Postcard from Bishkek

Although it sometimes doesn’t feel like it, (especially this year when Winter has held on doggedly … refusing to be banished and repeatedly revisiting us with cold spells), Spring is in the Air. Spring and “springtime” refer to the season … and also to the 5 Rs :  Rebirth, Rejuvenation, Renewal, Resurrection and Regrowth.  Apart from the lengthening days and the, (usually), […]

Not long ago I was chatting with a friend who dropped a bombshell on me, (figuratively – not literally), when he told me that Kyrgyzstan was on of the top Cotton producers in the world.  I expressed my surprise … I know that cotton is often listed as one of the country’s main agricultural products […]

This is perhaps not the best topic for a tour operator to address, but a news report last week had me squirming – as I expect it had made others do so, as well: “Australian man has 2cm cockroach removed from his ear“. My first reaction when I saw the headline was to be careful… […]

The news that Colorado had legalized the sale of cannabis as from the 1st January this year came as a bit of a surprise … although the states residents had voted in a referendum approving the measure as long ago as back in November 2012. Colorado was already one of the nineteen US states that […]

Tonight is known in Mexico as the Night of the Radishes. The festivities associated with this event have been celebrated since 1897 in the main square of the city of Oaxaca and is usually attended by several thousand people. and has been described as one of the impressive Vegetable Festivals around the world. Craftsmen carve […]

The other day I was looking through a book of wildlife in Kyrgyzstan and came across an entry which surprised me … about Jerboas.  I had never heard of them before I came here … and I have certainly never seen one before … except, perhaps as a cartoon character. Initially, my attention was grabbed […]

One of the problems of being an Englishman here in Kyrgyzstan is that I am often about English, like questionhs “How do you say in English, xxx?“, where “xxx” can be a simple word, or a complicated phrase … and I sometimes have to think hard to some up with an answer; especially if I […]

There’s a “legend” that the Kingdom and the Tower of London will fall if the Raven that live in the tower ever leave … although it called a “legend”, even on the Tower’s own website, it may date back only as far as Victorian times. The Tower of London is a fortress based on a […]

Not everyone likes cats – although it is sometimes hard to imagine – given the amount of Cat photos and videos posted on social media outlets like Facebook and Youtube. I obviously like cats – I have a numbers and often refer to them in my postcards. At the moment I have four, (we have […]

Last week, I saw an interesting news item … announcing the establishment of a new fish farm in the Naryn Region where they are “growing” Rainbow Trout which aims to produce between five and six tons a year. When I first came to Bishkek I was sent to go and buy some fish.  Now, I […]