Kyrgyzstan: Untouched Beauty with Moment Travels
Moment — a company that started out as a phone lens company — expanded out to also curate photography trips to some of the most scenic places on earth. One of those lucky places was Kyrgyzstan. Located south of Kazakhstan and bordering China, it has a population of 6 million people who speak Kyrgyz and Russian as the two official languages. I’ve met a few people from Kazakhstan but have not heard of this country until I was perusing through the travels page on Moment and I signed myself up months ago.
I normally hate guided trips, whether they are day trips or overnight trips, because of so many reasons. They’re often way more touristy than needed, more expensive than alone, and they take all the adventure out of a trip. Also the type of people whom I have met on these trips often are lame-os, travel prudes, or privileged snobs and I would hate to waste my precious vacation dealing with people who annoy me. Despite all this negativity, the photos that others had taken on this trip were breathtaking, and I knew I would not be able to navigate this new unknown territory to have as much fun as this tour could provide (a sign of a good, worthy tour, I think). I had come back from a trip to Asia only two weeks before I was set to leave for the Moment trip, so I was half considering bailing. I stuck to it, and I am so, so glad I did because this was perhaps one of the top 3 trips of my life!
Day 0 | Arrive in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan: This is the capital, so you can do some exploring but there isn’t a whole lot to do. The city center is beautiful with lots of open spaces and pretty buildings.
Day 1 | Fly to Osh, Kyrgyzstan: This city is in the southern half of the country and is known for the amount of fruit they produce. Explore the markets, do some portrait photography, learn about the traditions and everyday cultural things.
Try kurut — a solidifed stinky dry yogurt balls — a classic Kyrgyz snack. It was way too salty for me, but I thought it tasted like cocentrated goat cheese. Stay in a nice hotel for the night!
On this first day, we realized that Emirlan is a planning boss and also Kyrgyz dinner tables are crazy. We went to his favorite place that serves up samsa — an empanada/meat pie sort of a deal that puffs up and the fun is cutting it open to reveal the filling. At the market we bought this sugar stick/rock candy thing called navat. It is used as a sweetener for teas in the area and made out of sugar. But it is believed that this is a healthier form because a lot of the bad things are burned off in the process of making it.
Afterwards, we went up a peak in Osh called Sulaiman-to to catch the sunset but I think it was more for just fun for me.
Day 2 | Drive to Sary Mogul: We stopped at a bunch of places that our photography guides Tristan and Belen had seen or other places that just looked nice on a whim.
We stopped at a lookout point where we met some little kids looking to hitch hike their way to another town on the way to our destination. The kids here are incredibly mature and charismatic especially for their age!
Our next stop was some valley tucked between some mountains — one of the many surprises that our local guide Emirlan had planned for us — where a yurt festival was happening. Kyrgyzstan is known for the incredible hospitality, and it was no lie. As soon as we showed up (no entrance fee or anything of that sort) we were welcomed into random yurts, thrusted food into our hands and candy in our pockets.
Some of the people in the group were vegetarian so they refused, but I, being a self proclaimed adventurous eater, downed a glass of sketchy looking kumis (fermented horse milk) and a horse sausage type of a deal.
Though the drivers who were in the same yurt told me to just eat the whole thing, turns out I wasn’t supposed to eat the covering, and I had been sitting there chewing it for ages because I could not break it down. At that point I spoke three words max in Kyrgyz so I had nothing to say but the women in this yurt were happy to see us and would allow us to take all the photos we wanted. The little town of Sary Mogul has a magnificent backyard view with a gorgeous mountain range, including Lenin Peak — where we were headed later.
Due to the whacky weather in this country, we got rainbows and stormy clouds as our photo subjects.
We got ready for sunset by bundling up all our layers— it was freezing despite it being July due to the high elevation. Our local guide took us off roading to the top of a hill overlooking Sary Mogul and the surrounding mountains. The clouds were in our favor to create an epic sky, though the sunset itself was diminished.
Our lodging for the day was a guesthouse that had been completed just days before our arrival. The room that my roommate and I had shared didn’t have a curtain, the shared bathroom stalls didn’t lock properly, we ran out of flushing water in the middle of the night, and the walls were still bare wet insulation, but it did its job! And we were warned about the not-super-ready-state so no one was complaining too much — it’s just all part of the adventure!
Day 3 | Drive to Tular Kol: A few of us got up early to catch the sunrise, where we found a random set of animal organs just rotting in the grass along with two four leaf clovers! We walked around the little village, too, and discussed one thing that saddened us — animals who are tools and nothing more in the Kyrgyz culture. All animals serve a purpose and are not necessarily treated well — as often it is in non-developed (and even in developed) areas of the world.
