), and we were given clean sheets with which to make out beds. Mostly there was no restaurant car, and we took our own food. One end of the carriage would always have a giant samovar, so we were able to make hot drinks. The best thing was the ridiculously cheap prices for long journeys across the huge country.

Kazakh train toilet (at the beginning of the journey!)

Every train has a toilet at one end and a samovar for hot water at the other 

Great storage system on Kazakh trains

Nice and clean and tidy at the start of the journey, Kazakh train

Food

5 litre water 250-300 tenge

1 litre water 130 tenge
1.5 litre frozen water 140 tenge
Big ice tea 220-300 tenge
Big pomegranate juice 410 tenge
Coffee three-in-one 20 packet 700 tenge

Bread 50-100 tenge

Smetana 310 tenge

Big chunk cheese with walnuts 360 tenge

Jar jam 460 tenge

Large bag biscuits 270 tenge

Big bag pistachios 550 tenge

Whippy ice cream 80 tenge

Meal for two at cheap restaurant or fast food 1000- 3200 tenge

Samsa 75-80 tenge

Nectarines 600 tenge per kilo

Apricots 600- 800 tenge per kilo

Massive bunch spring onion 150 tenge

Apples two for 100-240 tenge

Plums 300-350 tenge per kilo

Potatoes 50 tenge per kilo
Tomatoes/capsicum/cucumber 70-170 tenge per kilo

Sadly, the food selection and quality was very similar to Uzbekistan. We avoided eating out due to the unappetising oily and fatty dishes and almost entirely self catered, which we loved. Breads, cheeses and fresh produce were absolutely delicious, and very affordable, even in the remoter areas.

The offending laghman (doesn't look too bad in the photo!)

Typically meaty menu, Kazakhstan

More greasy plov- they eat it in Kazakhstan too

Shashlik flavoured chips! Kazakhstan

Although we found the areas of Kazakhstan we visited to be somewhat challenging and a little bit frustrated, we were aware that we had really only touched the tip of the iceberg in terms of traveling in the huge country. We would love to return again and visit the far east and the more Russian north. But for now, the mountains and cool weather of Kyrgyzstan called us.

.....next up, A New Start, A New Stan- Kyrgyzstan.......