Christmas all year round
It's the time of year to start thinking about Christmas and New Year
When I lived in North London, one of the regular Sunday treats in Springtime was to jump in the car and drive the ten miles or so out of town to the Garden Center, before heading off to a country pub for a long leisurely Sunday lunch.
Actually there were several Garden Centers lining a stretch of road, some large, (covering a vast expanse in greenhouses and pavilions with just as much space for display outdoors), and some small, (basically just a cottage garden). We’d park the car in one and wander aimlessly through greenhouses and out displays picking out hardy annuals to plant in the borders around the lawn, the odd shrub to fill a particular spot in the garden, some pot plants for the house to bring in a splash of colour and breath of freshness and some vegetables for a rather small vegetable plant. I always trotted off to the table of herbs to see if there was anything new and unusual.
One of the establishments was markedly different, however, and stuck out like a sore thumb among the trays of lobelia, the roses and ornamental shrubs, the fruit trees and racks of vegetable seeds, lawn mowers and gardening tools, barbecues and garden furniture … Oh, it had fir trees, holly, ivy and mistletoe, poinsettias and amaryllis … but these weren’t the mainstay of the business … it sold Christmas Cards and wrapping paper, Santa suits, decorations and fairy lights. It was a “Year Round Santa Store“.
I couldn’t imagine how business was … I thought to myself that it must be busy in the lead up to holiday season but, in fact, there were crowds there all year round. They might make a small display with material suitable for other celebrations, (Easter, for example, or Halloween), but the basic display display was always Christmas.
Despite that, there are a surprisingly large number of such stores. The largest, “Bronner’s CHRISTmas Wonderland” in Michigan with almost 30,000 square meters of shop floor set in over 7 acres of parkland and is visited by over two million people each year.
So, with just 199 days left to Christmas, (unless you happen to be orthodox – in which case it’s 213), perhaps it’s not strange to start thinking about Christmas and New Year – the big celebration here.
Actually, in tourism, it makes sense. I often say that I am already thinking in terms of plans for next year. As it happens, I am not alone in that. We have, for example, already received our first inquiries about ski-tours for next year.
That may seem odd to some people here, where there is a penchant for making decisions at the last moment – but it makes sense … especially for people traveling from abroad. They have to weigh up the alternatives then make their travel plans as well as booking accommodation and services here. There are a number of ski resorts here in Kyrgyzstan, (a word of warning – that postcard was written about four years ago but although the situation may have changed a little, it will give an idea of the available facilities here), and the main season runs from December to March – although a lot depends on the availability of snow.
Winter tourism is not just about skiing – but I have to be honest and point out that there can be limits on where it is possible to go and what it is possible to see … for example, some of the more remote roads can be closed due to the weather.
Perhaps Kyrgyzstan isn’t a natural choice for a Christmas/New Year break for people in Europe of America … but it is different, “Somewhere new, somewhere different” as the former slogan for Kyrgyzstan’s tourism industry put it.
We are currently think about and putting together a number of packages, (some designed for short breaks for people already in the area and others for a longer break for those who have some distance to travel). Here are just a selection of previous offerings:
A New Year at a ski resort just outside Bishkek:
This programme was designed a few years ago for a client to stay at the Ak-Tash ski base which is about 35 kilometers out of Bishkek at a height of 2100m above sea level. Although on this particular occasion the client chose this particular resort – there are several that offer similar programmes.
The ski resort offered a programme featuring a celebration dinner with entertainment and the traditional firework display. The center has a number of facilities for use by guests such as a sauna, restaurant, swimming pool with warm water, a tennis court, table tennis (or simply ping- pong), and a billiard table.
- 31st December Bishkek- Ak-Tash Ski base - Departure from Bishkek. Transfer to the ski base Ak-Tash, which is located 35 km from the city at the altitude 2100 m above sea level. Festal dinner. New Year celebration. Competitions. Fireworks.
- 1st January Ak-Tash Ski base - Rest. The various facilities at the ski base will be available for use
- 2nd January Ak-Tash Ski base - Rest. Skiing. An experienced instructor will be available to help novices learn how to ski.
