At the kyrgyzs border, the passport control guard looked at mine intensely for about five seconds before he handed it back to me and asked me to go to another desk. Not because there were separate desks for different nationalities. He just did not know what to do with my passport. So I went to another guard who took one look at it and then showed it to the first guard (I imagine he said something equivalent to "What the hell is this?"). Finally, he solved the mystery and the foreign girl from Dania was allowed to go through. I had made it to Kyrgyzstan.
Walking the streets of Bishkek
I would not mind having mountains like that so close to my home address
I spent my first days in Kyrgyzstan exploring Bishkek, the country's capital, where I shared an Airbnb with Tess, the "expat goddess of Central Asia" who is a friend I had made back in Almaty. Not being her first time in the city (obviously), she showed me around taking me to Ala Too Square and the Osh Bazar. She also introduced me to a couple of her girlfriends. This led to an evening of local beer and intense political conversation as one of them is a journalist working as a news anchor and the other one works for a political organization that is currently investigating a mysterious plane crash. At one point, a bottle of ice cold vodka appeared on the table (we were in a former Soviet republic after all) and that gave us the courage to take our party to a karaoke bar where I poured my heart out to Taylor Swift (as I know some people can easily imagine).
Ala Too Square
Osh Bazar
1-2 dkk a piece
Saying goodbye to Tess (for now), I left for Karakol. This serene place is the fourth largest city in Kyrgyzstan located at the foot of the Tien Shan mountains to the east and next to Lake Issyk Kul to the west. I knew the weather would be colder here but I was not prepared for a total snow-cover forcing me to walk on the side of the icy roads. My plan had been to go into the mountains and do some hiking but if I could not even walk on the city sidewalks, no way in hell would I be able to navigate the lonely trails in the mountains. So I spent a day bouncing from one cafe to the next doing a little religious temple sightseeing on the way and it was honestly quite wonderful. Karakol is a lovely little town where it seems like you are at the end of the Earth looking towards the fields and mountains that surrounds it covered in untouched snow.
The streets of Karakol
Dungan Mosque
Russian Orthodox Church (not a single nail used in this impressive wooden construction)
The streets of Karakol
The streets of Karakol
Heading back to Bishkek, I decided to couchsurf again. This time, I stayed in the flat of two turkish students and one british professor all of whom have lived in the city for years. Their place is a magical oasis of candle wax-covered wine bottles, homemade pictures and drawings and a comfy green-padded corner sofa. More importantly, their company was fun, interesting and all-around brilliant. We spent hours chatting, laughing and playing an interesting version of the card game Uno that involved taking vodka shots (again: An old Soviet republic).
Now, I did more than drink in Bishkek. Facing the fact that I arrived a little too late (November rather than October) in Kyrgyzstan to join expeditions into the mountains, I decided to be a little cultural instead and went to the National Museum of Fine Arts which turned out to be a real treat. My city wandering also took me to a bookstore where I was finally able to find a book in English rather than Russian. I also found the sweetest little eco-shop where smalltalk with the owner about her time living in Sweden turned into a more than an hour long conversation where I would wait out the incoming customers to continue our chat.
On my final evening, the british guy from the Couchsurfing-flat took me to a gay bar which was unlike anything I have ever experienced before. A few years ago, Bishkek had a small scene of gay bars that had fixed addresses and were able to operate somewhat safely but this is not the case anymore. Entering a small, dark gate, we walked to the back side of a big concrete building where we found a solitary man in a parked car. He asked us if we were looking for London Bar (which we were). Not taking any chances, my companion called his friend to make sure we were at the right place which we were. With that confirmation, we went down a black basement staircase that led to a big, metal door. No lights or signs. Our only indicator was the sound of a heavy bass pounding. Inside, we found a charming club/bar scarcely but nicely decorated that became more and more crowded with the most wonderful people as the night went on. Definitely a memory that will stay with me.
A sign in a coffee house bathroom...
I am not going to miss Oriental toilets
The next morning, I made it back to Almaty, Kazakhstan where my Central Asian adventure had started a month earlier and I have to be honest: Despite the cold weather and lack of vegetarian cuisine, I am going to miss Central Asia more than I could ever have imagined. Upon my arrival, I had been very nervous and sceptical about how I would spend that much time in such foreign territory but those last hours of walking the now familiar streets of Almaty, I did not want to leave. Thinking about the people I have met here, the friends I have made and these cultures that are so different and yet so comfortable and homely in so many ways made me choke up as I was walking back to my hostel to get my backpack. Fortunately, a round-trip from Copenhagen to Bishkek is not that expensive (yes, I have already checked future flights) and I am also incredibly excited for the next part of my trip. Now, a trusted travel companion will join me and our first stop: Malaysia.
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