Postcard from Bishkek

Well, I am back from my annual trip up to Lake Issyk Kul with some of the the kids.  This year we took Andrei and Maxim and their older brother Jenya, (the girls having already been up to the lake earlier in the season), and a couple of their school friends.

There’s plenty of choice when it comes to finding accommodation as, apart from the hotels, sanatoria, pensionats and resorts, virtually every home around the lake seems to display a notice saying “Sdai-you komnat“; “Rooms to let”.  These B&B’s (Bed and Breakfasts) are known locally as the “private sector”.  As it happens, this year I chose to stay with some friends rather than in a resort.

I have known Misha for some fifteen years and he is one of my longest standing acquaintances here in Kyrgyzstan.  His mother in law has a “summer house” just outside Cholpon Ata, (the largest resort on the northern shore, just half way along the lake), and they’ve invited me to come and stay with them several times in the past.  Unfortunately, I have never really had the opportunity to take them up on their offer of hospitality, so I was delighted to be able to do so this time.

The house is set back off the main road, up a bumpy lane, with some rather basic, (if not derelict), looking houses for  neighbours.  One of the advantages this offers, however, is that the neighbourhood is quiet and peaceful.

Nestling under one of the foothills of the Kungey Ala Too, there was plenty to explore in the neighbourhood but, to be honest, we didn’t do it justice.  After a day on the beach, we were just too tired to venture too far.  Apparently we missed out on one of the many petroglyphs that can still be found in the region.

Just outside Cholpon Ata, it’s also not far from the village of Bosteri which acts as a magnetic for families as one of the resorts in the village, (Zolotoi Peskiy – Golden Sands), has a range of attractions such as a large Ferris Wheel which is visible for miles around, (I call it the Issyk Kul Eye – after the London Eye), and an “Americanskiy Gorkiy” – a roller coaster, complete with 360 degree corkscrews.  Maxim has been egging me on to take them there for two years now, so I thought that perhaps, this year, I had better oblige.  So on the Saturday morning we climbed into the minibus for the short drive.

The beach at the resort is a private one, so we had to pay to gain entry, but it wasn’t expensive.  It was, however, very crowded.  Beach umbrellas were set out in serried rows and we selected one beneath which we placed our towels whilst the kids went off to explore.  I’m not a great one for beach holidays so I was happy to sit under the umbrella and read my Kindle.

There was a constant stream of hawkers selling everything from smoked fish, hot pies and cold beer, ice cream, corn on the cob and so forth.  The ones which attracted our attention were, literally, the hawkers – young men carrying hawks for people to pose with – for a small fee, of course.

I did make one excursion from under the umbrella, to take the leisurely twenty minute ride on the Ferris Wheel.  The cabins were small – just space for four people – so we had to split up into different cars.  As we rose high above the lake we got good views of the resort, the crowds, the attractions, including people paragliding at the same height that we reached, and the mountains on both sides of the lake.

The cost of the main attraction, the roller coaster was not so modest, at least in local terms.  Certainly not as modest as its size might have suggested to those of us who have been on other rides in the West.   All the same there was a quite a queue and Maxim enjoyed it so much that he went round twice.  Andrei, on the other hand, decided that the corkscrew was too much for him and chose to save his money for other more traditional attractions … like Coke Coca Cola and Ice Cream.

Although the outing was a great success, one thing that surprised me was that everyone agreed it was worth visiting, seeing and trying the attractions, but once was enough.

They preferred the small beach not far from the house, (about a 20 minute walk).  It was a narrow beach but not particularly crowded.   Here we had the run of the beach, without having to worry about the crowds … and all that that might involve.  Andrei and his brother Jenya managed to find a card game with another family on the beach as well as befriending a puppy, building sandcastles and burying each other.

We were luck with the weather.  Last week saw some a turn as the hot spell we have been enjoying came to a sudden end.  Up at the lake they had rain and hail, and in the mountains there had even been snow.  I got a bit worried at one point on the drive up to the lake, as it was still fairly overcast, there were some threatening clouds and we saw not one but two rainbows in the sky at once.  A rainbow, however, is supposed to be a harbinger of better weather and so it was to be. the weather took another turn and the sun came out and it ended up being quite warm … Hot even.  We  all seemed to manage to get sunburned to some degree or other … even me; despite trying to learn from past experience and spending nearly all the time under an umbrella, or with a hat on, I managed to go a deep shade of pink.  Fortunately, no one was seriously burned so it didn’t ruin anyone’s trip.

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Now, I’m not a great one for “beach holidays”,  but I have to admit that I found the weekend a great break from the daily routine, returning to Bishkek tired but refreshed and raring to go once more.

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For some more photographs – here’s a photogallery – you can also see it here.

Tags: Expat, Life_in_Kyrgyzstan, Places, Trips