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JUNE, 2004
2005: JULY,
JUNE, MAY, APRIL,
MARCH, FEBRUARY,
JANUARY,
2004: DECEMBER, NOVEMBER,
OCTOBER, SEPTEMBER,
AUGUST, JULY
6/30/04 – I took a bus to the airport, but it did not
go all the way to the airport. It stopped at the end of a long dirt road, about
an hour before my departure. I had asked the driver of this bus went to the
airport when I boarded, and he told me yes. When we were stopped and he began
to smoke the first of several cigarettes, I asked about the airport, and he
told me that this was not the airport. Interesting, I thought. All I could do
is wait for him to start his route back, since hitching was not much of an option.
He smoked several cigarettes, took some water from under one of the school bus
seats and filled his radiator, then eventually started back. At the main road
he stopped, looked back at me, and pointed to the north and said Aeroparto!
I got out and started hitching. About the fifth car stopped, a very nice Mercedes
with a VCD screen, and I was at the airport five minutes later with a few minutes
to spare before my flight.
On the tarmac I noticed that Manas International Airport is actually Manas Air
Force Base. At least three of four planes visible was a United States Air Force
airplane. All in all I could see maybe four or five non USAF planes. This is
indicative of America's military strength around the world - which made me a
bit wary - but how would I have felt if there were many French, Russian, or
German planes? USA! USA! USA!
The flight on the Yak 40 was smooth, and I got into Osh without any trouble.
I made a loop at the kilometer long market, but noticed a remarkable deficiency
in the usual Spice Girl’s t-shirts, turtles and hamsters, and goat’s
heads for sale. The fruit was excellent, I have never eaten so much watermelon
and cantaloupe in my life.
I arrived at the "new" bus station north of town. It is a derelict
relic, a huge complex overrun with weeds and remarkably quiet and deserted.
The bus from Osh to Kashgar was supposed to leave at 8pm, so 9:30 we took off.
I got a bed next to a very nice British girl making the central Asia circuit.
There was a problem with the manifest, as only 8 people were on the official
list, but everyone seemed to have a ticket. They thought people were making
their own tickets, but after three stops to sort it out they gave up and continued
with the drive. Didn’t sleep, predictably.
6/29/04 – Another triple-decker egg-salad and fish surprise
sandwich for breakfast. Took a shared taxi for 300 som to Bishkek and bought
a plane ticket to Osh. I hear it’s a nice car ride down there, but I’ll
be spending three of four days in a car, decided to pay the $40 to make a 12
hour drive an hour and fifteen minute flight. Ran into Yaniv and looked at his
pictures of the sheep slaughter.
He showed me where he was staying, a nice homestay for $4. I’m still trying
to beat my accomodation record of $2.50, set in several different countries.
6/28/04 – Another miserly meal at the Altyn Arashan guesthouse,
this time tea and bread with apricot jam (apricots in a heavy syrup). I had
another soak in the hot springs along the river, then began my descent down
the valley. I hiked for about three hours down a beautiful valley. Caught a
minibus back to the hostel. Chatted with a Dutch and Australian guy during dinner.
They had just come off the mountain after four nights above Karakol; that’s
the route I should have done, as these mountains are very very nice. Oh well,
I didn’t have my gear. Next time, next time.
6/27/04 – I woke up at 6am (that’s six o’clock
in the morning) to go to the Live Animal Market in Karakol. Apparently all the
action is over by 8am. Not a lot of things are getting me out of bed at 6am
on a Sunday, and livestock has not had this honor in the past, but I’ve
been trying to broaden my horizons ever since I realized I’ve lived 27
of 28 years in California. I joined two Swiss couples for the 30 minute walk
to the market. I didn’t say anything, they, on the other hand, are morning
people I guess. The market was an eye-opener. It was like a used-car lot in
the Disneyland parking lot. Several thousand people had brought their sheep,
cows, horses and pigs, and would stand next to them while other people looked
at their teeth and commented on their condition. Some people took horses out
for a test drive. I learned that in good condition, baby pigs cost $10, sheep
cost $25, cows $100, and horses $500. I did not buy anything. I enjoyed the
baby pigs the most. They were off to the side, and only Russians were buying
and selling the pigs, as the Kyrgyz don’t dig on swine, like much of Central
Asia and the middle east. They made eye contact with me and motioned me over
to the back of their car. They opened the trunk of their Lada
(kinda like the old East-German trabbies) and showed off the six or eight baby
pigs oinking with trepidation. I snapped a pic, not yet available. I returned
to the Yak Hostel, Central Asia’s first hostel, and had another fine breakfast.
