Adventures of Spaniards in Kyrgyzstan

Month of September was the highlight of the year. After more than a year, I went back home and spent some time with my family, and enjoyed communicating with my 3,5 years old nephew Nurseyit. Before going home I spent few days in Istanbul. Also, I met up with many of old friends and was glad to see that most of them were doing well, having their work and family life settled and going. Then my good friend, as well colleague, Alex and his girl-friend Vanessa made it all the way to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan for a visit and the culmination of all these was our trip to Astana for Leila's, another good friend of ours, wedding.

Now the focus here will be our Spaniards who have experienced ultimately different experience in that part of the world. As they put it in the best way, for them we (Kyrgyzs and Kazakhs) were "the Chinese looking Muslims who speak in Russian". Indeed, it is very intriguing when you think of it looking from their perspective. Nowhere else one could see such weird combination of characteristics from 3 different contradicting communities; Muslims, Russians and Chinese.

They stayed only 3 days in Kyrgyzstan. Initial plan was to go to Son-Kol (high-altitude mountain lake located on a beautiful landscape of green pastures, rivers and snowy mountains) for 2 days, live in yurta (nomadic tent-house), ride horses and do some hiking. But last moment snow in Son-Kol screwed up all our plans. Thanks to good friends, we quickly found alternative option somewhere close to Kegeti Gorge area.

They came from Almaty together with Dauren and Renata, our Kazakh friends. As to illustrate them a bit of our traditional cuisine, me and my high-school friend Adyl took them to the typical central asian "chayhana" style place, it is located somewhere along Mir Avenue (forgot the name). There instead of tables, you sit on the "topchan". It is a wooden base about 50-60 centimeters above the ground, with a roof. You sit on the carpet and "toshyok", some kind of cushion, and lean back to the pillows. Food is served on the low tables that stands on the middle, something like Japanese tables.

Chayhana (translated as "teahouse", but it offers much more)

Guests sitting on the topchan

As they have already tried "plov" in Kazakhstan, we ordered "dymdama" - well-cooked lamb with loads of freshly stewed vegetables. And green tea for digesting it well.

"Dymdama" - traditional Kyrgyz food

It turned out to be a challenge for Mediterranean guests to eat so much meat since they stepped into Central Asia (they didn't know that more was coming!). Another shock for them was the way we always drink tea with or after the meal. In Spain, they drink tea as medicine. :) Spanish people are hard core coffee drinkers, and that's what they usually drink after the meal. Another friend, Marat, came along with Petr, an interesting guy that I was glad to meet. He is from the German minority in Kyrgyzstan, successfully running his business in Kyrgyzstan. It was him who offered us an option to go the mountains where his uncle hosted the tourists.

Other shocking exploration for them was the way how both drivers and pedestrians ignore the traffic rules in Kazakhstan/Kyrgyzstan. Luckily we didn't have any problems due to recent power cuts of the traffic lights. :)

Later, we made an express tour around the city in my Adyl's car. To be honest, I was not sure what to show them in Bishkek. It is small, and nothing much of tourist attractions. So we just drove around the city a bit, and then walked around the main Ala-Too square till the White House, and then to Philarmony Theater area.

Ala-Too square

"Ak-Uy" ("White House")

Walking around Ala-Too square

Alex with the view of the tower of International University of Kyrgyzstan

Statue of Manas in front of Philarmony Hall

Vanessa

Afterwards, Petr picked us up to take to his uncle's place in the mountains where they hosted occassional tourists. Along the way we dropped by to his wife's family house in the village, and I could observe how Kyrgyz Germans were living in their own small village. I never thought that they would leave in such remote areas, and do animal and field farming. They had been there for more than a century, and completely settled down in that area.

The place we spent following 2 days was not too far from Bishkek, but it is not easy to find your way around. It was a private zone of our local German horse farmers. Located on the way to the gorge and on the pasture lands, it offers some basic wooden cottage and yurta stay together with 3 course meal only for 1000 soms (~30 USD) per person per day! I'd say really awesome deal considering that you stay in nicely decorated yurta and get fed with awesome local dishes! (just imagine being served lamb even for breakfast!)

