kyrgyzstan Archives - cindypepper!

Central Asia, Part 3: That One Time I Camped in a Yurt

by Cindy Sun 03 Jan 2016 Comments8

Happy 2016, all! I’m actually typing this from the lobby of the SSR Airport in Mahébourg, as I’m finally returning to the States after a two-week trip in Mauritius and Madagascar. Bless the free wifi in this airport. Even though I’m a bit travelled-out for the time being, in the spirit of the new year, I’ve made a resolution to blog more (my 2014 and 2015 self is snorting so hard right now), among other #goals. Hope all of you have had restful and fun-filled holiday seasons. 🙂

Hey! Hi! SUP. Yo. You’re reading about a trip that took place 6 months ago (May – June 2015), which means that I am sadly no longer in Central Asia. However, that trip was awesome enough that I feel compelled to write about it in a series of blog posts, because it’s unsurprisingly … kind of difficult to talk about three different countries’ worth of text and photos and consolidate that sucker into one blog entry. Also, I’m likely a) nostalgic, b) itching to travel again, c) guilty about having so many orphaned photos on my HD, or d) all of the above. Anyway, let’s do this, before I start getting random plov cravings.

Also, larger versions of all the photos can be found in my Kyrgyzstan photoset.

Out of all my #lifegoals, one of them is to camp in a yurt. Yurts are perhaps second to only treehouses when it comes to ideal overnight lodging. LOOK AT THIS ARCHITECTURAL BEAUTY. How can you say no to this.

I mean, I certainly couldn’t.

So when Rebekah and I were planning our trip, the one thing that was practically non-negotiable was horseback riding and camping out in a yurt in Kyrgzystan. We could forgo the Door to Hell because of tourist restrictions in Turkmenistan. We could save Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, &c for another trip because of distance and visa reasons. But goddamnit, we were not going to give up this one thing.

The whole affair consisted of a drive from Bishkek to Kochkor, a horseback ride from Kochkor to the yurt, and then back again. When we left Kochkor, it was a nice, sunny morning smack-dab in the middle of May:

The beauty above is Burana Tower, a minaret with one hell of an indoor winding stairway. Do not let that staircase outside deceive you. The view of Chuy Valley that you get at the very top is totally worth it, though.

However, once we got on the horses, that sunny morning was no more, as I managed to experience all of the below that same afternoon, I kid you not:

sun
wind
rain
hail
snow
wind
sun

Rinse, repeat, etc. I thought San Francisco weather had its fair share of crazies in a single day, but this really took the cake, as my fleece-lined waterproof jacket went from too stuffy to useful to not-really-useful to not-fleece-lined-enough to not-waterproof-enough to useful back again — all in the span of a few hours.

But any indication of my body thermometer going haywire was quickly dispelled as I crawled under those glorious, glorious layers of blanket inside the yurt. You want warm? Because it doesn’t get any warmer than a sushirrito of blankets curled around you like a hug from the Michelin Man, especially when it’s in the ~40s (˚F) and there’s a dog barking mercilessly from outside.

Awww, yeah, look at them blankets.

Of course, that was just the endpoint. I’d be remiss in leaving out the actual horseback ride, which led us into the Ala-Too mountains. Balancing a camera and trying not to fall off a horse while traversing a river is a true test of my multitasking abilities, but, hey, I managed.

A shoutout goes to the home-cooked (yurt-cooked?) meals that I had during my trip, aka the carb-heaven goodness known as Kyrgyz flatbread (often called naan, like the Indian counterpart).

And snaps to this shorpo (Kyrgyz soup, usually consisting of lamb) for all its tummy-warming delicious. And dill and beets, for playing a very prominent starring role in nearly everything we ate. But mostly dill.

So — yeah. Yurts? 10/10, would do again.

Filed under Central Asia 2015 Travel

Central Asia, Part 2: Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

by Cindy Sun 20 Dec 2015 Comments3

Hey! Hi! SUP. Yo. You’re reading about a trip that took place 6 months ago (May – June 2015), which means that I am sadly no longer in Central Asia. However, that trip was awesome enough that I feel compelled to write about it in a series of blog posts, because it’s unsurprisingly … kind of difficult to talk about three different countries’ worth of text and photos and consolidate that sucker into one blog entry. Also, I’m likely a) nostalgic, b) itching to travel again, c) guilty about having so many orphaned photos on my HD, or d) all of the above. Anyway, let’s do this, before I start getting random plov cravings.

Also, larger versions of all the photos can be found in my Kyrgyzstan photoset.

Yo, listen. Before I descend into gratuitous wordvom about the awesomeness of my Kyrgyzstan leg of the trip, I’m going to cut to the chase and give you the key takeaway:

I CAMPED IN A YURT.

