Postcard from Bishkek

I don’t get out and about throughout Kyrgyzstan as much as I would like … but when I do, (for example, going up to Naryn), it can mean a long journey, (Naryn is four to five hours on the road).

I actually enjoy the journey, although, to be honest, I often fall asleep. When I am awake, there is always something to see and even though I know the road quite well by now, and it’s surprising how often I see things of interest – either something new or something that had, somehow, escaped my attention before.

I have a number of ways of passing the time. The standard are listening to podcasts downloaded from iTunes on my mp3 player, or reading, either one of the six or seven books that I seem to have on the go at any one time, or on my Kindle – which is probably better because it is possible to carry a whole library with me and if I feel myself getting tired of one book, (say Mallory’s Morte d’Arthur), then I can easily switch to another, (say, an Agatha Christie).

Travelling with kids can, however, be difficult.  They often plague the adults with questions like “Are we there, yet?” or “How much longer?” … for kids arriving somewhere is always more important than the journey, although adults usually find more of interest in the journey itself.

There are all sorts of ways of trying to keep people occupied during a long journey … but the guide who suggested to a group that they join in a sing-a-long rather gave away the fact that she had originally trained as teacher … she didn’t try that again.

I was once with a group and they brought along a number of puzzles – I must admit that although I used to be adept at solving Rubik’s Cube – I gave up on this occasion.  They were impressed, however, that I was able to separate the nails …

Some of the games that we used to occupy kids with on school trips back in the UK can be played here … although there are some problems.  Many of them rely on car number plates …

One involved truing to see where they come from … B and E mean they come from Bishkek, S – the Chui Oblast, O or Z – Osh, D – Djalal Abad, I – Issyk Kul, T – Talas, A – Batken and N – Naryn … or occasionally H – that last one is a little amusing, because when the new numbering system was introduced, allocating letters it was decided to use the Latin alphabet as that would be more international … but that message didn’t get through and an official in Naryn started issuing numbers using the Cyrillic alphabet, (in Cyrillic, the letter for N looks like a letter H in the Latin alphabet), … only a few vehicles were registered with a letter H before the mistake was discovered, and many of them have since been re-registered when they were sold to a new owner,  … but you can still encounter the occasional H number plate.

In one version of the game, which we used to play on school trips to France – where the last two numbers record the Department where the vehicle is registered, you simply had to collect as many as you could on the trip … but the more difficult game involved trying to collect them in order, 01, 02, 03 … and so on.   Likewise, in Kyrgyzstan, the simple is spotting as many of the 10 letters as possible, the chances of “collecting” them in sequence – A, B, D, E, (H – if you are including that), I, N, O, S, T and Z – is virtually impossible.

Another, favoured by Maths teachers for some reason, involves taking the first digits in the number and trying to find sums using +, -, x, /, and ! (Factorial) which result in the final digit … you can

For example: the number 1236 is simply 1+2+3=6, or 1239 could be (1+2) x 3 =9;
Repeated iterations are allowed so 2375 could be 2+(3×7)=> 2+ 21 => 2+2+1 = 5

Another game involves looking for signs starting with each letter of the alphabet … they can be street names, directional road signs or even, in some versions of the game, shop names.  That can be difficult to play here if you are not familiar with the Cyrillic alphabet.

There are a number of games that involve spotting animals … for example, splitting the vehicle into two teams – one on either side, right and left – and then counting how many cows (or sheep, horses or whatever) they see … every time you pass a cemetery, the count for the team on that side of the vehicle is reset to zero …

… and so on …

Back in the dim and distant past of my youth we used to have I-Spy … not the “I spy with my little eye something beginning with …” version, but I-Spy books.  These were based on various themes and had lists of things to look for on your journey… with points gained for each one accumulated.  In America it seems to be called Roadside Bingo … as seen in the children’s cartoon series Ben 10:

 Let the Games Begin … even when he uses his super powers to cheat, Ben still can’t get the upper hand on Cousin Gwen

This requires a little preparation … as the things included on the “Bingo Cards” may vary depending on where you go in Kyrgyzstan … for example, a Yurt or a statue, bust or depiction of Lenin may be spotted almost anywhere in Kyrgyzstan but a Watchtower  on the border or a bus shelter shaped like a Kalpak is found only in certain areas.  

Another variation might be to allocate points for different items so although A “Steep hill” road sign may be worth 5 points – if it displays a number other than 12%, then there is a 5 point bonus.  Spotting a man in a Kalpak could be worth 5 points – but spotting a woman in an Elechek, 10.   Spotting an Eagle in flight could be worth 10 points, but a marmot only 5.

The cards also can have a couple of blank cells so that unusual sights can be added – for example, one of Kyrgyzstan’s rare snakes, or maybe a wolf – I have come across both, but they are sufficiently rare as not to be worth including in the game as a whole.

Some of the items that could be included:

•  A yurt
• A Kyrgyz Flag
• A depiction of Lenin
• A War Memorial
• A Bus shelter shaped like a Kalpak
• A Road Sign in English
• A Watchtower
• A Water tower
• A Train
• A  Shyrdak
• A man in a Kalpak
• A Woman in an Elechek
• A Hillside Cemetery
• A Bee keeper’s Wagon
• An Eagle in Flight
• A Marmot
• An Edelweiss
• An Archa Tree
• A Waterfall
• A patch of snow by the roadside
• A Tyre repair shop
• A snow leopard – maybe a statue, not the real thing
• A Church
• A Mosque
• A horse and cart
• Children selling Rhubarb by the roadside
• Horses being transported in a lorry
• A traffic policeman
• …

Any suggestions?

 

 

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