Кыргызстан (Kyrgyzstan)

I’ve never been so unprepared when travelling to a country as I am upon arriving to Kyrgyzstan. I don’t know what language they speak. I don’t know the time. I have no idea what our plan is, or how we plan to get around this country. I don’t even know what currency they use for that matter. I just hopped in the plane and hoped that upon arriving to Kyrgyzstan something wonderful would unfold, and indeed, it did. After waiting for my friend Wilson for about 2 hours at 3am in the morning in the small crowded airport of Bishkek, we headed out to meet Wilson’s friend Manu—a French guy who has been living in Bishkek for about 6 months aiming to learn some Russian. On our way to his place, I learned that Kyrgyzstan (spelled Кыргызстан in Kyrgyz and Киргизия in Russian) was part of the Soviet Union until 1991, it is located in Central Asia, everyone can speak apart from Kyrgyz fluent Russian, traffic rules are completely obsolete, and that no matter whether you fixed a price with your taxi driver on your way out of the airport, they will change their price about 5 times before you reach your destination. For this reason, нет meaning “no”, is a word you learn very quickly. 

Kyrgyzstan was definitely a cultural shock. Although I have been to many developing countries in South America, I’ve never been to one where 1) I didn’t speak the language, and 2) was so drastically different from what I am used to. Soviet influence is everywhere, from old Soviet buildings, some of which look as if they are about to crumble, to massive statues—that of Lenin being the biggest.

Traffic is insane and crossing the street took some time to get used to. They have many plazas where you can find outdoor karaoke machines, as well as Russian and Kyrgyz music playing from large speakers. In short Bishkek is like all big cities loud, busy, and entertaining. At night the city is the place to be. People party and oh boy can Kyrgyz people party. One our first night we headed out with Manu and some of his friends to a club near the mountains. Never did I expect to see so many extroverted people dancing, drinking, and having the time of their lives. I guess I forgot to mention Kyrgyzstan is partly a Muslim country, but as it became increasingly obvious to me, not a conservative Muslim country. For one thing they drink, and they drink like champs! I never had such a hard time playing catch up while drinking vodka with people. These were one after the other shots of vodka, of REALLY good vodka. I loved it! Thankfully, being that vodka is superb in Kyrgyzstan, you never have to worry about nursing a colossal hangover the next day. It was without doubt an unforgettable experience.

The people in Kyrgyzstan are wonderful. They are kind and genuine in ways I’ve never seen before. To them showing you their country is a pleasure, and they do an excellent job at making you feel at home. If there is something that definitely left an impression on me was the sweetness of Kyrgyz people.

Of course I spent a great deal of time in the mountains. After all, the entire mountainous region covers about 80% of Kyrgyzstan. We spent some time in the Issyk-Kul Lake in the north-eastern part of the Tian Shan range. This is the second largest mountain lake in the world after Titicaca, and also incredibly popular among Kyrgyz and Russian people. It’s sort of a vacation spot for many people in Central Asia with resorts and nice restaurants—think Lake Tahoe. Although Issyk-Kul Lake was indeed pretty, by far my favorite place in all of our travels through Kyrgyzstan was Song Köl Lake in the northern Naryn Province. Apart from the fact that the landscape is outstandingly beautiful, here you really get to experience the nomadic life of Kyrgyz people. This place is magical. Only nomads live here and you can only find them during the summer. They come for 3 to 4 months and settle near the lake with their cattle. These farmers live at yurts at the jailoo, and I was one lucky gal to spend an entire 2 days with one of the families. 

They were so accommodating and wonderful. Normally there are some yurts tourist can stay at, but who the heck wants that when you can stay with a family instead. We got to hang out with their kids, cows, sheep, and horses. Did some horseback riding near the lake. Ate delicious mutton and drank horse milk aka. Kumis—it’s gross. All in all a wonderful experience. I’ll let my pictures tell the rest of the story.

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