Our rain-proof yurta

The only drawback was that the pastures were already turning yellow and springs are mostly dry in September, and nothing much left from those green hills and pastures. I bet that place will be gorgeous in the spring...

We spent 2 days mostly eating and hiking up on the high hills. As well sleeping in nomadic "yurta". The food was so heavy (even for me), that by lunch time we were still full from the breakfast. Well, that's what happens when you get nicely cooked lamb pieces for the breakfast!

Breakfast time

Inside the yurta

On our first day when we were exploring a small gorge with a stony road that led up to the top of the mountain through the gorge, we saw an old truck approaching us from behind. As we had no idea what to expect further up the gorge, we hitchhiked just for fun. The driver was the shepherd living somewhere up on the hill. He allowed us to climb to the back of the truck and that's what happened then;

Hitchhiking is fun in Kyrgyz mountains!

Then at some point we got off the truck and decided to climb a very steep hill. Only then we realized that we were not at all prepared for such a tough hiking. Vanessa wearing totally white stuff ended up being more earth colored by the end. Mine and Alex's bare legs got scratched endlessly by the bushes, and I was slipping on the grass with my sandals on! Not much water, neither hiking equipment... well, we needed an adventure and to digest heavy breakfast.

Climbing was accompanied by the army of grasshoppers

Once on the top, the scenery was beautiful. Autumn was taking its typical golden appearance throughout the hills and on Chui Valley that laid far close to the far horizon. And only the evergreen pine trees, typical for Kyrgyz mountains, kept some signs of the green view from the spring.

Almost on the top

The walk was much easier and pleasant on the top, the view is admirable. And that was not even one tenth of the beautiful scenery that my country offers. But still I enjoyed being partly a tourist, and partly a local guide.

Local guide

As there were quite a few horse farms in this area, you can see many horses on the hills pasturing around. Or you can notice some dust arising far on the top of the opposite hill. And if you look carefully, you can see the horseman herding his flock of horses and taking them back to the farm.

Horses were all around

We ended the trip just at the lunch time, but spent some time on the hill to avoid the early lunch. Because once the hosts saw us, they had the urge to prepare the table immediately :)

Alex sharing his first days impressions with his family in Barcelona

In the afternoon we were dead enough to just stay around and rest. We did some horse-riding, but the horse was a very boring and stubborn one. He barely moves around, and even if he moves after few tens of meters, he turns back to the initial spot. Probably horse immediately understood that we are not in the commanding position, and didn't obey. After 1-2 hours of quick short rides on it, we gave up. :)

Alex palying "cowboy"

The next day, we climbed up another hill that turned out to be as challenging as well.


In the afternoon, we spent good amount of time playing cards with Sergey and Petr. As we taught each other different games, I remembered the card games once we used to play crazily in Taiwan.


After spending 2 days in a fresh weather, high on the pastures and in a nomadic "yurta", we returned back to Bishkek. The entire idea of hosting the tourists in your own "yurtas" or small cottages made me think that even with this basic, but distinct infrastructure and on some remote place in the mountains (not necessarily near the main natural hot spots), one can get the interest of tourists easily. Because that's what interests the tourists more about Central Asia. Sleeoing in the yurta, riding the horses on the highlands or pastures, eating local nomadic food and drinking horse milk. Very simple and easy for the locals, but very interesting and attractive for the foreigners.

And the irony in all this trip was that how the Germans (even if they are my co-citizens) were selling my culture and nature to me, a Kyrgyz guy... that I am being a tourist in my own country.

The last morning in Bishkek was spent in Djalalabad chayhana for morning "shorpo" (lamb soup) and quick visit to the market Kiyal for some cheaper souvenirs. For Alex and Vanessa, it should have been something unusual. Especially them seeing the sales of US army and other military clothes being sold in the bazaar. Yet I didn't take them to the other parts of Osh bazaar, that would be the real surprise!

Morning"shorpo"

Vanessa buying some felt material in the bazaar

Afterwards, I saw them off to Almaty. Later on, I caught up with them in Almaty for our trip to Astana. Then they told me how they got stuck for a while in the border while entering to Kazakhstan. Usually it is crowded there and things like standing in a queue doesn't really exist on the border checkpoint.

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