Then we got in our cars again to be driven to Tulpar Kol, which was closer to Lenin Peak, of course, with many photo stops along the way. And oh my goodness gracious, this place is what the mountain version of paradise would look like. Marmots jumping in and our of the lush green fields, crystal clear and colorful ponds scattered throughout between mini rolling green hills, and the mighty snow capped Lenin Peak peaking out behind the other red and green mountains.
Gawd. We opted to get out of our cars before we reached the yurt camp (10 ish yurts set up for tourism at the base of the mountains) to take pictures and take it all in.
When we got there, Emirlan organized us into different yurts — now what are yurts? They are a form of housing used by the nomadic tribe. Cylindrical in shape with a cone top, it has a wooden frame and animal skin and fur for the covering. There is no floor, but rugs are laid out instead to cover the bare ground.
The yurts here offer some protection from the cold, but not enough, so coal and stoves are used to keep them warm. Except for us, it was steaming hot. We ended up sleeping in our shorts covered in sweat, and woke up freezing when the fire went out. After unpacking some, I got to take the camp’s horse out on a little walk around the lake. We explored the area to take some more photos before having lunch. Emirlan is apparently a national martial arts champion and also 21, so he is at the fittest prime time of his life. I think he overestimated our group’s hiking and altitude adjusting ability and wanted us to hike on over to see the glacier nestled at the base of Lenin Peak. Parts of the group struggled with the intensity of the hike and the altitude, so we had to stop midway to turn around, which is a shame since the hike was absolutely gorgeous! There were dozens of yaks and marmots along the way, along with cows, of course.
The other local guide who joined us for Tulpar Kul also picked some celery looking stalk plant that tasted like a sour apple and let all of us try! It’s called ishkkun (in the butchered form). My roommate and I (sunburnt because I underestimated the harsh sun) rushed on along, impatient, and turns out we missed out on the music that some of the locals were playing in the middle of a random field. But we also missed the hail/sleet/rain that started to pour down on us, as we had just gotten back into our yurts.
The rain went away as soon as it came, but a problem was that it had disturbed the spring from which the yurt camp got its drinking water. So our water was limited, and Emirlan yelled at us for drinking cold water because that is what makes us sick — a common asian belief! Koreans believe you get sick (or die) if you leave the fan on when you sleep. We got our tired bodies up on top of the nearest tall hill to catch the sunset!
Emirlan, this crazy guy, wanted to run to the other side of the large canyon to see what the sunset looked like there. He wanted company, so I joined him, which was probably his greatest downfall since I slowed him down. We most certainly did not make it, and turns out there wasn’t a way to cross the river at the bottom of the valley. At least half our group was feeling under the weather physically, though our spirits were still sky high. All of us were in and out taking naps and vitamin c supplements to keep us going.
Day 4 | Drive back to Osh, Kyrgyzstan: Those of us still able woke up early to catch stunning photos of the sunrise that lit up the hills, the ponds, and Lenin Peak in the background.
During breakfast, which we ate in a container by the yurts, we met a few other travelers (who tended to be French or Dutch throughout the whole trip), which were a few of the only other tourists we’ve run into during the whole trip. Before we headed out, we got to try on some traditional Kyrgyz clothing and learn the dance, which was sort of a popping dance style, but to a very regular rhythm.
We headed back to Osh, with no stops this time, to be back in the warmth and low elevation. Back in Osh, we were treated to a more Western restaurant for dinner to bring us back to our comfort zone, where beer started to bring out people’s fun accents. We stayed in the nice hotel we thoroughly enjoyed again.
Day 5 | Drive to Kazarman: We headed out early in the morning and got to the Uzgen tower, which was definitely known for some historical reason related to the Uzgen area of Kyrgyzstan. You can go up it for a fee — the stairs are dark and tight, and the view from above isn’t particularly amazing. Our guide was Nolan’s (our local photographer) cousin, which I thought was super sweet.
After a quick ice cream and soda break (thanks Emirlan) from the heat, we rushed along to Kazarman since we were running incredibly late.
The ride was quite long, but all the cars managed to have fun somehow. Our car was all karaoke, of course.
We stopped for drone photos, car photos, road photos, you name it. And it was awesome.
When we got to the city, although a lavish dinner with a whole lamb leg was waiting for us, we were eager to catch the sunset, so we were rude dinner guests for the restaurant that had waited for us. The sunset spot was less magnificent than our other spots, as it overlooked a city rather than any dramatic mountains or lakes. Kazarman was mostly just a stopover before we reached our next major destination though, so it was more of a transition day.
We headed to our new guesthouse (windows and some doors, but still outdoor toilets and showers), where we discussed our changes in plans and also the possibility of bungee jumping when we got to Bishkek. I was down, but turns out I was the only one — rip.
Day 6 | Drive to Song Kul: A bit more central than the larger Issyk-Kul, Song Kul, our next major destination, is a lake in the middle of what appears to be a mind-slappingly awesome nowhere. We stopped along a random creek to picnic for lunch, where the water was absolutely freezing.
