Kyrgyzstan Stories


The back door into China

This is a fairly straightforward journey, if slow and frustrating. From Osh, there is NO car or passenger traffic, only trucks. So either hitch a ride on a truck, or barter for a taxi to take you [it cost me KgSom 3,000, or £40] through the Kyrgyz border post to the first Chinese control [it's 5-10 km beyond the Kyrgyz one]. That's about 4-5 hou...


Bishkek

The last few days I’ve been involved in a planning meeting for a project on the “Oral History of Tajikistan since Independence.” It’s been a great meeting where we’ve discussed many plans… but while I was in the meetings Eric had all the fun. He spent his days relaxing in the luxurious room (hot running water and everything!) with CNN and exploring the...


Issik Kul

Before going to Chris’ conference in Bishkek, we planned a trip to a famous lake in Kyrgyzstan, Issik Kul. I’ve looked forward to this trip a lot. Going on 2 weeks without hot, running water, I was looking forward to a shower. The flight from Dushanbe to Bishkek was pleasant. That is after all of the confusion of getting past security and then t...


Happy New Year!

I’m discovering that one of the best things about Kyrgyzstan is the fact that you get to celebrate so many New Years! First we had the around-the-world New Year celebration, followed by the “old” New Year based on the Orthodox calendar, which was followed by the Chinese New Year, and now on March 21st we celebrated the New Year for Muslims all around ...