KYRGYZSTAN

In 1999 I went to the movies to watch The Matrix with my friend Robbie. I walked into the theater with no expectations, having not heard a thing about the film. And it blew me away. The opening scene was spectacular -- the bullet-time slow-mo and the action-packed chase scene when Trinity lays waste to a room full of cops and then eludes the agents on a dash across the rooftops. I had never seen anything like it.

Entering Kyrgyzstan was a similar experience. I knew almost nothing about where we were going, let alone how to pronounce the name (it's Keer-ghiz-staan), but soon after crossing into our seventeenth country, the landscape transformed dramatically... and it blew me away. Luckily I was in a car and and not a theater, so I could yell out 'holy shit, this is awesome!' as loud as I wanted. And I did that a lot, throughout the entire country. I had no idea what to expect, and Kyrgyzstan was a wonderful surprise.

It was midday by the time we made it through the border crossing, and within thirty minutes of leaving Uzbekistan we ascended into a mountainous landscape. Our first stop was an emerald lake. The water looked fake, as though Mother Nature had dialed up the saturation in photoshop, and the opposing bank rose quickly into a craggy range. We had to go for a swim. The lakeshore was pebbly, and we joined a scattered handful of people down by the water. After our dip we were approached by some friendly and curious teens. They weren't used to seeing foreigners, and came over to ask if they could take a picture with us. First impressions of Kyrgyzstan - extremely beautiful and relatively untouched by the western world - so far so good.

We decided to head for Lake Toktogul and find a place to camp for the night, and the drive only got better. We left the emerald lake and followed its tributary through a windy and precipitous canyon, the river was a bold turquoise, and we cruised along through what seemed a perpetual magic hour. After stopping for food in a small town at the base of a mountain, we carried on, up and over a windy pass, until we descended upon Lake Toktogul.

We spotted some cars parked by the lakeside, and pulled off the highway onto a bumpy gravel road towards the water, then turned onto a track that paralleled the shore to look for a place to camp. We found the perfect patch of grass in a field of knee-high weeds (of what appeared to be some strain of cannabis), and set up the tent as the sun fell towards the mountainous horizon across the lake. We walked down to the rocky beach for a sunset swim, while the rest of the folks packed up their cars for the day. Another curious local came over to chat. Her name was Sagida, and like so many people we’d met in Central Asia, she was kind and curious, excited to meet some foreigners, and happy to get the chance to practice her English. After she left, we had the place to ourselves. 

Sagida came back the next morning, bright and early. She wanted to catch us before we left and tried to convince us to stay and hang out at the lake for the day. The invitation was tempting, but we were aiming to get to Bishkek that night to meet up with Miles. I’d been put in touch with Miles through my friend Gülce (who we met up with in Istanbul) and my sister. Miles did Peace Corps in Kyrgyzstan and had been living in Bishkek for a few years. So after a morning swim with Sagida, we took off for the capital.

I wasn’t sure we’d be able to top our introduction to Kyrgyzstan, but the second day was even more beautiful than the first. The road around Lake Toktogul clung to rolling hills that tumbled into turquoise, every bend providing a view across the water and a panorama of mountains upon mountains. From blue-green lakes to jagged ranges, through sweeping green meadows backed by snow-capped peaks, the day was broken up into geological chapters, and every few hours we entered a new story in the saga of the Kyrgyz landscape. Yurts dotted the terrain and bands of horses grazed in the expanse. It was the best day of driving to date, and I was giddy the entire time.

JP was driving on the outskirts of Bishkek when we got pulled over for breaking a mysterious traffic law. The station was right there, so they brought us in, and once again we ended up smiling our way out of a ticket. We also once again left with an afternoon snack, another melon. Our trunk was turning into a fruit stand.

We arrived in Bishkek late afternoon and found a nice cafe with wi-fi on a main thoroughfare. I got online and notified Miles that we’d arrived, and not long after ordering a round of beers, he showed up. We hung out at the cafe for a while before checking into a nearby hostel, and then went out on the town. Hanging out with Miles was awesome. It’s always best to see a city with someone who knows their way around, and Miles showed us a great time.

We got off to a late start the next day and made for the border. We’d only seen a fraction of Kyrgyzstan, and the short visit had me thirsty for more. But on to Kazakhstan...