We had three cars total, and one car (Stas’s) was definitely always faster than the others, so we frequently had to stop to wait for them. But this day our car and another spent 30 worried minutes waiting for our third car, which turned out to be late from a quick drone flying stop that turned into a failed drone rescue mission. We turned back around the windy road only to meet them on the road, all well and smiling.
A little shook, we drove onwards and finally got to huge open plains scattered with horses, cows, and sheep with a yurt here and there for miles. At the end of the drive was a vast and simple lake — Song Kul — with a few dozen yurts on the outskirts mainly used for tourism. The yurts were similar to those from Tulpar Kul, but newer and cleaner. We met another fellow traveler who said she had come to Kyrgyzstan for seventeen years in a row now!
After some handmade see-sawing and resting, we got up on our horses (I wanted the white one, and his name was George) we took a leisurely stroll to the lake and up the hill. George was only interested in eating and didn’t seem to want to move. We were all given a weak whip that had a rope that couldn’t possibly really hurt the horse, and I think we were supposed to use that liberally, but all of us felt bad. Instead, we did the verbal “choo, choo!”s to encourage the horses. My roommate got this huge western sized (kyrgyz horses tend to be smaller) stallion and left the rest of us in the dust. But towards the end, another member of our crew had a horse who was fast and furious and started galloping, getting the two nearby horses to speed off as well. Our horse guide had to run to catch up to them to calm the horses down, while all of us watched from the distance, worried but also super entertained (everyone was okay). Of the slow horses (the rest of us) Joey’s horse and mine battled it out in a 5mi/hr breakneck race where George finally pulled through.
After a delicious dinner in the yurts, we headed out to catch some killer sunsets with horses as our subjects.
My roommate and I hung out with Stas, since the drivers had brought beer, where I learned my new favorite Russian word — molodi~. There were many words learned that night, and only with a very faint understanding of what they really meant. Stas’s car members and Emirlan drank with the drivers, and Russlan had to stay sober so that he could drive to a supermarket-yurt nearby to buy more vodka when we ran out!
Needless to say, we did not get up to get night shots. Though the others who did get up found that the moon was far too bright for good photos.
Day 7 | Song Kul: We were supposed to arrive in Song Kul later than we did yesterday, but we decided to skip one of our stops because the harsh light wouldn’t give us great photos anyway. Instead we got to attend a Kyrgyz festival that was happening by the lake. I’m not sure what everyone expected, but it was weird and cool and boring at the same time. It started with a quick VIP pass for the backstage, taking pictures with leaders from some of the true nomadic tribes and other performers.
It was hilariously cool how once someone started to take a picture of a group, the group just got larger and larger slowly as if choreographed. Then Emirlan pulled a few strings and got some of us to be interviewed for the Kyrgyz national TV (so catch me on that).
The beginning of the festival was amazing — they had like a parade almost, where members of the parliament and nomadic tribes walked past, and hoards of horses, sheep, then camels walked past — in order of importance to the Kyrgyz people. Then the festival opener was a play, which we didn’t really get, but it was definitely about an ugly duckling type of a woman who was courted by another tribe leader (maybe??). I wasn’t stoked about it so some of us went to go check out the market that had opened at the entrance, which mostly sold food, but one stall (first stall I’ve seen!) sold souvenirs. I got a kyrgyz hat to complete my camouflage.
Afterwards, we had a long break, then went to go catch the sunrise around the lake in these weird and beautiful bumpy wetlands that we had to bounce around to navigate.
We ran into these two super sweet and shy kids, who modeled for us extra humans.
I have no idea what happened afterwards, but right before heading back, a small dance party started by one of the other cars. The people in my car had already gotten in, but no fear, we were in the coolest car. So we headed up to the roof of the car, blasted music, and all the girls joined to have a crazy silly and fun dance party on the roof. Some of us tried again to take some night photography shots, but we were chased by the rising moon (why does that happen) and instead made fun light streak photos instead.
Day 8 | Yoga class and windy paths: We got new guides, because Emirlan was needed elsewhere, and we got his friends who were nice (but #mirlanwemissyou). Emirlan had asked me to teach a yoga class by the lake to get the healing powers that the lake is rumored to have (not fact checked). So before breakfast, I led everyone in a short standing yoga class, because we did not have mats and the ground was half grass half cow poop. The festival that we had attended was still going on, and they would play a traditional game that looked like polo. But instead of a ball, you use a freshly cut goat head. No one really was in love with the idea — everyone being pretty pro-animal — but a lot of us wanted to see it for a short while. So our guides rushed my yoga class and we headed over, but they were still taking down the set from the night before. Turns out Kyrgyz time is really late time. So we got bored and headed out of the festival to head to Kochkor, a stop over city really for us. On the way of course we had quite a few photo stops, including one for a fantastic Charlie’s Angels photo, and some amazing looking windy roads.