I took a mid-morning nap, then headed out with Valentin’s driver Nicolai
and two other people going up into the mountains to set up the guesthouse for
the summer. After a few errands, we began to ascend what could be the worst
road I’ve driven on. Nicolai did a great job driving, as he has driven
this road many years, and knew the Russian VW-style bus very well. The bus was
in bad shape - aesthetically - but it was powerful and got up some very difficult
terrain. I arrived at the guesthouse in a beautiful valley at 3000 meters or
so and had a soak in the hot springs with Nicolai. After a brief respite in
the cold guesthouse, I summitted the southern slope as the sun set. Nice climb,
not as easy as it looks when you’re at 9,000 - 10,000ft. Had a miserly
meal of instant noodles and sardines on bread with tea.
6/26/04 – I woke up and had an interesting breakfast
consisting of a triple-decker egg salad and tuna fish (but I don’t think
it was tuna fish) sandwich. Also bread and cheese with tea. Better than oodles
and oodles of laghman noodles. Yaniv and I prepared for a day hike in the Jeti-Aguz
valley, and headed out to find a bus. We went to the bus stop, then we were
directed to the bazaar, then asked a taxi driver - "No No No! No bus Jeti-Aguz!
I take you now 300 som!" Word of advice, don’t ask taxi drivers where
a particular bus might be found. I recognized an Argentine guy I met at the
Uzbek consulate, and he was heading to the same place with a girl. We shared
a taxi for 200 som and arrived at the Jeti-Aguz sanatorium thirty minutes later.
The rest of this day can be found here.
6/25/04 – Had a breakfast of laghman and nan, then relaxed
at the lakeside beach, a beach probably further from any ocean in the world.
Caught a minibus out to Karakol, checked in to the Yak Hotel and had a very
delicious home-cooked meal by Balbina. Pork chops in a delicious sauce, baked-fried
potatoes, a vegetable turnover-pastry thing, bread and lots of tea. Went out
to a small disco bar with the Swiss couple, the Danish couple, and Yaniv, the
Israeli. There was a drunk Kyrgyz there that got us all out on the dance floor
quicker than we would have liked. He made one of the waittresses dance with
me, the other adamantly stayed by the railing. Who could blamer her? The man
kept pointing like a 70’ disco dancer.
6/24/04 – I took a shared taxi out to Cholpan-Ata for
200 som. Never take the first offer when taking shared taxis in Central Asia.
That’s a tip kids, write it down. The ride was smooth and scenic. We drove
along the lake for a long time before passing the little lakeside hamlet of
Cholpon-Ata. I thought of stopping the taxi, but my usual traveler malaise and
curiosity encouraged me to see where the taxi was going. We stopped at the next
town, Bisteri. I got out and got me bag from the trunk. The taxi driver asked
me if I was getting out here. "Hmm, I guess". There was a girl who
spoke a little english that had been riding in the car, "He wants to know
if you are staying here". "Yeah, I don’t know, I guess".
"Where are you trying to go?", she said. "Cholpan-Ata, but we
passed that, so maybe I’ll just stay here". She seemed perplexed
with my lack of any kind of plans or opinion on the matter. "Where’s
the beach, down there?". So ten minutes later I had my shoes and shirt
off and was talking to a Kyrgyz and Korean guy from Bishkek. We went for a swim,
had a beer, then I lost playing Russian pool, which is not much like American
pool. The guy working the pool tables told me to watch out for these two guys.
They turned out alright, invited me over to one of their sister’s place
for dinner. We had an awkward meal of bread that we dipped in sourcream-butter-milk
- something eerie like that, grey crumbly matter that did not resemble any food
I've ever seen, a beverage that tasted like nothing I have ever tasted before,
and some cookies, which I filled up on. I went to the disco at the Hotel I was
staying at. It was predictably interesting.
