A visit to the Botanical Gardens
I wonder what is it about driving a taxi that seems to make taxi-drivers all over the world so talkative and garrulous. Whenever I get into a taxi here in Bishkek I can almost predict how the conversation will go once we’ve settled the destination and negotiated a fare. There are a number of different conversations, but here is one opening that typical, (like a opening move in a Chess game):
Driver: American? (Almost all foreigners are thought to be American)
Me: No, English
Driver: Ah … Manchester United, David Beckham … Chelsea, Abramovich …
Me: Yes … (Well, what else could I say?)
Driver: Have you been here long?
Me: Almost fourteen Years
Driver: Oh … you are already half-Kyrgyz … Do you like it here?
Me: Yes (After all I have been for fourteen years … if I didn’t then I would probably have gone home a long time ago)
Driver: What do you do here?
Me: I run a tour company
Driver: Where do you send people?
Me: We don’t … we bring people here and show them Kyrgyzstan
Driver: Have you been to Issyk Kul? (Why is it, I wonder, always Issyk Kul? – there are plenty of interesting places around the country, but there is a great local pride in the lake)
Me: Yes … several times (How is it possible to live here for fourteen years and not go up to Issyk Kul?)
Driver: Ohhh … Where else have you been in Kyrgyzstan?
…
Now that question is a difficult one to answer … where do I start? … Although I have been to a large number of places around the country, there are still many places that I haven’t managed to get to. Last year I had the chance to visit Batken in the extreme South West of the country, but only part of the oblast and I still haven’t made it to Batken itself, the notorious Kan-i-gut caves or the ancient Kan fortress – although I have seen photographs, but that’s the same thing as being there.
Despite that I have seen more of the country than quite a few locals.
Once, for example, there was one guy who came to see me looking for a job, as a guide – or so he said. He was a young, big, hunky sort of man – very fit and seemed to have a calm, quiet, personality … just the sort of person who might be an excellent guide … so I told him to sit down and started to run through the usual list of questions …
Me: Why do you want to be a guide?
Applicant: Because I speak German very well … (Hmmm … being a guide involves a lot more than just speaking a foreign language …)
Me: Where have you been in Kyrgyzstan?
Applicant: Bishkek, Ala Archa, Issyk Kul (There it is again … Issyk Kul)
…
I asked him about various places, the wildlife, the traditions and way of life of the nomadic Kyrgyz … and he kept telling me that he didn’t know … so in the end, I told him that he didn’t really want to work as a guide … “Yes, I do”, he protested … “No you don’t”, I said, “you want to work as an interpreter – why? – because you speak German very well!”. The point is, however, is that he hadn’t really been traveled anywhere in the country.
On another occasion I had to get to a restaurant in one of the valleys to the south of Bishkek … only about 30 kilometers from the city center. I was running late and so I grabbed a taxi … as we drove out of the city the vehicle started going slower and slower … 60 kilometers and hour, then 55, then 50, then 45, then 40 … and I started to feel more and more anxious, (remember, I was running late …). It didn’t help to reassure me that the driver was swinging his head from side to side as he took in the scenery. In the end, he said: “It’s nice here, isn’t it? I haven’t been here before … Maybe I will bring the family out here on Sunday.”
I used to try and get out and quite a lot … but the pressures of work always means that there is something to do which eats into my time and so I don’t get out and about as much as I would like. However, every now and again I make a point of going somewhere, like visiting one of the small museums which seem to abound in Bishkek.
(I did the same thing when I first moved to London, back in the 1970′s, although I had visited the capital before, I took two weeks to “do the tourist thing” … taking the open top double-decker bus tour around the city, visiting the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Old Bailey … and so on … just to “get my bearings” … and then would try to find time to explore another corner of the city, say, once a month … )
Last week, for example I went for a guided tour round the Orthodox Cathedral. Well, this week, I managed to venture out to somewhere I haven’t been before … the Botanical Gardens.
In a way, the visit actually began on Saturday afternoon when a formidable delegation of three ladies arrived in my office and announced that we would be going to the Botanical Gardens the following afternoon. Now, I may have been a little over suspicious but I wondered what was behind the proposal. I adopted a pose which one my former headmasters commonly struck: tilting my head, I placed my cheek on my index finger and chewed the knuckle on my middle finger, squinted and looked at them over through hooded eyes. I needn’t have worried … it was basically a plan to try and add to our collection of photographs and they had come to the conclusion that they should take the opportunity to get me out of the office.
My protestations of “No can do” were met with a barrage of: “You really must get out of the office”. As it happened, however, I already had an appointment for Sunday afternoon and so I pointed out that I wasn’t opposed to the trip – just that it would have to be a morning visit and I had to be back in time for my one o’clock meeting … that seemed to do the trick and so the arrangements were made
Back in Britain I had been to places like Kew Gardens, and to many stately homes, with their immaculately kept gardens and parks … which was not exactly a good preparation for a visit to the Botanical Gardens, here in Bishkek.
The gardens (there are three separate sites) are in the southern part of the city. The site we wanted to visit consists of two gardens facing each other on different sides of one of the main roads. It was easy to find them – but not so easy to get in. The main garden is basically closed to visitors as it now houses a private hotel … Exclamations like, “But, it’s public property …” didn’t get us anywhere and it was only by pointing out that we were from a tour company and wanted to see the hotel and grounds that we were finally allowed entry.
The second site was easier – the gate stood open and we simply walked in. Apart from us, there were only a dog barking wildly, a cat that hissed a Miiiiaaaaoooow at us before turning tail and running into the high grass and a caretaker squatting outside the administration building who could tell us nothing but, “Come back tomorrow”. He was happy, however, for us to walk around the grounds.
The grounds were distinctly overgrown … no neatly mowed lawns but lots of tall grasses and fine displays of flowers such as lupins apparently growing wild wherever their seeds managed to fall. Trees hung over the pathways and we had to push the branches to one side so that we could pass, getting splashed with dew and rainwater that rested on the leaves. There were no signs or labels so we could only guess what we were looking at for most of the time.
The conservatory, at lot smaller than the one in Kew, and showing definite signs of age was closed but were able to peer through the windows and made a decision to come back just to go and see the palms and other exotic plants inside.
Having said that, it was an interesting visit. The atmosphere was of a quiet calm in the center of busy metropolis – although one of the city’s main streets bisected the grounds, it was hard to tell that only a short distance away, over the other side of the wall was traffic speeding past.
I was sorry when the two and a half hours were up and I had to leave and go to my meeting.
Now, what’s the plan for next week … ?
Bishkek