The Adventures of John and Vasili Pt. 1

We arrived at the avtovokzal a little after 4 and started looking for marshrootkas that would take us south. It became apparent quite quickly that there were no bus rides to be had that late in the day. Instead of calling it quits and starting the next day, we meandered around looking for private taxis that would make the trip to Arslanbob. Out of the swarm of taxi drivers we found one who was willing to take us. He started by saying it would cost 2500 soms per person. I only got the price down to 1300 soms, which is still slightly expensive, but we decided it was low enough for us.

By the time we started on our way, the sun was already setting. Ahead of us was 12 hours of sitting in a cramped car with two Kyrgyz women, one of which didn't speak much Russian. The sun soon set and all the occupants of the car began to doze off, even the driver. We stopped every two or three hours to eat and drink chai. Around one or two in the morning the moon was out in full and I would see the silhouettes of huge looming mountains all around us. We had entered into a valley and were now weaving through a part of the country that was renowned for its beauty. It wasn't until the morning that I found out why.

I fell asleep for a few more hours and eventually daylight broke into my dreams around seven. I looked around and the car had stopped at an avtovokzal where we would be switching taxis. We said goodbye to our old driver and hello to the new one, who would be taking us the rest of the way. The car was cramped and the driver kept picking up and dropping off more people all the way into town.

I began to doze again. Not long into my nap a row of small bumps gently shook me awake. I looked out the window in front of me at the clouds. For some odd reason it appeared that there were mountains above the clouds. I rubbed my eyes and tried to duck lower, thinking that they must be some sort of strange reflection. The mountains remained. I looked back and told my companion to look at the mountains. There were seemingly large mountains all around us and he shrugged his shoulders. Then I pointed and said “NO, look.” The clouds had parted and in front of us was the largest mountain either of us had ever seen in person. He looked at me again and let out an amazed “OOOOHH.”

The mountain seemed to look less like a mountain and more like a huge, inescapable wave that was about to curl and sweep everything away. When we arrived in Arslanbob, we found out that it was slightly over 14,000 feet high. A local with an extra room put us up for about six dollars. We put our gear down and slept from eight that morning until noon.

Kyrgyzstan Pt. 1

Taking off and landing four times in a row in a 36 hour period never quite gives you the satisfaction of successfully entering a recuperative dream-state. That’s OK, because in time you become so sleep deprived that reality becomes a dream-state. Lights flash by in blurs, conversations are muffled and their contents are forgotten. When, at four a.m. on Monday morning, I arrived at my new residence in Bishkek, I claimed to the fine people who had been sent to pick me up that I was going to wake up around eight or nine a.m., and begin the process of fighting my jet lag. I promptly fell into bed and did not wake up until one o’clock that afternoon.

In my sleep I did not stir or move. When I finally woke it felt like I had been thawed out after being frozen for years. I stretched my limbs and felt the space and atmosphere of my new living quarters. The ceiling was larger than any apartment I had experienced in Russia, and I had slept on an actual bed rather than a futon. I took a moment to absorb the feel and smell of the room. It didn’t feel foreign but I guess the more one travels, the more that feeling becomes a commodity.

I needed a shower, as my body felt like it had spent the past 9 hours sweating out a fever, and it smelled that way too. I shuffled to the bathroom with my toiletries and began performing my maintenance for the day. The shower was surprisingly well pressurized and the water was warm. I washed off my travels, dressed, and headed to the school office next to my building.

The administration let me know that everything was set for me to start classes on the 6th of September. This came as a surprise to me as I had sent ahead and requested to start shortly after my arrival on the 16th of August. With the new starting date, I was at liberty to plan a trip to a few places around the country.

It’s been about a week since I arrived and I have two weeks left before I start classes. There are little busses called “Marshrootkas” which go between every city in this country. Next week, if everything goes well, I will hop on one of them and start looking for the sites this place is famous for. I’ll let you know how it goes.


Also I have discovered that Arpa, the local Kyrgyz beer, is quite good!