Ray, Silk Road. KRYGYZ REPUBLIC…TOURGART PASS…TASH-RABAT CARAVAN-SARAI…KORCHKORKA….KARAKOL….CHOLPON-ATA
Here I sit on the bus in a hail storm writing the diary. We just arrived at Son Kul (high mountain lake..3500 meters) from Tash Rabat….7 hours of nasty road. More later.
First some reflections on China. The further West we went the more poverty, substandard new housing and police presence. This is where the Ethnic minorities are located along with incredible natural resources which are being exploited…iron, oil, coal, minerals of all kinds. The refineries are set up in the area….which makes for lots of pollution. Seems the Han Chinese are the top of the economic chain and then it works down through many groups to the Uyghur and Tibetan on. China has approx 45 ethnic groups.
There is no political discussion in China, it is discouraged and you get no answer if you ask. With Minorities one receives a strained look like don’t ask; the Han say they are happy. Chinese govt seems to understand that a large prosperous middle class leads to social stability and they’ve done that in the East. You can in fact buy anything in Beijing, Xian or Shanghai that you can find in any upscale NYC store.
OK enough; now the trip from Kashi to the border. What a day!! First Brian forgets his camera and we need to return…then the travel agent calls to say there is a rumor the border patrol may have decided to take an extra day off …so we wait to hear. A return call and it is a go for 50 km and then all hell breaks loose. Unusually heavy rain and flooding have caused numerous washouts, in some areas the road is covered with sand and gravel 6-8 inches deep. We proceed slowly around washouts and boulders and over gravel covered roads. One lane most times, other times off the road to get around washouts (at least 30 times). At several points the guide called for a vote whether to turn around as the road was under water. Tom and I voted loudly to proceed and in areas completely under water, the driver devised the method of waiting for another vehicle to cross ahead of us to see if it was safe. If they made it we proceeded. We saw one pickup be carried sideways by the water but with 4 wheel drive he made it and we followed. Then the bus overheated…we had hit some mighty large rocks and the driver suspected radiator damage….but none existed. He stopped and filled it several times…I think it is their driving method; however these guys are so proud they will not take advice. We are proceeding uphill all the way to 3750 meters, but typical of the drivers in China they lug the engine….they never use 3rd gear, just first, 2nd then shift to 4th or 5th ASAP and lug the hell out of it. Nothing makes an engine overheat faster than that. Anyway he proceeded grinding uphill, occasionally getting out checking for damage. At times these broad expansive valleys of gravel/stone had washed over the road leaving debris 2-3 feet thick which we carefully drove up and over. Lots of front loaders along the way but the drivers were on holiday…they just sat there idly.
Then the customs and border patrol process….what bureaucracy…60 km from the border a passport check…we leave the bus, line up and through we go. Next, 20 km from border a major check…all luggage off and run through machines, passports checked(10 min each)( and I mean line up perfectly, if the line is not perfectly straight an officer rectifies the situation with a stern look and gesture), then load luggage but as we leave the door another passport check. Board the bus and up the road 5 km off the bus for another check. Then to the border…a total mud hole by now with 65 trucks waiting to get into China. They do not let the bus cross the border so he turns it around and backs up to the border and the luggage is handed across as we walk. This is no man’s land…mud everywhere, cold, raining and border patrol everywhere dressed in winter rain-gear. I wonder what we are getting into now and have some anxiety over not having brought enough clothing.
We are in Kyrgyzstan!! At 4:30PM we have a Russian driver whose family was sent west during the Stalin days, his front teeth are gold and a Russian Kyrgyz guide who is fluent in 4 languages. She appears to be a very nice competent guide who is stocky and who smokes like a chimney. 10 KM to Kyrgyz border patrol check and oh my god it is right out of 1950 cold war Berlin. Large barbed wire stockade with gate, the bus is stopped and we are approached by a guard who announces we need to wait, as the staff just went for lunch. Fortunately 10 minutes later the gate is opened and in we go to the most dilapidated, ugly, unheated building I have yet to see…passports are checked and on we go. This the building is empty, the barbed wire enclosure is filled with rusted junk military vehicles and machinery left by the Russians. We we drive for 1km by the barbed wire enclosure and are stopped by soldiers.
After some discussion we’re off on the worse road I have ever been on. All gravel and pot holes to make any mechanic happy, enough to make you come out of your seat, this goes on for at least 5-6 straight hours. Now mind you this is a lesson in self control. I and 3 others have the Uygur Revenge….pure water….from something we ate. May have been food or white mulberries…sweet, delicious, but deadly. Good news is the bouncing was so painful that each time I hit, my sphincters would tighten from pain. We arrive in a driving rain storm at the Yurts at 8:30PM (we have moved our clocks back 2 hours to accommodate the time change). Let’s see that is 12-14 hours on the road.