We stayed at a hotel, found a cafe serving real coffee, and had Western food for dinner. We found a fantastic menu from which we ordered “meat in french” and “meat in japanese”. We drove over to a reservoir nearby to grab some last minute photos.
Day 9 | Goodbyes: We had lunch (which also had a hilarious menu when translated via Google translate) and stopped by the other big tower that is considered a twin of the Uzgen tower. I admit I forget what it’s called. oops.
But this is where we finally found post cards which we had been looking for! (which is incredible and awesome. That you can’t find post cards). We drove back to Bishkek, had another editing session, visited the local market to buy souvenirs, walked around city center since we hadn’t done that on our first day.
After it all, we got ready to head to Emirlan’s house for dinner. He had warned us that we should come prepared, as his family is quite traditional. AKA, there will be a mount Lenin of food. And he was right. We expected the amount of food, but we were surprised nevertheless. Also my roommate and I were extremely glad we showered and changed before coming because it was super nice.
A strange thing I noticed was that when you are invited over, you don’t seem to dine with the family. They eat separately and you just eat while you get served by the hosts! I felt uncomfortable almost because I felt like I should help out with something, but Emirlan reassured all of us that this is how it is done — the women cook, and the men serve. Another tradition in Kyrgyzstan is toasting. One person — starting with the oldest — gets up to say a few words. Then everyone else shoots their drink. And — i am not sure if they were messing with us or not — but our hosts told us that if you do not finish your drink, you are disrespecting the toaster. Needless to say, I got very full and very drunk. And Belen and I cried a river, both of us.
Which brings me to the amazing group: Belen and Tristan, Raphael and Audrey, Miss Denise and Mister Steve, Teralis and Kaliray, Paloma, Ethan, and Joey. Teralis and Kaliray had to leave us earlier on, which was sad, and Teralis had even shed a few tears after spending only a few days with us. By the end everyone had grown on me so much that I felt like I was saying goodbye to old friends. Everyone was very good humored, friendly, and passionate. Having the common interest of photography definitely helped us bond, but Belen and Tristan were amazing at both keeping the group organized and informed, but they felt like two friends who were good at travel organization, rather than guides who were supposed to lead us. They were professional and at the same time were able to become our friends with no friction or border. Couldn’t have asked for a better group.
We had one photographer, Nolan, who was ironically photographing the photographers on this photography trip. He didn’t say much but he was always super sweet and considerate! Our main local guide, Emirlan, was a monster in the bestest of ways. Not only does he have lungs made out of irpon or something, but he was so mature and professional. When we were being silly, confused, rude, or whatever, this way-younger-than-we-are guy was always perfectly calm, happy, and courteous. He was incredible in paying attention to details. He would always grab the tea to serve us, know when we needed water and grab more, buy a bag of ice cream on the way when he thought it was too hot and we had been walking outside, and so much more. At the very end at his house, he had noticed that one of the attendees did not enjoy any of the food the whole trip. As an apology and extra side gift, He sat down with each one of us naturally over the course of the trip and had a meaningful conversation about our lives and our opinions, and shared some about himself as well. Emirlan bought a small leather back for the attendee to use on his future travels. GAWD how does a 21 year old become this amazing? 10/10 would vote for governor.
The country is indubitably gorgeous. No one is lying when they say the hospitality is amazing. I’d say rural Koreans are quite the hospitable folk, but not a huge competition for the rural folk of Kyrgyzstan! We were almost forced in to their houses and to eat the food. That intensely hospitable. They just really wanted us to have the best time of our lives touring their country, and their arms could not have been open wider to let us in.
Being in the rural areas definitely always has a con though. We had Beeline sim cards, and they did not work so well outside large towns. So get one of the others (O or Megacom).
The food was plentiful, but it was not to my liking, because I dislike lamb and dill. Tough luck — all their food seems to have both in them. It is a repeat of constantly the same ingredients — cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, and meat. Oh and mountains of tough bread and sugary chocolate. Our whole group ended up asking for vegetarian meals toward the end, because the helpings were always so quite large.
Another thing to note is the toilet sitch. It’s usually just a box with a ditch. It may be full and you see everyone else’s excrements and it will also be buzzing with an army of flies and odor. You develop mental tolerance for it but it’s a lot. Bring your own toilet paper, because all the toilet paper in the rural parts were like softened cardboard. It will give your bum quite an exfoliating rub.
None of these are complaints though — I loved even the smelly toilets and the dill filled soups. I’d never have considered going to Kyrgyzstan had I not seen this trip on Moment, and I am so glad I made an impulse decision to sign up for this trip more than half a year ago.
