Detour to Kyrgyzstan in the Rain

Over the past few days, I had been considering whether I should really make the detour to Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan, because it meant crossing two more borders. In the end, I decided to do it. I was curious about what Kyrgyzstan is like as a country, because just like Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, I had previously only known it by name.

To learn as much as possible about the culture and history of the country, I decided to join a guided tour in Bishkek as well. But first, I wanted to make sure I would arrive on time. So I set off at eight in the morning — it had been lightly raining from the very beginning. Shortly before the border, which came after 27 km, I received gifts once again — so to speak, a farewell present. After I declined a bag full of somsas accompanied by the comment “Vegetarianski,” I was given an energy drink and some peanuts instead. After overtaking a long queue of cars and trucks, I found myself standing in front of closed gates. Had the border not opened yet? But then I saw that pedestrians could pass through a small door. So apparently I was also a pedestrian. When leaving the country, I had to wait about 15 minutes before receiving my stamp, but on the Kyrgyz side there was no queue. However, the border officer instructed me to pass outside as a vehicle — which I then did — as a cyclist, I am somewhat of a hybrid anyway, either a vehicle or a pedestrian, depending on what fits better at the moment. For other vehicles, the border apparently was still not open, so the Kyrgyz border guards were not overly busy and also gave me my stamp quickly.

Overall, it took me about 30 minutes to cross the border — including exchanging money, because it is always good to have some cash on hand. Although it rained almost the entire time, I still made good progress today. Right after the border, the roads were somewhat poor, but thanks to the closed gates there was hardly any traffic. Soon the road became very good again, just like it had been on the Kazakh side before. It became clear that I would arrive in Bishkek early enough, so shortly before the booking deadline I booked the tour for 5 p.m.

By 2:45 p.m., I was already at my hotel, earlier than I had expected. However, I received a message saying that the tour could not take place today. I was the only one registered, and none of the guides were available on such short notice. Well, I was not the one who set the registration deadline, but that was simply how things were now. It was still raining, so sightseeing in the city would not really have been much fun anyway. I accepted the suggestion to do the tour tomorrow at 9 a.m. That means I will only be able to continue my journey in the afternoon, but that is fine.

In the evening, I went to eat a typical noodle dish from Kyrgyzstan. The first restaurant of the well-known chain “Wok Lagman” did not actually exist where it was marked on Google Maps. By the time I reached the next location, I had already walked around for more than an hour. And once I got there, I still had to argue with the cashier for at least five minutes before I could order the noodle dish without meat. I repeatedly explained that I wanted the freshly prepared dish without meat. However, she insisted that this was impossible — without meat, the dish would not be complete. Eventually the cook joined the conversation and said it was no problem at all. Just imagine if I had wandered around Bishkek for more than an hour and in the end not even managed to get anything to eat…

At the restaurant, I met three young Kyrgyz men who apparently were happy to talk with me. They asked me which country had been my favorite on the trip, and that question is really not easy to answer because every country had something special about it. For the way back, I wanted to take the bus, but there was no information about it on Google Maps. So I asked the three of them which bus I should take. Not only did they give me the necessary information, but one of them even pressed a banknote into my hand to pay for the bus, and they accompanied me to the bus stop. They said goodbye wishing that I would have many wonderful encounters and experiences in Kyrgyzstan. Obviously, they want me to answer their question at the end of the journey with “Kyrgyzstan, of course” :-).