We have beds in the Yurts!!! And a stove…2 runs to the toilet tonight. Got lots of chemicals in me now…this is going to stop!! Good night’s sleep as the rain pounded and the one time I had to go out it was snowing. Breakfast is delicious as was dinner.
AM went to see the Tasha Rabat Monastery/Caravansie. It was a Nestorian Christian monastery in the 9th century…dank, wet. No wonder the sect did not survive…probably all died of pneumonia. They did not believe Christ was God, only a great prophet, so the cross does not display Jesus. After abandonment it was used by the caravans.
I can’t describe the mountains and wide grass covered valleys….Kyrgyz’s specialize in growing grass, horses, sheep, cattle, some camel, and up high the Yak. They need to be higher than we are most of the time. They prefer 4000m in summer.
Friday was a long day again over rough roads. Stopped in Minera for lunch….what lovely meal/family in a town that is in such poverty and disrepair. You can see the dilapidated Russian buildings falling apart everywhere, industry abandoned and rusting…in WWII the Russians moved a lot of their industry here to get away from the Germans. They up and left in the 90’s and the industrial base collapsed. Now it is a dead city…streets of potholes, weeds everywhere, sidewalks either gone in spots or filled with weeds. Many houses abandoned or if lived in the chimneys are falling over…rusting tin roofs. Fortunately Agha Khan is building his 2nd Central Asian University on the outskirts and in 3-5 years things will look up. Turns out Kyrgyzstan has a very educated population but no jobs or business base. The past two leaders and their extended families have absconded with all the money and put it in Belarus. Lots of anger about it.
Following lunch we headed for the mountains and Song Kul (a beautiful lake in the mountains). Oh my god the mountains are unbelievable and the road single lane, gravel, hairpin and up, up forever with views hard to describe. Over the top and down 400m to the valley/lake. We arrive at 4:30 and move into real yurts, beautiful wood, embroidered felt, décor hanging from the ceiling and sleep 8 in one and 5 in the other on the floor. It is cold with a driving rain, hail and lightning all night. Delicious meal of soup with wild mushrooms and fresh caught fish. Then off to sleep…we all are family now and nothing much is private anymore or for that matter even looked at!
Good night’s sleep though cold at times, I finally put on a Kyrgyz skull cap to keep warm. Awoke to sun, huge breakfast of crepes, oatmeal, and breads. Then off to our walks in small groups and me alone up and up. I stop every 10 minutes to catch my breath and stop the dizziness. Finally made it to my destination…not the top but way up. I built a 4.5 foot cairn to mark the spot (barely visible from the camp) and walked back. “Hills are filled with “fairy rings” which are dark green semi circles of grass and where the mushrooms are found. On the way found a pair of fossilized teeth…..I am sure they belong to a Mongol warrior! Started to hail again and then turned very cold and windy for rest of day. This PM we watched them put up another yurt…some experience…brilliant design and mechanics…no nails. Felt is naturally water repellent and remains so for generations. Whole family helps down to the 3 year old.
We all collected mushrooms for a great soup tonight, about 4 backpacks full. Then we had fresh mare’s milk…a sip each was intended as it consists of two small baby bottles which the baby drinks. The first cup is handed to Brian(the cleaner) who downs the whole thing to the horror of the host who talks to the guide to assure we will only just taste if she brings more!! Good old cleaner…never know when he will strike and never an apology, only “well it sure was good”….it is sweet and lite. The guide then announces that it usually causes one very fast run to the toilet for a complete evacuation! So to all my constipated friends…get a PG mare!! This was followed by Koumis(fermented mares milk)….I will stick with Scotch. It tastes sour and smells like I smoky sour milk, it is not pleasant. Great place to be after the desert of China. Tomorrow we leave on what is described as a ‘great road’ with views but alas it was washed out last eve…we had to all agree to do road work push if necessary to get through, otherwise go back the other way.
Awoke to a cold, cloudy damp day, bus driver has his ear muffs on: Group has now degenerated to fighting over the last remnants of toilet paper…”get your own” “tough if you did not titrate properly”…in good humor though.
We are among the “true Kyrgyz” so they say…round faces, short and energy to die for. Kids hop on a horse and ride bareback like the wind…only about 11yr. He herds the cattle in for the night.
Long lecture yesterday and very interesting on the ancient history of the Kyrgyz. Legend which says they come from the true Amazons (never were from S Amer). Amazons were a tribe of powerful women warriors who sometimes removed a breast if it got in the way of drawing the bow. Later they were called the Scythians who conquered much of C Asia and Hungary (perhaps Finland) and S to China. They interbred with the Vikings so alas some have fair features and red or blond hair. They are the origins of the Turkic ethnic group so often referred to in C Asia. They were never conquered legend goes they joined others; certainly they joined Genghis and his boys.
