Kyrgyzstan Crossings
The Descent Begins
Yes, this post is dated long after the trip was over, but for the sake of completeness, I am going to post this, Moscow, and overall thoughts over the coming weeks.
Kyrgyzstan was the last Central Asian country on our trip, and with it came a sense of joy of how wonderful this part of the world is, but obviously a deep sadness in leaving Tajikistan.
But fear not!
Kyrgyzstan is another one of those countries few people would be able to pick out on a map. Tucked away between China to the east and Kazakhstan to the north, its almost entirely at a high elevation. And a pretty dramatic elevation it is. We were excited to check it out.
Day 10 of our trip started early, as we said goodbye to the germans at what was our final homestay. To the border!
We packed our things, helped one of the germans look for his GoPro, and went on our merry way. The border wasn’t far from where we were staying but we were warned that this crossing was a little more…complicated. Turned out to be true.
First, we completed the exit stamp part in Tajikistan. On that side of the border was probably the worst outdoor bathroom I’ve ever witnessed in my life, followed by an exit “interview” which asked as to whether we enjoyed any of the “drugs” in the country, or while we were in Afghanistan, which he was insistent on pointing out in my now diplomatically worthless passport.
After the incredible time we’d had, getting a question like this was very rattling, but I insisted that I’d nothing to do with any drugs whatsoever. It was a strange line of questioning.
This was not helped by a seemingly meaningless delay thereafter, either.
Post-stamp, we moved on to the next stage involving a short search of the car and a quiet chat with Kamran and border guards, and more delays for seemingly no reason.
Part 2 was finally complete.
A 20-minute (bumpy) drive brought us to the Kyrgyzstan border and we were greeted with a friendly smile from the border guard and (free) entry to our 6th country of the trip.
Success! To Osh!
Along this road were many fruit sellers selling literal buckets of fruit (it was apricot season) and more beautiful scenery. Added to this scenery were countless animals, mostly yaks and horses that were all along the roadside.
Osh itself is a bustling place, but one we didn’t get much time to check out. The major market is mostly closed on Mondays (we didn’t have much time here) so after changing some money — which was almost an ordeal in itself — we got what would be our final pizza of the trip and said goodbye to our Americans who had joined us on this Pamir Experience.
After a lovely walk home through Park Alishera Navoi (Паркы Алишера Навои) for some ice cream and a little recap, we went back to our hotel in preparation for our early flight the following morning.
The entirety of Central Asia was more than anything I could have asked for.
All travel like this needs time to process.
Travel needs time.
Next: Moscow Musings
We booked our trip through http://www.roofoftheworldtravel.com/.
They were simply excellent. The flexibility was great, the timing, the response times — everything was fantastic. Due to the limited investment in tourism in Tajikistan/Kyrgyzstan (the latter having slightly more tourist infrastructure) they do the best they can with what they have. Couldn’t recommend more.
