View of the mountains from the top of Vefa Center
Some monument
Center-ish in Kant
Burana Tower
Friday, 29 June 2012
Some pics
View of the mountains from the top of Vefa Center
Some monument
Center-ish in Kant
Burana Tower
Friday, 22 June 2012
Update
The past while has been fun with Russian classes beginning last Friday. It's surprising (or perhaps unsurprising) how much I've remembered and how much I've forgotten.
It's been a sultry 35 degrees all week with nothing but sun and no air conditioning, so I usually have 3 or 4 showers a day to rinse the sweat off. I've long given up on pants and the daily attire is shorts, a t-shirt outside of the dorm, and sandals. You know it's hot when locals complain about it every day.
I'm currently sipping on a Сибирская Корона (Siberian Krown) which is a decent local brew. Tomorrow a bunch of us are going to Burana Tower, allegedly one of the oldest minarets in Central Asia.
The legend goes a local lord invited a male fortune teller to discover his daughter's future. When the psychic told of the girl's death once she turned 16, the father imprisoned the man and built the tower around him. The girl was also kept safe in the tower until her 16th birthday when a gift basket of fruit contained a poisonous spider which bit her, causing her death.
Or so I've heard.
Time for another shower before going out... The hot water's been back on for about a week which is good considering that means less roaches to deal with in the morning. This fact makes the brown water very trivial. Although that's supposed to eventually go away as well.
Or so I've heard.
It's been a sultry 35 degrees all week with nothing but sun and no air conditioning, so I usually have 3 or 4 showers a day to rinse the sweat off. I've long given up on pants and the daily attire is shorts, a t-shirt outside of the dorm, and sandals. You know it's hot when locals complain about it every day.
I'm currently sipping on a Сибирская Корона (Siberian Krown) which is a decent local brew. Tomorrow a bunch of us are going to Burana Tower, allegedly one of the oldest minarets in Central Asia.
The legend goes a local lord invited a male fortune teller to discover his daughter's future. When the psychic told of the girl's death once she turned 16, the father imprisoned the man and built the tower around him. The girl was also kept safe in the tower until her 16th birthday when a gift basket of fruit contained a poisonous spider which bit her, causing her death.
Or so I've heard.
Time for another shower before going out... The hot water's been back on for about a week which is good considering that means less roaches to deal with in the morning. This fact makes the brown water very trivial. Although that's supposed to eventually go away as well.
Or so I've heard.
Sunday, 10 June 2012
It Begins...
My second day in Bishkek. The arrival yesterday morning was early and I received my student visa after the obligatory 1.5 hour wait for the visa process to complete a staggering 10 people in front in me.. but that's to be expected.
I arrived to my dorm via a driver who waited generously despite a slight flight delay and the visa process although I'm sure they're used to that.
It's nice being back in the post-Soviet world - tricked out Ladas and Zhigulis, braided cheese, overzealous door locks, and wild dogs grazing on roadside carrion. I have missed these shades of post-Soviet life.
That being said, Kyrgyzstan is clearly different than prior experiences. For one, the Ala-Too range of the Tien Shan Mountains hulking in the distance is a vibrant reminder of the fact that I am in Central Asia and not residing on the marshy foundations of St. Petersburg.
I was received by my peers and taken out for some drinks and pizza at Dolce Vita. It was surprisingly tasty if not very filling in likely one of the city's nicest culinary establishments.
While too early to provide a full estimate, adjusting has been seamless and smooth. I'll check out the city today a little more and take a walk down Chui to see the downtown area. If I can, I'll pick up an Ak-Kalpak so I blend in.
The most important thing that's occurred thus far was seeing a 7th gen (2009+) Yamaha R1 rip down Baitik Baatyr street (formerly and still referred to as Sovietskaya) south of my dorm. Moto-touring on enduros is popular enough in Central Asia, but if there are litre bikes here, then I will indeed enjoy my time in Bishkek.
--
The trip downtown was successful including breakfast at the local American hangout, Fatboys. Chui was a mess with cars, busses, and marshrutkas vying for their selfish spaces on the pavement.
Ala-Too Square, the main square aside the White House (Kyrgyz Presidential Offices), was ringed with what appeared to be all of the city's militsia/police. The reason: June 11 is the commemorative day of the June 2010 violence in Osh and Jalal-Abad. I see no point in dodging the matter of the June 10 violence; below is a link with a decent summary of the incident and makes an important point, albeit brief, on the differences between northern and southern Kyrgyzstan.
I arrived to my dorm via a driver who waited generously despite a slight flight delay and the visa process although I'm sure they're used to that.
It's nice being back in the post-Soviet world - tricked out Ladas and Zhigulis, braided cheese, overzealous door locks, and wild dogs grazing on roadside carrion. I have missed these shades of post-Soviet life.
That being said, Kyrgyzstan is clearly different than prior experiences. For one, the Ala-Too range of the Tien Shan Mountains hulking in the distance is a vibrant reminder of the fact that I am in Central Asia and not residing on the marshy foundations of St. Petersburg.
I was received by my peers and taken out for some drinks and pizza at Dolce Vita. It was surprisingly tasty if not very filling in likely one of the city's nicest culinary establishments.
While too early to provide a full estimate, adjusting has been seamless and smooth. I'll check out the city today a little more and take a walk down Chui to see the downtown area. If I can, I'll pick up an Ak-Kalpak so I blend in.
The most important thing that's occurred thus far was seeing a 7th gen (2009+) Yamaha R1 rip down Baitik Baatyr street (formerly and still referred to as Sovietskaya) south of my dorm. Moto-touring on enduros is popular enough in Central Asia, but if there are litre bikes here, then I will indeed enjoy my time in Bishkek.
--
The trip downtown was successful including breakfast at the local American hangout, Fatboys. Chui was a mess with cars, busses, and marshrutkas vying for their selfish spaces on the pavement.
Ala-Too Square, the main square aside the White House (Kyrgyz Presidential Offices), was ringed with what appeared to be all of the city's militsia/police. The reason: June 11 is the commemorative day of the June 2010 violence in Osh and Jalal-Abad. I see no point in dodging the matter of the June 10 violence; below is a link with a decent summary of the incident and makes an important point, albeit brief, on the differences between northern and southern Kyrgyzstan.
Thursday, 7 June 2012
First Entry
Hi folks,
Thanks to all who follow this blog. I feel this is the simplest and most effective medium for sharing my experience in Kyrgyzstan this summer.
Feel free to comment, but please keep comments tasteful, despite what I may write... I'll try to do the same :)
I'll update this as frequently as I can and I'll try not to skimp on details.
Cheers.
Thanks to all who follow this blog. I feel this is the simplest and most effective medium for sharing my experience in Kyrgyzstan this summer.
Feel free to comment, but please keep comments tasteful, despite what I may write... I'll try to do the same :)
I'll update this as frequently as I can and I'll try not to skimp on details.
Cheers.
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