In the later centuries the Kyrgyz divided into clans which resulted in a lot of interbreeding until the Russians arrived and spread some new seed in the 1930’s.
Brutal cold damp night and wonderful breakfast. Off again to Kochkorka where we witnessed the making of felt rugs. The ride here was again an adventure with rain, washouts, driving out onto the Steppes, getting stuck in mud and pushing the bus out…all in a day’s ride. Quite a sight to see a bus bouncing across the steppes in the middle of nowhere. All we see are incredible herds of sheep and horses…some of the most beautiful horses one can imagine…don’t understand all the pampering of our domestic horses when ones see these beauties in the damp cold weather and running wild. Later saw a couple of herds of Yak up high. Doing home stays for the next couple of days. Had my first shower in 4 days…what a treat. No chance to wash clothes now for a week…getting pretty grungy.
After breakfast at the yurts the Dragon lady began a long loud discussion with a French couple about speaking French and her son’s visit to France. Allison in the group catches me on the way out and says “Ray she is an American National Treasure” and all yours!!. At noon she begins to speak halting German to some young girls serving us…very loud followed by a long review of her study and stay in Germany at some point…she talked so loud no one else could hear or talk. Oh boy what a pain.
Tonight we eat in the home where I stay, and the setting is out of a state dinner!! I have my own room, how nice. Krygyz are very friendly from what I can ascertain. But this country appears to be right out of the 1920’s rural America. Donkeys pulling carts with kids or adults..no paved streets, cows wandering in town, no lawn is mowed (they don’t have lawn mowers), beautiful veggy gardens and orchards in the back of most houses along with a cow, goat, sheep or chickens or a combo thereof. Very basic food…boiled beef or mutton in a soup of potato and veggie, nice salads of tomato, cucumber and onion…that’s it meal over!!. They tend toward light meals at night. All new rugs hang on the wall, old ones on the floor. Great reverence for the parents whose pictures are everywhere…youngest son takes care of parents in old age and other kids can leave to pursue their own life.
Today put my stuff on the bus and had to get off to get some other stuff when I returned to my seat I am greeting with “Hi Ray, I am going to sit with you today”…Dragon Lady strikes. She moved my stuff and another person’s so she could sit with good ol’ me. Others in the group would walk down the aisle and poke me in fun like..”She got you”. I survived quite well thank god.
Saw Issyk Kul today..the largest saline lake in Kyrgyz and a matter of national pride…140km long and 60 km wide and 720m deep. Many inlets and no outlets. Where the water drains is a mystery. They have discovered several old Scythian Cities at the bottom of the lake.
We then drove up Barskoon Gorge…may as well be in Austria or Southern Germany…gorgeous and hiked to a waterfall. Met a drunken Krygyz who wanted us to drink vodka…no..no…in this culture to accept such an offer is to agree to drink till bottle is empty…he had about 5 bottles. Whole family was with him in a 1946 dump truck that starts with a crank or as they often do…park on a hill. Tonight at a home stay with the most beautiful garden you can imagine…apples, plum, and roses to die for. Never have I seen such rose bushes and roses…bush is 6-10 feet tall and the flower is 6-8 inches in diameter in colors of pink, yellow, blood red. Wish I could get some rootstock. We all washed clothes tonight…the water was black after 3 rinsings….we are a filthy bunch and all smell of sour/smoky koumiss even though we have only tasted it, guess it is smoke and raw wool from the yurt stays.
Another observation is that the older generation revere Stalin…”he saved us, he could make things happen today” they say if Kyrgyzstan could have 2 years of Stalin now the economy and country would get moving again. Go figure as he was quite brutal to the clan culture and moved whole ethnic groups in or out depending on whatever fears he had at the time. There was a whole region with Germans who lived here since Catherine the Great brought them here to start farms. Stalin moved Germans from West Russia here in 1941…they were all labeled traitors. Having a hard life (labeled non citizens and banned from education system) they left the area in the latter years…just a small community left. I guess people everywhere tend to put economic security and “stability” at the top of the list. Our guide says there is a lot of anger at the present interim govt as they are not making any decisions…turns out it is a group of 6 governing and that never works. I believe there is a vote coming soon on the constitution but not sure.
An American couple who just left Osh said things are bad…2000 dead, untold wounded, Uzbek people have escaped across the border or are in hiding. Russians are humanitarian only and refuse to control the violence. Turns out the Uzbeks(whom they have run off) run the farms/agriculture and so now food is short causing further unrest. Talk about cut your nose to spite your face but that is the cost of ethnic or racial prejudice, eventually it comes back to bite you.
