Hiking back in Kyrgyzstan

So after our party night and hangover day in Bukhara (Hanna actually went another night partying but with Dani) we went back to Osh to pick up our mountain equipment we left at Bekturs. Dani went the same way so we went together. Our original plan was that Hanna takes a train to Andijan which is the town close to the Kyrgyz border and Dani and I hitchhike to the same place. But it was rainy in the morning and hitchhiking is then just no fun then, especially because I still have no shoes that give any protection from water. It's either flip flops or sneakers. Anyway then we all wanted to go by train and went to the train station. We were kinda stressed when we arrived but still had 15 minutes to get the tickets (it's not the fastest process here). Well, turns out we were at the wrong station! Taschkent, Uzbekistan's capital, has two stations, one in the north and one in the south. So also our train plan didn't work. Next train would've been in 4 hours. Sooo we settled in the end for a shared taxi. Not the cheapest option and we found one for 500,000 som (yes, half a million. 1€ = 11,500 som). So that's a little over 40€ for the three of us but 3 train tickets to Andijan and than a shared taxi to the border would've cost us around 360,000 som and we didn't have to wait for the next train, were comfy in a warm car (we have been kinda wet) and could stop whenever we needed a toilet or some food and were brought directly to the border. I wish taxis for almost 6 hours were so cheap back home.

Anyway in the end we made it to the border. A dirty, chaotic border but everything went smooth. We met another group of travelers, Germans actually, one of them used to live in Kyrgyzstan for a year. He is now my official consultant for any questions like 'Can I drink in public?' or stuff like that.

Back in Kyrgyzstan we still had some Kyrgyz money, put the Kyrgyz sim cards in our smartphones and went without further ado to the next mashrutka. Much to the disliking of the taxi drivers there waiting for a job. One funny fella offered us to drive us to the mashrutka 😂 (it's just 300 meters). We became pretty much professional at this stuff. Once you know how everything works it's really nice.

We went back to the hostel in Osh which we already knew from our first time there and went pretty much straight to sleep. We've been tired and the last nights were all exhausting.

In the morning we texted Bektur when we could get our stuff back and sadly it was in the evening so we had to spend another day in Osh. Buuut it's not the worst city to do so. Hanna had a broken clip on her backpack and we went to repair that. We found the right store, it should be open according to its timetable but it was super closed. We were at a loss and didn't know where else to go but two friendly Kyrgyz guys also just went to this closed shop. We had a short chat and they decided to take us with them since we were looking for the same thing. They were there with a car and suddenly we had locals showing us in god-speed three different repair shops (mainly for shoes but these repair-dudes don't really care as long as they can sew and glue whatever you give them). We needed three because no one had these clips to replace but the third one knew where to get them! We bought the clip and the job was done in 5 minutes. And guess where that was? Rule number 1: Whatever you want, it's to be found at a bazar. This applies also for repair-dudes and clips. Afterwards we strolled over the bazar and I bought some SUPER good pistachios. I got 300 grams for just a little over 3€. In the evening we had some beers, went to Bektur's place and surprised him with some German pralines we found in a supermarket to thank him for taking our stuff while we were in Uzbekistan.

In the next morning we went to our next trekking location: Arslanbob. That's a small village with 11,000 people in the mountains. We chose to go by bus and I took the front seat next to the driver. Best choice! I had much space for my feet and great views. At some point on the road we picked up this old car seat:

I thought the driver found it on the road and decided to re-use it. But then after a couple of hours we stopped and someone took the chair, we were a delivery truck and that was planned! We also had a letter for someone waiting on the road in the middle of nowhere. I guess these buses don't only transport humans but everything that's paid for.

And there just wasn't enough space for the cars to pass and allow the excavator to work simultaneously so we had to wait until the operator thought it was about time to let us pass 😂

Here in Kyrgyzstan, they have so-called CBT offices. That's short for 'community-based tourism' and they are basically the most helpful tourist information I've ever experienced. The CBT people try to connect tourists with locals to cut out big companies, keep money within the country, obviously help the locals, and it's not expensive! Perfect system! We talked a day before via Telegram and he showed us their (tiny and cute) office in the town, told us all there is to know about the town: animal market the next morning, hikes, waterfalls, dress code for women (covered shoulders, pants longer than the knees), and gave us a recommendation for one of the 14 (!!) homestays they have in this town. He also asked us if we wanted to pay 800 or 1000 soms per night (€9.50 or €11.50) and even said we could pay less than 800 if we couldn't afford that. Really cool system, and we loved the transparency and honesty.This is the garden of our new home. Lovely place with a lovely family. While I was on the phone in the hammock between the trees in the picture above, the mom just gave me her baby and took a photo, I think because she liked the looks of it 😂 I still have to get this photo, I hope I'll make it tomorrow!

In the picture above is the animal market. Honestly, it was kinda cool but also very chill. Kyrgyz people are just very chill. You would imagine shouting, animals blaring, people bargaining wildly, loud music... but no. Nothing but some moo-ing from the cows that were around.

But what's funny are the asses of these sheep. It's like Kardashian style or something, they just have a proper ass 🍑

No idea what for, I read on some blog on the internet that it's fat, and Kyrgyz people like the fat for cooking. I could really believe that but don't know for sure (yet).

After the animal market, we went to see this waterfall and the mountains from a little bit more up close.

But these mountains are still far. We will go closer tomorrow. There is also a 4-day hike and the possibility to rent a donkey. While I really, really would LOVE to go hiking with a donkey, the 4-day trek isn't really worth the effort and we will not do it. But I'll try to get a donkey in the future, I really like the idea 🤩We also went to this walnut tree forest which is supposedly the biggest in the world!

Oh and then we went to a second waterfall:

In the river that is following the waterfall is a big pipe:

If you look closely, you'll see that it's made out of MANY individual barrels that are welded together:

I found that somehow intriguing. No clue what the pipe is good for and I would assume it rusts away fast, but it was interesting nonetheless.

One last picture for this blog entry, I'll go showering and drop dead to bed. Have a great time everyone, see you soon ❤️