6/23/04 – Inquired at the Uzbekistan embassy about a
visa, after being coming at the wrong time yesterday – "YOU COME
BACK TOMORROW TEN". So I did, and the lady decided to sleep off her hangover
and open at 11am. They want $152 for an express visa, which takes 4 business
days, or 7 total days if you don’t work Uzbek hours. Scratch that plan,
J$ don’t have that kind of scratch for the paperwork. Maybe there’s
a backdoor in somewhere. Looking at heading out to Lake Issyk Kul, the second
biggest lake in the world, and relaxing on their beaches for a little while.
I deserve it, right? These past 3 months have been very stressful! Then do a
short trek into the mountains, as Kyrgyzstan has the best trekking in Central
Asia.
This plan changes hourly, as the Torugart Pass is supposed to be a bitch to
cross. We shall see. I tried to get out to Cholpan Ata this afternoon, but 4pm
was too late to trek out there, so tried to get another hotel. The first budget
hotel recommended by Lonely Planet wanted $60 a night for a single room, about
$50 too much. Hasta. I met a girl on the way down who wanted to practice her
english. Surprise, Surprise, she is an English Teacher here in town. We chatted
for a little bit, then set up dinner plans. I napped for a short while, tried
to meet up with her at 7:45, the returned to my hotel room. She knocked on my
door around 9pm, asking where I was. Apparently my watch was an hour behind,
apparently the Uzbek embassy opened on time. She picked a restaurant in one
of the parks near downtown. There was live music, very, very loud, so no one
could hear anything but this cover band. Great for practicing English. She had
already eaten, so I just worked through the "salad" and soup that
she ordered for me. First food all day. After we had exhausted all of the usual
topics and I realized that I wasn’t in a disco mood, we parted ways. Nice
girl, life in Bishkek can be boring for some, especially when it is summer and
you won’t work until September. So I’ll try again for Colpan-Ata
on Lake Issyk Kul, now that I have the right bus station and some insider information.
Wish me luck beyond there. It will probably be a few days before another update.
Do svidanya.
6/22/04 – In Bishkek. It’s a MUCH nicer city than
anyone would believe. It has a cosmopolitan quality of life and cafe culture
that rivals any city in Europe. It is greener than Portland and there are 4,000
meter peaks that ascend vertically very near the town, situated at 800 meters.
It resembles Almaty in this respect, but Bishkek is much smaller and has fewer
people. Still, walking around town at 11pm on a Monday night, Ryan and I thought
that there was a festival that day, or no one worked today, as the streets were
filled with locals strolling around, taking pictures, drinking Kvasa and beer.
We ate a doner hamburger for $0.30, which could be my favorite street food to
eat anywhere in the world. It resembles the famed German doner kebab. These
doners can be found over Europe and Asia, and usually have meat sliced off a
huge vertical rotisserie of beef and lamb, then some lettuce or cabbage, cucumber
slices, tomatoes, and some sort of sauce get added to some variation of a pita.
Good stuff, especially when you’re looking to spend $0.60 on dinner.
Ryan and I took a shared taxi down from Almaty, paying $10 for the beautiful
four hour drive through the green steppes, drinking cold beer we’d buy
at gas stations along the way. The border crossing was considerably easier than
getting into Kazakhstan from China, and we almost brought out beers with us
when we got our passports checked, as other people behind us did. We arrived
around ten, and by 11pm Ryan were talking to locals on the street, eating doner
hamburgers and plotting our next move. We went to a disco/club/pub/bar and drank
some beers, then bought a few nice bottles of Russian champagne for $5 to celebrate
his two and half or so years here in Central Asia. He was in good shape for
the long trek to New York, through Moscow.
6/21/04 – Dropped off visas at the Kyrgyzstan Embassy
here in Almaty, Kazakhstan, then ran some errands and packed up. At Peace Corp
Almaty office now, borrowing LP books and trying to make a belated Fathers day
phone call home. Off to Biskek in a few hours in a shared taxi with ryan, who
flies to Moscow early tomorrow morning.
6/20/04 – Another close call at the American Bar and
Grill, as breakfast stops at 2pm. Ryan and I went to the Russian banya afterwards.
I have never been around so many naked men in my life, and the fact that they
were hitting each other with birch branches only made things more strange. READ
the full story!!!. Stayed at a hotel (dubbed The Shag Palace) so Ryan could
have a night with his lady before shipping out with me Monday.