Today another gorge right out of Austria and Bavaria. Crossing raging streams…bridges are two logs and then a cris-cross pattern on top…they do have some give…only pictures can tell the story.
In a hotel tonight that looks very nice…just informed by Tom that the water runs black!!! Another night with no shower…most here are dribble showers and “my stream” would put them to shame(oops glad to report that the shower runs clear and hot after a few minutes and has a “good stream”). We are in an old dilapidated Russian town….beautiful old cottages with the scrolled woodwork…all in horrible shape. Streets again are dirt or part bitumen. Cows in the streets or front lawn…have yet to see a mowed lawn…I guess cows are it.
So far Kyrgyzstan is a mind warp. Some observations: Half the cars are Audi 100’s from the 80’s running alongside Old Russian cars from the 70’s and trucks from the 40’s. They share the road with donkey and horse carts filled with people and goods…grandma lying in the back and kids and wife up. An occasional tractor, people weed the fields by hand hoe or a horse pulled weeder. Potato fields everywhere, along with oats and barley. Markets in town are like everywhere but the selection of goods is very basic and limited. No pretty veggie or fruit…just onion, carrot, radish, potato, scallions, green radish and bag upon bag of cucumbers (a stable this time of year).
The entire infrastructure is shot to hell…I see very little construction or big equipment anywhere. Guide says the Russians pulled out too fast and there was no transition time. Like all colonial powers the Russians ran everything for their economic advantage so when they left the economy collapsed. Apparently the country has never recovered since the soviets pulled out. They call it the “post soviet decline”. The soviet apartments are crumbling and are slums. And as I said before it is so striking to see the 1920’s occurring before your eyes. After the Soviets pulled out there was one good govt followed by two greedy dictator/families that stole the country’s resources and invested nothing. The N and S are in an age old ethnic conflict that gets stirred up by the politicians whenever the need arises to gain some sort of support (that is universal is it not?). Needless to say, the people feel and look depressed.
We are now on the E end of Issyk Kul in KaraKol Village which has a Dungan Mosque (Chinese Muslims who settled here after an anti Muslim pogrom in China) and an E Orthodox Church. These are pretty relaxed Muslims in general…alcohol everywhere, beer is 75cents for a big bottle and vodka is $3 for a ½ liter bottle and very good (have had one shot). I think if you wanted to set off a riot just raise the price of alcohol….yet I seldom see drunkenness (the guy in the mtns is the only one). Have not had a sip of wine now for 4 weeks and only a little beer here and there…some is good other times horrid.
Tonight we had a Russian meal… light and tasty…cold cuke/spinach soup, chicken in casserole and goulash. Cost of $5 each including tea, cake and a beer. Our subgroup split the cost, the other group drove each other crazy figuring out each item and who ate what…over a $5 meal. Best I can tell the bras of the “large women” have become the favorite pockets for carrying cash, tissue, and you name it….as Paula says as you get older there is more room at the top to store things, so it is quite handy.
You should see my room, I mean 1960…orange globe lights, orange chairs and curtains and yellow sheets and cover and shag carpet!!!. Some apparition at night with the lights on.
Today more museums (one dedicated to Przhevalsky, a Russian explorer, botanist, zoologist and spy in the mid 1800’s) and a field of peitroglyphs…all from 500 BC. To 100 AD.
Tonight in a beach hotel on Issyk kul lake….how sad…they try to replicate American beach hotels which look great from the outside…inside marginal at best. Linoleum floors, broken tiles on the steps, entry and outside the sidewalk are filled with weeds and there sits the first lawn mower I have seen. Looks like they mowed one swath and it broke so there it sits. We went to the beach but temp is cold and the water likewise…nice looking beach though, behind us is trash/rubble everywhere and weeds as high as a person. Seems like nearly everything here is on the cheap. What a contrast to E China where things really are elegant. I would have to say that once we left Xian living conditions show increased poverty in China and then Kyrgyzstan is a giant leap into poverty.
Tomorrow we go to Bishkek which is supposed to be where the newly rich hang out and it is described as vibrant and colorful.
Tomorrow we stop at Cholpon-ata after viewing BC petro glyphs and 2 museums. We arrive in Bishkek on the 24th and leave on the 25th for Tashkent.
Group is having more fun together, more teasing, and individual personalities are coming out. Paula is a compulsive shopper with a flair, Beverley is a teacher/business women who is a replica painter of miniature Russian Icons and has excellent taste, Judy never eats, is quiet and a great conversationalist, Julia is a studious knowledgeable world traveler/professor and has traveled almost yearly since age 11 when she returned to Scotland to visit her grandparents. Brian had too much vodka the other night and was a happy loud man who kept repeating some Russian phrases. Ian and Tanya remain the same, with great tongue and cheek humor, they have had great adventures together and are enjoyable to be around. All in all the group is having a lot of fun with each other. Unfortunately Dragon Lady does not evolve…just more of the same and sadly is increasingly isolated by the group.
