Kyrgyzstan at last!

I'm sure you've noticed a steady decrease in posting frequency, and now that I'm out of China I have no excuse for not regularly updating. Of course Kyrgyzstan doesn't have internet kiosks at every turn, but it does have pretty much everything else that Jess and I could possibly hope for; friendly people, fresh food (although it is almost all meat), and endless gorgeous scenery. Since I have to make up for a lot of lost time, this blog will be more of a chronological catch-up on our doings over the past two weeks.

We arrived in Xinjiang after two epic train rides (50 hours total) and found that we were not really in China at all. The Uyghurs in Xinjiang speak an entirely different language (which Jess can speak a bit of), they eat entirely different food, and the landscape is mountainous and arrid. Spending a few days in Xinjiang was the perfect way to transition from China to Central Asia - we had the safety and security of China but with the sights and sounds of Central Asia. In our most adventurous travel move yet, we took a sleeper bus from Kashgar to Osh, Kyrgyzstan which travels over the remote Ishketar mountain pass. And remote it was. Once we finally got through Chinese and Kyrgyz customs, the road turned into a muddy horse-trail through the mountains. But back to the border experience; it provides the perfect illustration of how different the Kyrgyz and Chinese infrastructure differ. As the bus approached the border we were stopped three different times by Chinese border guards, all very professional and effecient, to make various checks. The actual passport control/customs checkpoint was a new building with x-rays for our luggage, a giant infrared thermometer (reportedly to detect if someone is ill or feverish), and even an electronic survey at the end through which we could express our level of satisfaction with the process! Complete with smiley and frowny faces! I've never had a more pleasent border crossing. We then all loaded back onto the bus and crossed the 7 kilometer "no man's land" to the Kyrgyz passport control and customs. The passport control building was a less than sturdy wooden shack with one guy entering in passport information. While we had our passports checked and stamped, a couple gaurds boarded the bus, looked around at our bags, stuck his head in the luggage compartment, and waved us on. The entire Kyrgyz check took no more than 20 minutes. It wasn't only the difference in professionalism and technological infrastructure that was striking, but the fact that China took almost two hours to let us out of their country, but Kyrgyzstan let us in with a casual 20 minute glance over. I don't share this anectodote to disparage Kyrgyzstan for being unprofessional; rather it just illustrates how different the very formal and strict Chinese goverment operates versus how the casual and lax Kyrgyz government works.

We arrived in Osh at the painful hour of 4:00 a.m. - before even the first call to prayer. Only half-awake, we wandered with two Japanese tourists through the bazaar until we came accross a suitable guesthouse, where we promptly crashed for a few hours before exploring the city. Osh is by all accounts an ancient city; 3000 years old and a significant silk-road hub. Our first mission was a simple one - breakfast. We sat down at a restaurant that appeared eerily similiar to a 1950's style diner and we were immediately dumbfounded by the menu. Although we have both studied Turkic languages, actually sitting down with a menu that is full of strange foods with names written in Cyrrilic is still very overwhelming. We ordered without having a clue what would be put in front of us. In the end we didn't do too bad - eggs, spam, bread, tea and mutton soup with potato. Not my idea of the perfect breakfast, but ordering blind from a menu could have ended worse. I thought we might be having a bit of a strange breakfast until we noticed that the two men sitting next to us were having a light breakfast of vodka and vodka. That's right - glasses of straight vodka for breakfast. At 8:00 a.m. on a Tuesday. I was aware of that the Russian's left a culture of vodka swilling behind them, but I was stunned by full glasses at breakfast. That is one Central Asian cultural practice that I am in no hurry to take up.

Over the next two days we got to know Osh and became more comfortable ordering mystery foods and trying to answer strangers who were convinced that we must speak Russian. Our next move was to the city of Jalalabat and then to the village of Arslanbob - which turned out to be a very good move. (Here is when I reach for my grab-bag of natural beauty cliches) Arslanbob is stunning, gorgeous, and strikingly beautiful - so much so that it seemed unreal at times. It is a small town located in a lush valley at the foot of a giant snow-capped mountain. The valley is full of clear rushing streams, hundreds of donkeys and horses, and Central Asia's largest walnut forest. No one knows why there is a huge walnut forest here, but it is thousands of years old and it is the source of all of Europe and America's walnut trees; Alexander the Great took some nuts with him when he ventured through this part of the world and brought them back to Greece. I can't verify that story, but I like it. We stayed in our tent in a local family's garden for a few dollars a night. The setting was perfect - baby chicks, a dozen bunnies, roses, a clear stream, and a picnic area where we could lay, drink tea, and read. I miss it already. We also hiked to two waterfalls and to a spot with a panoramic view of the valley.

As we were leaving our fairy-tale village, we met a Russian couple who have an itinerary which is similiar to our own, so we will be traveling together (thereby sharing cabs and cutting costs) for the next few days as we try to cut across some major mountains to get to the other side of the country. The best part is that they (obviously) speak Russian and will be able to get us around with ease.

I wish I could post photos, but my camera will not load onto my computer, but I will try to get photos up eventually. Of course, my time abroad is coming to a close very soon. It is hard not to spend all my time thinking about all the people I want to see and all the little things I miss about being home, but luckily we are in Kyrgyzstan and it has a way of taking all of one's attention, focus, and energy, leaving no time for home-sickness. But one month from now I'll be in North America - five weeks and I'll be in Missouri!

(I apologize for any and all grammatical and spelling errors, I have no time to proofread - consider it stream-of-consciousness style)