From September 6th to September 8th

KARAKOL

Stay:

• 78 Hotel

See/Do:

• We started our morning with a walking tour around the wooden Holy Trinity Cathedral, we went inside, hair covered with borrowed scarves, and saw a brief religious procession.

• Nearby, we stopped at a traditional Dungan Mosque near the Karakol airport. Dungans originate from China and are some form of muslim. The interesting thing about their mosque is that it was the first religious building we’ve seen in our travels that also showed an element of astronomy alongside religious texts.

• We then packed in the car and drove a few hours to see the Broken Heart rocks and the Seven Bulls mountains; our driver knew just the lookout point and we took our SUV to the top of a hill across the river. The views were beautiful. 

Eat/Drink:

• We arrived for dinner at a traditional Dungan home, in what seemed like an industrial/housing neighborhood in the middle of the night. We ate multiple salads in bowls, dumplings, roasted chicken, pasta, rice, and more.

• For lunch we ate at a traditional Kyrgyrzk house in Bokonbayvo, the lady of the house had kind eyes, somehow their wifi was lightening fast, and she was pleased to announce to us that she had been in the United States four times to show off her Kyrgyrzk artisan crafts.

  
  

KOCHOR

Stay:

• Nomad Lodge, a humble motel style lodge with basic essentials

• Ak Sai Travel, a yurt village of about 15 to 20 free standing yurts along the water’s edge at the Issyk Kul Lake

See/Do

• From Karakol we continued on our drive through the Krygyrzkstan around the Issyk Kul Lake. One of the largest alpine lakes in the world. While on the drive you can look at the peaks in the distance and get views of China. 

• We came to a place in the middle of the mountains to spend time with a Traditional Kryz Eagle Hunter. Our private show was a demonstration of two different eagles hunting, we learned how the birds are trained, and saw a Kryzgystan dog also on a hunt, all while wearing traditional attire

• Stop to take a picture and enjoy the view at Naryn and Kalmak-Ashuu Pass

• While at the our lakeside accommodations we enjoyed watching a yurt making exercise, and we watched a traditional horse & goat game called Buzkashi in an open field, with over 15 different horsemen, a few young children, and a 40 lb makeshift goat carcass as the ‘ball’

• After the exciting game of Buzkashi, where the first team to ‘score’ 4 wins, we visited the referee’s yurt to get a taste for what the local lifestyle is like. We spent time with his family, drank mare’s milk from their local brew, were offered meat (we passed), breads (we indulged), and the proud owner of the yurt turned on his battery powered radio to treat us to some local tunes. The battery powered radio boasted upbeat foreign jams that were being played from a USB stick that was plugged into it. 

• Dinners at the yurt consisted of pretty much the same thing that we’ve eaten all over Central Asia: start with a cucumber and tomato salad, follow that up with a light brothy soup that had carrots, broccoli, potatoes and dill, then finally finish off with a rice carrot and meat plate as our main course.  

• That night we drank some Ardmore scotch that Jack had shared with all of us while he shared stories over the wood burning fire. Good times!

• After the fireside chat died down, we went for a walk around the camp towards the water to get a clear look at the bright stars above. The sky was so clear and we could see the Milky Way easily. 

• That night the hospitality team from the yurt homestead had loaded our rooms with burning coals in the metal oven/heaters that were in the room. They also came back in around 2am to reload the oven/heater with more coal. Within minutes the room was blazing hot and made us feel like we were at a dry sauna at a spa. We opened the door of the yurt until the heat died down… then finally fell back asleep an hour to two later. 

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• Later that day we drove back to Kochor to have lunch at a a popular spot (many other tour busses were stopped there). They had large bread rings shaped and stacked like you would see onion rings served at a chilis or Applebees. Again, we ate cucumber salad, a broth soup, a surprisingly delicious lavash type bread loaded with onions and chives, and pasta with chunks of meat. To the groups delight, we were surprised with a vanilla ice cream at the end, to which we used a raspberry jam as an additional flavor/sweetener. 

BISHKEK

Stay

• Orion Hotel

See/Do

• Watch locals play chess along Erkindik Ave 

• Watch the changing of the guard in front of the State History Museum, if you walk around the back side you’ll see a Statue of Lenin and Ingalls.

• Just across the street, enjoy the view, cars buzzing by and other action at the Ala-Too Square

• Walk around Oak Park, enjoy the local art sculptures, flower beds, fountains & park benches

• See the little shops set up with locals showcasing their paintings and other hand made crafts at the Open Air Art Gallery near Chuy Avenue

Eat/Drink

• Lunch: Pishpek near Panfilov Park where there were a number of other things going on, including rides and games for kids. This was another one of our favorite meals on the trip!

Took a flight to Tashkent, Uzbekistan