I can send this off after so many days….
First some reflections on China. The further West we went the more poverty, substandard new housing and police presence. This is where the Ethnic minorities are located along with incredible natural resources which are being exploited…iron, oil, coal, minerals of all kinds. The refineries are set up in the area….which makes for lots of pollution. Seems the Han Chinese are the top of the economic chain and then it works down through many groups to the Uyghur and Tibetan on. China has approx 45 ethnic groups.
There is no political discussion in China, it is discouraged and you get no answer if you ask. With Minorities one receives a strained look like don’t ask; the Han say they are happy. Chinese govt seems to understand that a large prosperous middle class leads to social stability and they’ve done that in the East. You can in fact buy anything in Beijing, Xian or Shanghai that you can find in any upscale NYC store.
OK enough; now the trip from Kashi to the border. What a day!! First Brian forgets his camera and we need to return…then the travel agent calls to say there is a rumor the border patrol may have decided to take an extra day off …so we wait to hear. A return call and it is a go for 50 km and then all hell breaks loose. Unusually heavy rain and flooding have caused numerous washouts, in some areas the road is covered with sand and gravel 6-8 inches deep. We proceed slowly around washouts and boulders and over gravel covered roads. One lane most times, other times off the road to get around washouts (at least 30 times). At several points the guide called for a vote whether to turn around as the road was under water. Tom and I voted loudly to proceed and in areas completely under water, the driver devised the method of waiting for another vehicle to cross ahead of us to see if it was safe. If they made it we proceeded. We saw one pickup be carried sideways by the water but with 4 wheel drive he made it and we followed. Then the bus overheated…we had hit some mighty large rocks and the driver suspected radiator damage….but none existed. He stopped and filled it several times…I think it is their driving method; however these guys are so proud they will not take advice. We are proceeding uphill all the way to 3750 meters, but typical of the drivers in China they lug the engine….they never use 3rd gear, just first, 2nd then shift to 4th or 5th ASAP and lug the hell out of it. Nothing makes an engine overheat faster than that. Anyway he proceeded grinding uphill, occasionally getting out checking for damage. At times these broad expansive valleys of gravel/stone had washed over the road leaving debris 2-3 feet thick which we carefully drove up and over. Lots of front loaders along the way but the drivers were on holiday…they just sat there idly.
Then the customs and border patrol process….what bureaucracy…60 km from the border a passport check…we leave the bus, line up and through we go. Next, 20 km from border a major check…all luggage off and run through machines, passports checked(10 min each)( and I mean line up perfectly, if the line is not perfectly straight an officer rectifies the situation with a stern look and gesture), then load luggage but as we leave the door another passport check. Board the bus and up the road 5 km off the bus for another check. Then to the border…a total mud hole by now with 65 trucks waiting to get into China. They do not let the bus cross the border so he turns it around and backs up to the border and the luggage is handed across as we walk. This is no man’s land…mud everywhere, cold, raining and border patrol everywhere dressed in winter rain-gear. I wonder what we are getting into now and have some anxiety over not having brought enough clothing.
We are in Kyrgyzstan!! At 4:30PM we have a Russian driver whose family was sent west during the Stalin days, his front teeth are gold and a Russian Kyrgyz guide who is fluent in 4 languages. She appears to be a very nice competent guide who is stocky and who smokes like a chimney. 10 KM to Kyrgyz border patrol check and oh my god it is right out of 1950 cold war Berlin. Large barbed wire stockade with gate, the bus is stopped and we are approached by a guard who announces we need to wait, as the staff just went for lunch. Fortunately 10 minutes later the gate is opened and in we go to the most dilapidated, ugly, unheated building I have yet to see…passports are checked and on we go. This the building is empty, the barbed wire enclosure is filled with rusted junk military vehicles and machinery left by the Russians. We we drive for 1km by the barbed wire enclosure and are stopped by soldiers.
After some discussion we’re off on the worse road I have ever been on. All gravel and pot holes to make any mechanic happy, enough to make you come out of your seat, this goes on for at least 5-6 straight hours. Now mind you this is a lesson in self control. I and 3 others have the Uygur Revenge….pure water….from something we ate. May have been food or white mulberries…sweet, delicious, but deadly. Good news is the bouncing was so painful that each time I hit, my sphincters would tighten from pain. We arrive in a driving rain storm at the Yurts at 8:30PM (we have moved our clocks back 2 hours to accommodate the time change). Let’s see that is 12-14 hours on the road.
We have beds in the Yurts!!! And a stove…2 runs to the toilet tonight. Got lots of chemicals in me now…this is going to stop!! Good night’s sleep as the rain pounded and the one time I had to go out it was snowing. Breakfast is delicious as was dinner.