6/19/04 – Breakfast at the American Bar and Grill, then
a few errands (buy a nice bottle of absinthe). Kebabs for dinner, then absinthe,
then another disco with a group of Peace Corp workers.
6/18/04 – Visits to US embassy, Kyrgyzstan embassy (which
has six foot marijuana plants growing right outside the entrance. Nice dinner
at an Uzbekistani restaurant. Tasty hookah for dessert there. Disco till early
morning.
6/17/04 – Managed the bus ride ok, highlighted by a six
hour border crossing. Actual conversation: "I afraid is problem with passport"
(in russian accent). russianrussianblah INTERPOL russianrussian. "You talk
to man, he eat lunch now, come back two three hour". Those kind of conversations
with Central Asian border patrol officers are always encouraging. I got through
just fine, did not even have to offer any baksheesh. Ryan picked my up at the
bus station at midnight after waiting for five hours.
6/16/04 – All set for a 24 hour bus ride this afternoon.
Let’s hope my intelligence is good. Was able to watch the NBA Finals this
morning all the way into the third quarter when the game finished.
6/15/04 – You have to know someone in Ürümqi
to get a bus ticket to Almaty, Kazakhstan, and you have to know them well. After
going to the main long–distance bus station, then to a hotel, then to
another bus station, then I was directed to another bus station, that did not
in fact exist, so I went back to the original bus station to get an address
written down. I was told to go the hotel again. At the hotel I was told to come
back tomorrow in the afternoon and they could give me a ticket then. I have
doubts as to quality of my information, but not much else I can do. What’s
another week or so in Ürümqi?
6/14/04 – I got stood up by my Uygher friend Osmand this
morning. I ended up not needing him to translate for me, as the KZ man spoke
a bit of English, but I ended up getting a regular three day visa like any other
civilian requesting express service. I even called Ryan Brush so he could call
his Ministry of Foreign Affairs, so they could in turn call the office I was
at, but he could not make any progress. He is apparently too busy building his
army and planning his coups. Two more days of killing time in Ürümqi.
6/13/04 – Woke up with a French guy sleeping next to
me, then an American girl, then two S. Koreans. Interesting who is in your room
when you wake up when you stay at places like this. The hotel is actually nice.
They have a bowling alley, gym, and it looks like and upscale place, except
they have a few rooms reserved for bums like me who don't mind waking up with
a bunch of strangers. I went out to breakfast with the Koreans – spicy
tofu, pickled cucumbers, peppers and onions and pork with rice. Then on to the
other park for a leisurely afternoon of fishing at the pond. Didn't catch anything,
didn't really want to.
6/12/04 – Tried to go to a mountain lake – Heavenly
Pool – but my bus never showed up. I wasn't feeling too energetic anyways.
Made it out later that afternoon to try and find something that resembled a
cafe where I might get something like a cup of coffee. Walked for 40 minutes
and ended up at a square in front of a mosque. They were selling more shish
kebabs and more beer. A Swiss girl flagged me down and we had a beer, then dinner
at a Uygher restaurant with lots of singing and dancing. We were seated at a
table on the stage, less than a foot from the drummer. A whole fried chicken,
rice, bread, assorted deserts was good, and only 67 yuan. Went to a Disco, then
back to hotel.
6/11/04 – I tried to go to the Kazakstani Consulate,
but they are conveniently closed on Fridays. I walked around the busting downtown
area and went to People’s Park. Rode the Ferris Wheel. After a nap I met
an Uygher guy here at the internet cafe. We had a nice Ulgher dinner of depanyi
and laghman with lots of beer. Drank at a sidewalk beer garden that had been
set up. Went back to the first restaurant for Ulger music and dancing. 14 year
old uygher kids made me drink more Whisky than I needed at that point.
6/10/04 – Arrived Ürümqi at about 8pm –
almost exactly 48 hours. I took a bus to a nice hotel that was only asking 20
yuan (two and a half bucks) for a bed. I ate a lot of shish kebabs for dinner,
washed down with a Liter of good, cold Wusu beer.
6/9/04 – Travel westward through eastern and central
China
6/8/04 – Depart Shanghai Railway Station at 20:32
6/7/04 – Shanghai, Tianyaoqiao Lu – Couldn’t
get a train ticket out unless I wanted to pay 1075 yuan for a soft sleeper.
I’m hard sleeper to the day I die, yo.