Awwwww yeah, das right. I was in a yurt, and it was every bit as awesome as it sounds. I love camping in the traditional “let’s camp out in the woods!” sense, but goddamn if it isn’t annoying to pitch a tent every time. Plus, given the choice between a flimsily-built tent in the middle of the woods and A MOTHERFUCKING YURT SURROUNDED BY MOUNTAINS IN KYRGYZSTAN, it’s pretty obvious which one’s the superior choice.

Okay, micdrop done.

Anyway! For those wanting to travel to Central Asia like that bitchin’ landscape above, Kyrgyzstan’s a solid gateway into the area. In most cases, you can easily get a visa on arrival, because the entrance requirements in Kyrgyzstan have the most chill compared to all the other -stans.

I arrived into Kyrgyzstan via marshrutka, from good ol’ Almaty into Bishkek. Marshrutkas are shared taxicabs, but unlike Lyft Line or Uberpool, they’re older vans and the route is pretty fixed, seeing as it doesn’t get more straightforward than Almaty → Bishkek. Overall, it took about 3 hours, though there was no way I was keeping track, having been jetlagged to the ends of the earth and running on a grand total of one cup of coffee. In all my sleep deprivation, I vaguely remember getting dropped off at the Kazakhstan exit border, communicating back and forth between Rebekah and the border guard about my passport, and having to repeat the same process as we crossed the no-man’s land and officially entered Krygzystan. I also remember drizzle and rain, which is irrelevant in the big picture, but seemed kinda relevant at the time, as we were trying to locate our marshrutka and not look like drowned rats.

Some small amount of paperwork later and another taxi ride to Rebekah’s place, and we were settled in Bishkek! Huzzah!

Cue hallelujah music.

Bishkek is a solid square one for a Central Asian trip. It’s a relatively new city, with a mixture of Soviet brutalist architecture and tree-lined boulevards and bazaars (the first of many) and the walkability of a small town. One of our first stops was Osh Bazaar, one of the larger marketplaces where you can buy every local product under the sun.

There are the safe bets, like nuts and dried fruit (highly recommended, by the way!) —

— and then there are the more adventurous options, such as kurut.

(source)

It’s safe to say that kurut is an acquired taste, because if you can imagine a white gumball-sized chalk-textured sphere of cheese that tastes like solidified expired yogurt with a slightly dairy aftertaste, then you can guess that this is not one of those love-at-first-taste foods. Luckily, I had a pack of Tic-Tacs that we all desperately needed after we each downed one ball like it was a shotglass. You can tell that I’m really selling this.

Safe to say, I stuck with the almonds after that — and pistachios, like Exhibit A below:

Touted as the “best ice cream in Central Asia”, Fresco is an ice cream truck situated a few blocks away from Dubovy Oak Park. The ice cream has a gelato-esque consistency but they use local ingredients, such as this awesome pistachio flavor.

For a bit of Americana out here, there’s the Obama Bar & Grill, a recent establishment named after good ol’ Barack and furnished with various Obama paraphernalia. Fun fact: there was, indeed, a Putin Pub just across the street, but by the time I had arrived, they had already been shuttered for months (at the behest of the Russian authorities, I hear).

Ala-Too Square, the centerpiece of the Bishkek city proper:

And just so we have the obligatory food shot, this here is lagman (derived from the Chinese 拉面 / la mian — sound familiar?) from Chaikhana Jalal-Abad. Think thick, hand-pulled noodles topped with chopped peppers and a sauce of equal parts spicy and salty. Carb heaven, pretty much.

Also, the yurt is getting its own post because it was that freaking cool.

Filed under Central Asia 2015 Travel

Central Asia, Part 1: Almaty, Kazakhstan

by Cindy Sun 13 Dec 2015 Comments5

Hey! Hi! SUP. Yo. You’re reading about a trip that took place 6 months ago (May – June 2015), which means that I am sadly no longer in Central Asia. However, that trip was awesome enough that I feel compelled to write about it in a series of blog posts, because it’s unsurprisingly … kind of difficult to talk about three different countries’ worth of text and photos and consolidate that sucker into one blog entry. Also, I’m likely a) nostalgic, b) itching to travel again, c) guilty about having so many orphaned photos on my HD, or d) all of the above. Anyway, let’s do this, before I start getting random plov cravings.

When I told people where I went for summer vacation, the response I gave was … probably not what they were expecting.

OTHER PERSON: “Oh, where’d you go?”
ME: “Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan.”
OTHER PERSON: ………..o wow

And this usually prompts the question: So why did I want to go to Central Asia?

See below:

A photo posted by Cindy (@cindypepper) on May 26, 2015 at 4:53am PDT

Registan Square had always been a staple on my travel bucket list since I was in high school, back when I owned a hardcover book of 100 places I had to see before I dropped dead or else my life would amount to some meaningless existence, but hopefully less drastic. Known as the “noblest public square in the world”, Registan’s all the way in Uzbekistan, a country which happens to hold many distinctions, such as one of two doubly landlocked countries in the world and one of a few countries on my Places I’d Love to Visit that Happen to be Infeasibly Far Away list. Convincing myself to go wasn’t hard. History, mountains, architecture, the far-removal from my current state — there was a lot I wanted to explore, but translating that want into plane tickets and a passport stamp takes a lot more gusto and tedious paperwork than just imagining it in your head.