AM went to see the Tasha Rabat Monastery/Caravansie. It was a Nestorian Christian monastery in the 9th century…dank, wet. No wonder the sect did not survive…probably all died of pneumonia. They did not believe Christ was God, only a great prophet, so the cross does not display Jesus. After abandonment it was used by the caravans.
I can’t describe the mountains and wide grass covered valleys….Kyrgyz’s specialize in growing grass, horses, sheep, cattle, some camel, and up high the Yak. They need to be higher than we are most of the time. They prefer 4000m in summer.
Friday was a long day again over rough roads. Stopped in Minera for lunch….what lovely meal/family in a town that is in such poverty and disrepair. You can see the dilapidated Russian buildings falling apart everywhere, industry abandoned and rusting…in WWII the Russians moved a lot of their industry here to get away from the Germans. They up and left in the 90’s and the industrial base collapsed. Now it is a dead city…streets of potholes, weeds everywhere, sidewalks either gone in spots or filled with weeds. Many houses abandoned or if lived in the chimneys are falling over…rusting tin roofs. Fortunately Agha Khan is building his 2nd Central Asian University on the outskirts and in 3-5 years things will look up. Turns out Kyrgyzstan has a very educated population but no jobs or business base. The past two leaders and their extended families have absconded with all the money and put it in Belarus. Lots of anger about it.
Following lunch we headed for the mountains and Song Kul (a beautiful lake in the mountains). Oh my god the mountains are unbelievable and the road single lane, gravel, hairpin and up, up forever with views hard to describe. Over the top and down 400m to the valley/lake. We arrive at 4:30 and move into real yurts, beautiful wood, embroidered felt, décor hanging from the ceiling and sleep 8 in one and 5 in the other on the floor. It is cold with a driving rain, hail and lightning all night. Delicious meal of soup with wild mushrooms and fresh caught fish. Then off to sleep…we all are family now and nothing much is private anymore or for that matter even looked at!
Good night’s sleep though cold at times, I finally put on a Kyrgyz skull cap to keep warm. Awoke to sun, huge breakfast of crepes, oatmeal, and breads. Then off to our walks in small groups and me alone up and up. I stop every 10 minutes to catch my breath and stop the dizziness. Finally made it to my destination…not the top but way up. I built a 4.5 foot cairn to mark the spot (barely visible from the camp) and walked back. “Hills are filled with “fairy rings” which are dark green semi circles of grass and where the mushrooms are found. On the way found a pair of fossilized teeth…..I am sure they belong to a Mongol warrior! Started to hail again and then turned very cold and windy for rest of day. This PM we watched them put up another yurt…some experience…brilliant design and mechanics…no nails. Felt is naturally water repellent and remains so for generations. Whole family helps down to the 3 year old.
We all collected mushrooms for a great soup tonight, about 4 backpacks full. Then we had fresh mare’s milk…a sip each was intended as it consists of two small baby bottles which the baby drinks. The first cup is handed to Brian(the cleaner) who downs the whole thing to the horror of the host who talks to the guide to assure we will only just taste if she brings more!! Good old cleaner…never know when he will strike and never an apology, only “well it sure was good”….it is sweet and lite. The guide then announces that it usually causes one very fast run to the toilet for a complete evacuation! So to all my constipated friends…get a PG mare!! This was followed by Koumis(fermented mares milk)….I will stick with Scotch. It tastes sour and smells like I smoky sour milk, it is not pleasant. Great place to be after the desert of China. Tomorrow we leave on what is described as a ‘great road’ with views but alas it was washed out last eve…we had to all agree to do road work push if necessary to get through, otherwise go back the other way.
Awoke to a cold, cloudy damp day, bus driver has his ear muffs on: Group has now degenerated to fighting over the last remnants of toilet paper…”get your own” “tough if you did not titrate properly”…in good humor though.
We are among the “true Kyrgyz” so they say…round faces, short and energy to die for. Kids hop on a horse and ride bareback like the wind…only about 11yr. He herds the cattle in for the night.
Long lecture yesterday and very interesting on the ancient history of the Kyrgyz. Legend which says they come from the true Amazons (never were from S Amer). Amazons were a tribe of powerful women warriors who sometimes removed a breast if it got in the way of drawing the bow. Later they were called the Scythians who conquered much of C Asia and Hungary (perhaps Finland) and S to China. They interbred with the Vikings so alas some have fair features and red or blond hair. They are the origins of the Turkic ethnic group so often referred to in C Asia. They were never conquered legend goes they joined others; certainly they joined Genghis and his boys.
In the later centuries the Kyrgyz divided into clans which resulted in a lot of interbreeding until the Russians arrived and spread some new seed in the 1930’s.
