My last day in Kyrgyzstan, in the capital Bishkek. Other than the comforts of coffee and western food, a few parks and a couple of statues, there really isn’t much here for the traveller. I’d have left today or yesterday if I could have, but alas no flights. From the tour I’ll be the last to leave, although I did have some company today for coffee. The last four of us leave tomorrow from early in the morning to realistic time in the morning (luckily that’s me).
You know how people come back from a country and say the people were friendly. Yeah people in many countries are generally friendly and helpful. I’ve had no issues with police, no one trying to rip me off, sure a few sellers try to sell me something. But the people in Kyrgyzstan, genuinely are proud and appreciate the fact that you’ve made the effort to visit their country. It’s not that easy to do, however I was greeted with polite curiosity the whole time, people thanking me for visiting, wanting a photo with you, asking where I was from. The truck stopped for a break and a couple of locals also stopped to say hello! I’ve never been refused permission to take a photo let alone asked for money to take a photo. Usually they want you to be in the photo with them and they love to see it afterwards.
It’s also impossible to camp in Kyrgyzstan and not have a herd of sheep/goats wander through your campsite. The yurts were surrounded by the animals the Kyrgyz people survive from. There was rarely any desire to move to the big city, they were happy, they wanted to share their life with you.
I would recommend visiting this wonderful country to anyone, one of the best I’ve been to and that’s nearly 50 now (not that I’m counting and that’s a whole other story).
