Aug 29, 2012 - Bishkek - Karakol

Wtorek, 28 sierpnia - Bishkek, Karakol Wstaje juz o 6:30 rano i od razu kieruje sie na dworzec. Juz przed 8-ma jade marszutka do Karakol (300 Som). Droga najpierw czteropasmowa zamienia sie wkrotce w niezbyt zla dwopasmowke. Przejezdzamy przez przelecz aby dotrzec do brzegu jeziora Issyk Kol aby prawie objechac to jezioro dookola. Po okolo 7 godzinach wypelniony busik dociera na miejsce. Najpierw ide odnalezdz hostel - Teskey Guesthouse, polecany w przewodniku. Miejsce na uboczu od centrum ale czyste i schludne. Co najwazniejsze tylko 3...

Jul 18, 2012 - Trekking the valley of the unicorns

With a whole day free in Jeti-oghuz, most decided to go for a hike. The hardcore Trekkers left at 5am to try and reach the glacier, the more sane, left at 8:30am and then those who were enjoying the free day left later or didn't hike.  The trail headed along the valley floor with a nice climb in the middle to test you out, but it was a mostly pleasant undulating walk following the river towards the glacier.   On the way I was offered "kumis".  It's fermented horse milk, which is mildly alcoholic also.  I politely declined, only due to the...

Jul 17, 2012 - Valley to Valley

We drove out of the valley of hot springs down the shocking road where I thought I'd die at least 5 times towards the valley of Jeti-oghuz aka as the valley of the unicorns, because it is so stunning and beautiful, you'd expect unicorns to bound around the valley.    On the way we stopped at a few red rock formations, the 7 bulls and the broken heart.  They stand at the gateway of the valley, which leads towards the higher peaks and a glacier.

Jul 16, 2012 - Russian military vehicles

Today was the tripvehicles so called "tank camp". The vehicle that showed up was a russian truck with the ability to inflate and deflate its tyres but it was far from a tank. The vehicle also seated 2 less than required and assaulted the steep windy, stoney trail in such a way that I was sick, yet again. When we arrived at Altyn arashan it was definately worth the trip. A postcard valley dotted with a few farmhouses, lots of animals and a few hot springs. The hot springs were lovely and hot. Apparently the trick is to jump into the cold...

Jul 15, 2012 - A mazing market

Today we drove to Karakol, firstly to visit the animal market. Without too much imagination, you can picture hoards of cows, sheep, goats, horses, people and other things. Cute baby goats though were the real winner. One of the girls commented that the toilets smelt worse than the hoards of animals, thus the toilet was far from the cleanest in Central Asia. After the animal markets we headed to the main foor and stuff markets. When I entered the markets my first thought was how am I'm going to get out of here. I wandered around keeping...

Aug 3, 2011 - Tash rabat

An amzing place of the silk road, used until the 13th cent but was it a church because of its crossed layout? a mosque because of its dome? surely a caranvanserai... and has it been used as a jail because of its 30 odd cells??? What is certain is that it is a very special place! PS: if you go there.. there are 2 yurts camps and one of them is facing the fort which is good by itself (yo need to know that there are also REAL beds in the yurts there!!!) Un endroit incroyable au milieu de.. no where! cette forterresse a ete habitee jusquau...

Jul 25, 2011 - Kyrgyzstan- Karakol and around

We spent a full week in Karakol and in the surrounding mountains, walking and horseback riding. From Karakol to the On Ter Glacier, next to the river to Dzhol Kolot valley via some not so clear paths for the horses. Camping is fun... when the sun is shinning and when you have waterproof tent and warm sleeping bags!! On sunday, the horse games were brought the end to a rabbit and a goat lives, since the headless goat was the ball for the horse game! bloody games! Nous avons passe une semaine a Karakol et dans les montagnes avoisinantes,...

May 29, 2011 - 23 May - Djety Oguz Valley

On 23 May we left Karakol for the drive to the alpine trekking region of Djety Oguz. We have 2 nights here. 7 spectacular red sandstone clifs guard the entrance to the Djety Oguz Valley. Legend says that the cliffs were once wild bulls, immobilised by the gods to stop them terrorising local yurt dwellers! The valley lies on the northern slopes of the Terskei Ala-Too range and is surrounded by majestic snow-capped mountains. Kyrgystan is one of the most beautiful countries I have seen. We spent our time here walking in the mountains and...

May 28, 2011 - 21 May - Karakol

On the way to Karakol we stopped to see some petroglyphs dating from the 11th century BC, then drove on to Lake Issyk-Kul, one of the largest natural water reservoirs in the world at 170km long and 70km wide. The lake is mildly saline and never freezes, in fact the name Issyk-Kul means "warm lake". It's the holiday place for Russians and other nationalities and we could see resorts being built on the shores of the lake. We visited the beach which was empty while we were there but over the summer is apparently packed. After a few hours at...

Sep 8, 2009 - Kara-K chi Pass 3360m

through Kara-K chi Pass (3360m) were they do coal mining it should be another beautiful place but as you can imagine the coal mining spoils many places still interesting and especially the area where some families live in what you could call caravans without wheels - made of corrugated iron and on stilts but permanent not very cosy looking I'd rather a yurt. Our next camp and no shower as yet! was near a creek but not clean enough or big enough for washing Hiro and I prepared dinner _ I did a big dish of what started out as baked apples...

Aug 8, 2008 - KaraKol, Kyrgyzstan

Today was a most adventurous day... Beginning at 6:30 when we left So Youngs's apt and walked to the bus sta - caught a minibus which left for Kegen at 7:45 arr at 12:30...the country side was agricultural, many fruit & vegie stands along the way. The road for 2 hrs was 4 lane, flat, then narrowed to wide 2 lanes but very bumpy, no potholes, just uneven - patched alot & lots of traffic. The further we got from Almaty the more rural & dryer - finally, only grapes along the roadside stands, green & purple. We traveled in a wide valley betw 2...

May 16, 2005 - Notas aleatorias dos dias que nao tive saco de escrever

Varios lugares no Uzbequistao e Quirguistao Na decada de 30, 1936 se nao me engano, toda a cupula do governo quirguiz foi chamada as pressas para uma reuniao de emergencia (e secreta) com a alta cupula do Kremlin. 140 pessoas no total. Para cada uma delas, uma bala na cabeca. A verdadeira estoria soh veio a tona na decada de 90, durante a Perestroika. A filha de um porteiro que foi testemunha do fato denunciou o ocorrido a policia. Seu pai lhe dissera o que havia ocorrido em seu leito de morte, varios anos atras. Outra pagina negra do...