Brutal cold damp night and wonderful breakfast. Off again to Kochkorka where we witnessed the making of felt rugs. The ride here was again an adventure with rain, washouts, driving out onto the Steppes, getting stuck in mud and pushing the bus out…all in a day’s ride. Quite a sight to see a bus bouncing across the steppes in the middle of nowhere. All we see are incredible herds of sheep and horses…some of the most beautiful horses one can imagine…don’t understand all the pampering of our domestic horses when ones see these beauties in the damp cold weather and running wild. Later saw a couple of herds of Yak up high. Doing home stays for the next couple of days. Had my first shower in 4 days…what a treat. No chance to wash clothes now for a week…getting pretty grungy.
After breakfast at the yurts the Dragon lady began a long loud discussion with a French couple about speaking French and her son’s visit to France. Allison in the group catches me on the way out and says “Ray she is an American National Treasure” and all yours!!. At noon she begins to speak halting German to some young girls serving us…very loud followed by a long review of her study and stay in Germany at some point…she talked so loud no one else could hear or talk. Oh boy what a pain.
Tonight we eat in the home where I stay, and the setting is out of a state dinner!! I have my own room, how nice. Krygyz are very friendly from what I can ascertain. But this country appears to be right out of the 1920’s rural America. Donkeys pulling carts with kids or adults..no paved streets, cows wandering in town, no lawn is mowed (they don’t have lawn mowers), beautiful veggy gardens and orchards in the back of most houses along with a cow, goat, sheep or chickens or a combo thereof. Very basic food…boiled beef or mutton in a soup of potato and veggie, nice salads of tomato, cucumber and onion…that’s it meal over!!. They tend toward light meals at night. All new rugs hang on the wall, old ones on the floor. Great reverence for the parents whose pictures are everywhere…youngest son takes care of parents in old age and other kids can leave to pursue their own life.
Today put my stuff on the bus and had to get off to get some other stuff when I returned to my seat I am greeting with “Hi Ray, I am going to sit with you today”…Dragon Lady strikes. She moved my stuff and another person’s so she could sit with good ol’ me. Others in the group would walk down the aisle and poke me in fun like..”She got you”. I survived quite well thank god.
Saw Issyk Kul today..the largest saline lake in Kyrgyz and a matter of national pride…140km long and 60 km wide and 720m deep. Many inlets and no outlets. Where the water drains is a mystery. They have discovered several old Scythian Cities at the bottom of the lake.
We then drove up Barskoon Gorge…may as well be in Austria or Southern Germany…gorgeous and hiked to a waterfall. Met a drunken Krygyz who wanted us to drink vodka…no..no…in this culture to accept such an offer is to agree to drink till bottle is empty…he had about 5 bottles. Whole family was with him in a 1946 dump truck that starts with a crank or as they often do…park on a hill. Tonight at a home stay with the most beautiful garden you can imagine…apples, plum, and roses to die for. Never have I seen such rose bushes and roses…bush is 6-10 feet tall and the flower is 6-8 inches in diameter in colors of pink, yellow, blood red. Wish I could get some rootstock. We all washed clothes tonight…the water was black after 3 rinsings….we are a filthy bunch and all smell of sour/smoky koumiss even though we have only tasted it, guess it is smoke and raw wool from the yurt stays.
Another observation is that the older generation revere Stalin…”he saved us, he could make things happen today” they say if Kyrgyzstan could have 2 years of Stalin now the economy and country would get moving again. Go figure as he was quite brutal to the clan culture and moved whole ethnic groups in or out depending on whatever fears he had at the time. There was a whole region with Germans who lived here since Catherine the Great brought them here to start farms. Stalin moved Germans from West Russia here in 1941…they were all labeled traitors. Having a hard life (labeled non citizens and banned from education system) they left the area in the latter years…just a small community left. I guess people everywhere tend to put economic security and “stability” at the top of the list. Our guide says there is a lot of anger at the present interim govt as they are not making any decisions…turns out it is a group of 6 governing and that never works. I believe there is a vote coming soon on the constitution but not sure.
An American couple who just left Osh said things are bad…2000 dead, untold wounded, Uzbek people have escaped across the border or are in hiding. Russians are humanitarian only and refuse to control the violence. Turns out the Uzbeks(whom they have run off) run the farms/agriculture and so now food is short causing further unrest. Talk about cut your nose to spite your face but that is the cost of ethnic or racial prejudice, eventually it comes back to bite you.
Today another gorge right out of Austria and Bavaria. Crossing raging streams…bridges are two logs and then a cris-cross pattern on top…they do have some give…only pictures can tell the story.