- 3rd January Ak-Tash -Bishkek - Return to Bishkek.
Of course, holidays in the winter are not just about skiing … especially when there’s a holiday celebration, like New Year. One year we organized the following for a client … and although it is based on one resort it could just have easily been one of the many that are located on the shores of the lake such as Avrora.
- 31st December Bishkek – Cholpon Ata Kapriz Resort - Departure to Cholpon Ata on the northern shore of Issyk-Kul via the Burana Tower – the remains of the capital of the ancient Karakhanid empire. Lunch en route. Arrival at the resort. Afternoon at leisure before joining the festival banquet. Celebration of the New Year with entertainment, competitions and fireworks.
- 1st January Cholpon Ata Kapriz Resort - A day at leisure to rest and utilize the facilities of the resort
- 2nd January Cholpon Ata- Bishkek - A visit to the petroglyphs - ancient pictures etched on stones – before returning to Bishkek.
- 30th December Arrival in Bishkek. Free time. Accommodation at Silk Road Lodge Hotel. City tour with lunch in a café.
- 31st December Departure to Issyk-Kul, lunch on the way. Arrival to the hotel/ rest center. Time for rest before the banquet and New Year’s celebration with entertainment, competitions and fireworks.
- 1st January Breakfast. Visit the open air “Ruh- Ordo” complex, (which in Kyrgyz means “spiritual place”). This place has a large number of sweet water springs, where 5 religions of the world adjoin with each other: Islam, Orthodoxy, Buddhism, Judaism, and Catholicism. The complex is located on the shore of a bay in Issyk-Kul lake. Return to the hotel by lunch. Free time after lunch.
- 2nd January Breakfast. Departure to the administrative center of the Issyk-Kul region, Karakol. On the way visit the museum dedicated to the Russian explorer Prezhevalskiy. City tour in Karakol; visit the orthodox church of the Holy Trinity, (built in the 19th century, and contains a copy of the Holy Trinity icon by Andrey Rublev). Also visit the Dungan mosque, which was built in 1907 without a single nail. Dinner. Accommodation at the mountain ski base.
- 3rd January Breakfast. Mountain ski base “Karakol”- is a unique ski resort. The base is located at 2300 m above sea level, on the slopes of Tian-Shan, among majestic coniferous forests. A gentle climate, due to the influence of non-freezing mountainous Issyk-Kul lake, let you get maximum of pleasure from skiing. During the winter period the day time temperature usually no less -5 º C, and a lot of sunny days will let you ski and tan at the same time.
- 4th January - Rest on the territory of mountain ski base. More than 20 km of ski routes can meet the wishes of both experienced skier and those, who conquer the mountainous slopes for the first time. Here is the liberty for freeride lovers and for those who prefer to ski along the well-groomed routes. The length of the routes varies from 400m till 3.5 kilometers. The majority of the routes go through the coniferous forest. It is possible to ski at any altitude up to 040 m above sea level. The altitude drop of the routes is 740 m. There are also views to the nearby 5000m peaks and mountainous Issyk-Kul lake which open from the panoramic top.
- 5th January Breakfast. Departure to one of the most picturesque places of Kyrgyzstan- Djety-Oguz gorge. Tian–Shan spruce grows from the both sides of the gorge for almost 25 km. The valley is famous for its red rocks, “The Broken Heart” and “Seven Bulls”, which are the subject of old Kyrgyz legends. Walking. Picnic. Return to the hotel/ resort in Cholpon-Ata.
- 6th January After breakfast, an excursion to the Grigorevskoe gorge. The ranges of Kungey and Terskey Ala-Too attract by their magnificent forest tracts of Tian-Shan spruce and Alpine meadows. Visit a small mountainous sweet water lake. Return to the hotel/resort.
- 7th January After breakfast, departure to Bishkek via the Burana Tower, remains of the ancient Karakhanid’s capital. Accommodation at Silk Road Lodge.
- 8th January Breakfast and transfer to the airport.
For someone with the time, then it might be quite nice to combine New Year festivities with some skiing before joining the celebration of Orthodox Christmas at either the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Karakol or the The Cathedral of the Resurrection here in Bishkek.
Bishkek