Flashback to fall 2014.

My friend Rebekah had gotten accepted for a Fulbright in Kyrgyzstan last year, and when we realized that 1) Kyrgyzstan was pretty darn close to Uzbekistan and 2) we both wanted to go to Uzbekistan, like, really fucking badly, it didn’t take long for us to create a Google Doc and throw in all the places we wanted to visit. Azerbaijan! Turkmenistan! Kazakhstan! The less fun stuff, like calculating vacation days and visa restrictions, began to factor in. Eventually, we whittled down our two-week itinerary to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, tossing in ideas here and there as the months passed by, until we came up with the following: we’d spend some time in Almaty, chill at Rebekah’s place in Bishkek, go horseback riding and camp in a yurt near the Ala-Too mountains, and hit up the Uzbek trifecta of Bukhara – Samarkand – Tashkent. Phew.

We did all of those things and then some — I mean, I camped in a frickin’ yurt, for crying out loud. I had what was probably my most difficult experience getting lost in translation. I visited Samarkand and was, yes, in total awe. And hey, if my first 36 hours of travelling were any indication, this was one hell of a trip. This is how it got started, all the way back in May.

THURSDAY, 6PM: Spend the night before and all day relentlessly packing. Buy speculoos for Rebekah and silently hope they don’t get squashed in my luggage. Board the flight from SFO to Istanbul.

FRIDAY, 5PM: Arrive in Istanbul. Kill 3 hours by grabbing a quick and predictably uneventful dinner at the airport.

FRIDAY, 9PM: Fly out to Almaty. Sleep it out.

SATURDAY, 5AM: Arrive in Almaty at 5am (yes, local time), which means poor Rebekah has to get up (or not get up) at butt-o’clock to come pick me up. I honestly do not envy the Turkish Airlines pilots who have to fly at ungodly hours, because how do you fly at 3am HOW.

Almaty is — crazily enough — only three hours away from Bishkek (over in Kyrgyzstan), which is actually the total amount of time I spend on my work commute every day. Not only does this make me cringe about the percentage of my life I have spent to-and-from San Francisco and Mountain View, but it makes me sigh at the proximity of all these cities and countries compared to the congested, big ass state that is California.

SATURDAY, 6AM: Drop off your stuff and freshen up with a shower. Bruteforce the jetlag out of your system by walking around Almaty at the crack of dawn on a Saturday. Marvel — in your bleary-eyed state, of course — at the suspiciously clean streets, the wide sidewalks with the overhanging trees, the cleanly marked bike lanes that far outclass those of San Francisco and even Portland, the balmy weather, and the silence unusual for any big city. Recognize how hungry you are but can’t really do anything about it, because nothing’s open — yet.

SATURDAY, 7AM: Walk along Arbat, a wide pedestrian street normally known for its shopping and cafés, but it’s too early for that kind of hustle and bustle. Head to the Green Bazaar (Zelionyj Bazaar), where local goods and produce are sold and haggled. Sample nuts, dried fruit, qurt (grape-sized balls of dried yogurt), Korean salads, and tandyr nan.

SATURDAY, 8AM: Walk around the Respublika Alany and get a kick out of the Zailysky Alatau mountain range peaking out from the building silhouettes and clouds. Stop by the Presidential Palace. Don’t crane your neck too hard as you stare up at the Independence Monument. Check out that winged snow leopard, though.

SATURDAY, 9AM: Get a bit of fresh air as you stroll/walk/run through Panfilov Park. Draw your eyes towards the Ascension Cathedral (Zenkov Cathedral), which looks like a sister to St. Basil’s and is too hard to miss with all those Disney-like whimsical colors and patterns. Realize that the entire cathedral is made of wood and later find out that it’s the second tallest wooden building in the world.

Make your way to the very heart of the park, where the Panfilov heroes are commemorated in a series of WWII monuments.

SATURDAY, 10:30 AM: Get nourishment in the form of brunch, now that cafés are opening up. Realize exactly how sophisticated Almaty is, from all the many shopping centers to the wide tree-lined sidewalks to the terraced cafés to the ultra-new subway system. Order some coffee to get some caffeine into your system, because you’ll need it for the ride into Kyrgyzstan.

SATURDAY, 1PM: Grab your bags, get on the marshrutka (a shared mini-bus/van hybrid) for a three-hour ride across the Kazakh-Kyrgyz border into Bishkek. Welcome to Central Asia, kid. The day’s barely halfway over and your trip’s just getting started.

Filed under Central Asia 2015