In a hotel tonight that looks very nice…just informed by Tom that the water runs black!!! Another night with no shower…most here are dribble showers and “my stream” would put them to shame(oops glad to report that the shower runs clear and hot after a few minutes and has a “good stream”). We are in an old dilapidated Russian town….beautiful old cottages with the scrolled woodwork…all in horrible shape. Streets again are dirt or part bitumen. Cows in the streets or front lawn…have yet to see a mowed lawn…I guess cows are it.
So far Kyrgyzstan is a mind warp. Some observations: Half the cars are Audi 100’s from the 80’s running alongside Old Russian cars from the 70’s and trucks from the 40’s. They share the road with donkey and horse carts filled with people and goods…grandma lying in the back and kids and wife up. An occasional tractor, people weed the fields by hand hoe or a horse pulled weeder. Potato fields everywhere, along with oats and barley. Markets in town are like everywhere but the selection of goods is very basic and limited. No pretty veggie or fruit…just onion, carrot, radish, potato, scallions, green radish and bag upon bag of cucumbers (a stable this time of year).
The entire infrastructure is shot to hell…I see very little construction or big equipment anywhere. Guide says the Russians pulled out too fast and there was no transition time. Like all colonial powers the Russians ran everything for their economic advantage so when they left the economy collapsed. Apparently the country has never recovered since the soviets pulled out. They call it the “post soviet decline”. The soviet apartments are crumbling and are slums. And as I said before it is so striking to see the 1920’s occurring before your eyes. After the Soviets pulled out there was one good govt followed by two greedy dictator/families that stole the country’s resources and invested nothing. The N and S are in an age old ethnic conflict that gets stirred up by the politicians whenever the need arises to gain some sort of support (that is universal is it not?). Needless to say, the people feel and look depressed.
We are now on the E end of Issyk Kul in KaraKol Village which has a Dungan Mosque (Chinese Muslims who settled here after an anti Muslim pogrom in China) and an E Orthodox Church. These are pretty relaxed Muslims in general…alcohol everywhere, beer is 75cents for a big bottle and vodka is $3 for a ½ liter bottle and very good (have had one shot). I think if you wanted to set off a riot just raise the price of alcohol….yet I seldom see drunkenness (the guy in the mtns is the only one). Have not had a sip of wine now for 4 weeks and only a little beer here and there…some is good other times horrid.
Tonight we had a Russian meal… light and tasty…cold cuke/spinach soup, chicken in casserole and goulash. Cost of $5 each including tea, cake and a beer. Our subgroup split the cost, the other group drove each other crazy figuring out each item and who ate what…over a $5 meal. Best I can tell the bras of the “large women” have become the favorite pockets for carrying cash, tissue, and you name it….as Paula says as you get older there is more room at the top to store things, so it is quite handy.
You should see my room, I mean 1960…orange globe lights, orange chairs and curtains and yellow sheets and cover and shag carpet!!!. Some apparition at night with the lights on.
Today more museums (one dedicated to Przhevalsky, a Russian explorer, botanist, zoologist and spy in the mid 1800’s) and a field of peitroglyphs…all from 500 BC. To 100 AD.
Tonight in a beach hotel on Issyk kul lake….how sad…they try to replicate American beach hotels which look great from the outside…inside marginal at best. Linoleum floors, broken tiles on the steps, entry and outside the sidewalk are filled with weeds and there sits the first lawn mower I have seen. Looks like they mowed one swath and it broke so there it sits. We went to the beach but temp is cold and the water likewise…nice looking beach though, behind us is trash/rubble everywhere and weeds as high as a person. Seems like nearly everything here is on the cheap. What a contrast to E China where things really are elegant. I would have to say that once we left Xian living conditions show increased poverty in China and then Kyrgyzstan is a giant leap into poverty.
Tomorrow we go to Bishkek which is supposed to be where the newly rich hang out and it is described as vibrant and colorful.
Tomorrow we stop at Cholpon-ata after viewing BC petro glyphs and 2 museums. We arrive in Bishkek on the 24th and leave on the 25th for Tashkent.
Group is having more fun together, more teasing, and individual personalities are coming out. Paula is a compulsive shopper with a flair, Beverley is a teacher/business women who is a replica painter of miniature Russian Icons and has excellent taste, Judy never eats, is quiet and a great conversationalist, Julia is a studious knowledgeable world traveler/professor and has traveled almost yearly since age 11 when she returned to Scotland to visit her grandparents. Brian had too much vodka the other night and was a happy loud man who kept repeating some Russian phrases. Ian and Tanya remain the same, with great tongue and cheek humor, they have had great adventures together and are enjoyable to be around. All in all the group is having a lot of fun with each other. Unfortunately Dragon Lady does not evolve…just more of the same and sadly is increasingly isolated by the group.
I can send this off after so many days….
posted by bollerud at 4:27 PM
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