Some very lazy days while we stayed in Bishkek. Spent ages trying to find the Asia Mountain hotel as recommended by the Lonely Planet book, basically because I confused Gorki Street with Gogol Street, drove for miles up and down Tolstoy Street. Eventually found the Albatros hotel which is four-star but the manager gave a huge discount so we checked in. Spent the 25th catching up with the blog as people were e-mailing me to ask if we were OK because there had been nothing since the 15th. Wifi was poor to non-existent on the Pamir Highway, and even in Bishkek it is patchy.
On the 26th we went to look for a case to carry some stuff home in, and the manager offered to take us the real Bazaar which caters for Bishkek people (as opposed to the Osh Bazaar which caters for tourists and is full of tat) and managed to get a case reduced from £9.80 to £9.00. On the way, I succeeded in bribing my first policeman. Turned right at a cross road because the lights were a bit confusing, only to be confronted by a policeman waving a stick and directing me to the side of the road. I had jumped a red light and the fine was £80 to be paid at some office. Big hassle. The hotel manager told me to put a 1,000 somoni note (£10) in my International Driving Permit and give it to the policeman, who shook the note into his bulging bag and returned all my documents while smiling. He shook my hand and waved us on. We also bought some World Cup caps for grandchilderen.
In the evening we went back to the excellent Tubureika restaurant which was recommended by the hotel manager and where we had an very nice meal the night before. There was a band playing, and some girls at the next table joined in the dancing. They asked us to dance with them and Jennifer had a nice dance. I booked a flight to Berlin on the 29th because flights on the 27th and 28th had become very expensive.
On the 27th we drove to Ala-Archa national park and I had a long hike up to the waterfall. Very steep at first until the rushing stream was hundreds of feet below in the gorge. Then, at the “Broken Heart” where a huge heart-shaped rock has split in two, the path levels out on the Tepshi Plateau until it is blocked by a huge rockfall which has to be scrambled over. Passing into a small wood, looking somewhat incongruous in such a bleak windswept area, I continued steeply upwards, completely missing the path to the waterfall. I continued to climb along a very indistinct path on the way to the Razeka Hut at 3,300 metres but, at about 3,000 metres, I saw the mist coming down and decided to return. On the way down, I happened to look back and saw the waterfall, which had very little water in it and was distinctly unimpressive.
On the 28th, the man from Kyrgyz Concept arrived at the hotel at 10 am as agreed and I followed him to a place that repairs buses at Kant, about 20 kms east of Bishkek, and was pleased to see that the van would be locked in a hanger which, in turn, was located in a locked and guarded compound. We had arranged to meet Jim and Sonia at 7 pm at Navats restaurant, and spent the afternoon in the Oak Park where the Historical Museum was sadly closed for restoration. Photoed the huge statue of Lenin.
The meeting with Jim and Sonia was highly enjoyable. They seem to have had a much more eventful trip than us! We then got a taxi for £5.30 to the airport about 30 kms north of Bishkek and spent the night there. It was deserted when we arrived but soon filled with a huge number of people and the night was uncomfortable.
On the 29th we flew to Berlin where Darius met us at Tegel Airport and we were ensconced in a hotel near his flat which is just large enough for four people but not six (the flat, not the hotel).
