Coming Home - To Kyrgyzstan
Rosal writes…
The thought of Kyrgyzstan kept me going. Don't get me wrong. I
wouldn't have missed out on this tour of Central Asia for anything!
But when the times were tough - and yes - there were enough of them.
The thought of this beautiful country willed those pedals to turn.
Whether it was the thought of the cool mountain air as we crossed
the formidable Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan, the endless blue
skies when it poured with rain in Turkey, or imagining the desert
jeep tracks when nerves were frayed in the voluminous traffic of
Iran - it became clear that it can be difficult travelling uncharted
territory for several months without some sort of 'known', some
familiarity. In this respect, Kyrgyzstan was my 'Touchstone'.
Sometimes, that very essence of travel, the 'unknown', can begin
to weigh heavily - new languages, new culture, religions, currencies
to list some. That's not to mention finding hotels, good places
to eat and where to find the cheapest Internet in town!
However, this most recent visit wasn't all retraced roads. Our
travels across Kyrgyzstan on this occasion covered lots of new places
- as we sliced our way through the centre of the country over disintegrating
roads and amidst furious mountain storms.
When we hit the ring-road that surrounds Song-Kol lake, it was
like coming home. Though 'home' was a Yurt and a family that had
moved 10 kilometres further away from where they were last year!
I realised that the beauty and magnificence of the country is the
same as ever, but like the young and restless Tian Shan mountain
range, Kyrgyzstan is quickly changing and can't help itself.
In the year that we had been away, news of this amazing country
has certainly got around. As we started the climb to the 3000 metre
high lake of Song Kol, we passed Swiss trekkers and convoys of Ladas
passed us carrying their human cargoes. Reaching the lake in a whirl
of snow and a cutting wind, nearly every Yurt we saw had erected
some sort of makeshift sign advertising themselves as 'B&Bs'
or 'Yurt Hotels'. Then more tourists came by - driven in Land Rover
Discoveries, Nissan Patrols and Toyota Land Cruisers
Even as we arrived at the Osmond families' Yurt - the people we
had returned to see - tramping over an icy slush of marsh - pushing
and pulling the heavy tandem in the moonlight. We wondered at what
we would find.
It was nothing out of the ordinary. Thankfully, Grandpa, now 82,
still mends his fishing nets and scolds the children and chickens;
Mother Osman is pregnant - her 19 year old daughter now responsible
for most of the domestic duties. There are now two Yurts, where
before there was one, and they'd bought a small, cheap cassette
radio to while away the evenings which are otherwise deafeningly
quiet.
There are now more tourists, and prices have risen accordingly.
Tourism being the primary resource that Kyrgyzstan has. But it is
still one of the most beautiful and relaxing countries I've ever
been.
And there's the rub. Next year there will be even more tourists
and the prices will be even higher. But I'll still return!
As I sit in the familiar surrounds of FatBoy's Café in the
capital of Bishkek, devouring a summer pudding that I've been dreaming
about for the last 12 months, I'm suddenly taken aback. They're
cheaper! Well, you never can tell, in Kyrgyzstan.
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