Archive sections: ‘Tourism’
One evening during the summer, I went into a restaurant in Bishkek to meet a group of tourists who had just arrived. I was somewhat taken aback because I was greeted by a somewhat unusual question: “Does the name Ashmole mean anything to you?”
There is a saying that examiners have a habit of asking the wrong questions. They always seem to ask questions that catch the student out … I was sitting a Geography exam once, and was completely thrown. I really prepared well for the exam. I had noticed that the first question on the Physical Geography [...]
I am often asked if I worked in Tourism back in the UK, and when I say no … that I was a teacher, of computing … then the question becomes: how did I manage to get into Tourism? That’s a good question – especially as there have been several attempts to limit the management [...]
The decision of the Swedish scientists towards the end of 2007 to state that Kyrgyzstan would be an ideal starting point for “Santa” on his annual trip to deliver presents to the world’s children came as a surprise to everyone in Kyrgyzstan. It certainly generated a lot of interest in the country from around the [...]
Over the years that I have been in Kyrgyzstan, people have asked me a lot of questions. Some of them have been easy to answer, but others have been more difficult. When I first came to Bishkek I was asked a lot of questions about why I had come here, my life back in the [...]
It is an old cliché that “our staff are our greatest asset”. I suppose a lot of people use this phrase glibly. To me, however, it is a very, very important rule of thumb that I repeat to myself over and over each day.
Making predictions can be a difficult business. Predictions can expose the self-proclaimed prophet to the possibility of praise and admiration as an oracle, a seer like Nostradamus, or ridicule and scorn. Prophecies of doom and destruction, in particular, can result in comparisons to Cassandra, the daughter of King Priam who predicted the fall of Troy.
After attending the performance of Mozart’s opera, “Die Entführung aus dem Serail“, (which went far beyond the usual limits of the then current tradition of opera with its long and elaborately written songs), the emperor Joseph II is said to have remarked to the composer “Your work is ingenious. It’s quality work. And there are simply too many notes, [...]
Once a month I travel from Bishkek to Naryn. I usually look forward to the journey because, although it is a working trip, (the purpose being to inspect our guesthouse, receive reports, meet with officials, etc.), it also provides me with a break from my usual routine … and as the old cliché puts it: [...]
It was planned in 2005 to hold the First “Bishkek International Tourism Fair“, (BITF), but following the events of March 24th, it was cancelled. The following year, however, it went ahead. The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism made a really good effort to make the event a success, and a suitable showcase for the country as a tourism [...]
