Ka Pai Kiwis

Yay back on the road. Only a short ride today but it is good to be moving again. So just about 80km today, we are still in wait mode. Lots of these houses feature in this area. Makes a change from the dreary apartment blocks built by the Soviets. Lots of people fishing in this bay. We are on the lake shore of Issyk Kul, the weather is perfect so we are having a beach afternoon, sunbathing and swimming. The only thing spoiling it is the litter. Arrrhhh. Looks like the sea, smells like the sea but its a lake a salty one. Went for a short ride after the beach and came across another small village and this monument. Sharing the road and the view with the locals.

My swelling continues to subside, thank you for all of the get well soon messages. I am almost back to my devilishly handsome self.  This morning we cross the religious divide and visit a mosque which is close by. This is the dominant religion here but is not a part of the political system, at least I don’t think it is, and I don’t think most Kyrgzs are particularly devout Muslims. The mosque was very unusual to see, a largely wooden structure, constructed without the use of nails, but designed in a strikingly Chinese style. This is the Dungan sect of Islam, quite local and quite Chinese.  We are very close to China and of course we are still on the Silk Rd so I guess it shouldn’t be such a surprise. Unlike some if its neighbours Kyrgyzstan is not blessed with natural resources like oil and gas so it struggles a bit. There are opportunities for tourism which show signs of growth but it would take a major investment I think to make this a really viable indust...

My eye is improving. Reijo my eye surgeon in Finland is acting as a consultant so that is good. I will have to pay him with beer. It will not be a cheap option I think! So a quiet wander this morning to visit an old wooden Russian Orthodox church in remarkably good condition. The Holy Trinity Cathedral dates from the early 1800’s. but has had several reincarnations since, but very nice all the same. We then adjourned to a local cafe for much needed refreshments and they turned out to be a community based organisation that make donations to various community initiatives. So we added to the school supply box. We also inquired with the lady ( who spoke very good English) about the cost of my hospital care yesterday. I tried to raise this yesterday at the hospital but they were incredibly busy people with virtually no English so I didn’t get very far and it’s bugging me. The cafe lady assured me treatment is free but I will somehow find a way to make a donation. View of...

Well it seems I was a little premature in announcing my recovery from the sting. Overnight my eye swelled to the point if being closed and the swelling was spreading to the other eye. So off to hospital for me. One injection in the bum for me then intravenous steroid, Dexamethosone, all I know about dex is it is given to climbers with early onset oedema then its down you go. Anyway I am now discharged and the swelling seems to be subsiding. The care was excellent but the facilities basic. I was in a very small room with 2 other people, there is no privacy and little dignity, I felt very sorry for the woman next to me when she had to bare all for probe attachment. I just turned the other way. How things change.......yesterday we were cursing because our China entry was delayed and now we are grateful. It will take me 2-3 days to get over this. Sorry to the regular readers but the next few posts may be a little mundane, at least I hope so. Pic of the day picks itself I thi...

We woke up this morning to an email from our China agent informing us the Torugart Pass border will be be closed in the 12th and 13th for Eid festival, open again on the 14th. Agghhhh. We have been booked in for the 12th for months!  So emails back and forth from here to NZ to China to try to get some clarification about where to go from here. Our visa expires on the 16th so we’re cutting it fine......  Damn we have to kill more time until the 14th. In the meantime Pakistan and India are hotting up over Kashmir so keep watching folks all our plans might change in a heartbeat.  Today we set off for Karakol with a planned excursion into a valley we have heard about. A few kms before the turnoff I had a wee visitor inside my helmet and he (or she) gave me a good old sting.  Nothing too dramatic but a few minutes later my whole upper body began to itch I got a rash and welts and I got symptoms of indigestion. An antihistamine and a rest seemed to calm t...

I picked up Robyn’s boots last night. Our fantastic host drove me to the shop where the man was waiting. Phew. This morning we took a few photos outside the hotel with our host family, they are very nice people and are trying really hard to get their fledgling business up and running. So next time you are in Bishkek check out Amaness hotel, we recommend it. So our plan is to circumnavigate lake Issyk Kul over the next few days and then take the road towards the Torugart Pass and China. Large mosque on the way out of Bishkek We set off towards Lake Issyk Kul on very good roads, the traffic was heavy with carloads of holidaymakers heading to the lake also. This road is also the most heavily policed we have encountered and they are well tooled up to catch the unwary.  A slow but very pleasant drive, after a time we wound through a gorge and soon after the lake came into view. In the distance we also spied the Tian Shan mountain range which we will cross in a...

There are many similarities between Almaty and Bishkek. There are obvious ones like the spectacular mountain backdrops, they both are striving to become vibrant modern cities. They are quite tidy and clean with good roads and infrastructure. If you delve a little deeper you see friendly, open people and modern commerce mixed with traditional traders. They have their issues with unemployment but it seems that they are trying. There is not too much by way of tourist attractions to attract the hordes of tourists from the west, but if you like mountains for hiking or climbing or even just to look at them and enjoy the atmosphere you will be spoilt for choice. This morning we had a wander around the Osh market, if you can’t find it here you don’t need it. I found jandals woohoo. We then headed into the centre of town to some lovely parks with many statues of past civic leaders as well as Lenin and Marx of course. Beautifully manicured flower beds and fountains set a nice sc...