Postcard from Bishkek

The forecast for today is sunshine and clouds, with light and variable winds.  The temperature should reach around 5°C, and tonight it could fall to -4.  According to the meteorologists, there no precipitation expected … no chance of rain – or, for that matter, Snow. That’s a pity, because today is World Snow Day – […]

I am quite often asked what I am doing here in Kyrgyzstan?, how did I get to end up in the middle of Asia in a place that few people back home had any idea existed? One old school friend, who had found me on Facebook and sent me a “friend request”, expressed both surprise […]

Because I work in Tourism here in Kyrgyzstan, I am sometimes asked “Why should we consider Kyrgyzstan for our holidays this year?” It’s a good question … and almost impossible to answer … at least without a bit more information … because it all depends on what you are looking for in a holiday. Now, […]

  One of the things about Kyrgyzstan that tourists sometimes comment on is the prevalence of Saunas – or Banya as they are known in Russian and Moncho in Kyrgyz. A Sauna is room or building designed to be used as a “bath house” using hot air or steam so that people can experience the […]

It’s not often that an event at the Sotheby’s salerooms in London hits the headlines in Kyrgyzstan, but that’s what happened ten days, or so, ago. Some journalists seem to have come across an entry in a sale catalogue – for a Royal collar and and Beads dating from the fifth century, examples of the […]

I was fortunate when I was a student, in that I received a grant which paid for my tuition fees and even some for subsistence – living expenses, books and other expenses. Of course it wasn’t enough … and my parents were supposed to “top up”.   It’s an expensive business and these days, back […]

A few years, I served on a an panel of examiners at the end of a course for people who wanted to be tour guides. The aim wasn’t so much to assess their knowledge and mastery of the material that had been covered on the course … it would be very difficult, (no … impossible), […]

A sort while ago I was chatting with a client who admitted to being a little disappointed with his trip top Kyrgyzstan. Don’t get me wrong – he said that he really liked Kyrgyzstan and was planning on a return trip … but, (… and there’s always a “but”, isn’t there?), he was disappointed because […]

A souvenir is a momento or keepsake, valued for the memories that are associated with it.  The name actually comes from the French for remembrance or memory. Tourists often like to take things home with them that helps them to recall their holiday.  It could be something small and inexpensive,  a book or a recording, an […]

In the Age of Discovery, voyages of exploration usually had one or two special members of the team … artists or illustrators whose job was to record what happened on the journey, the places they visited, specimens of the the wildlife and plants collected.  Explorers such as Darwin, Captain Cook and even Pyotr Semenov and […]