Today we experienced the first of many boarder crossings to come. Walked from immigrations in Kazakhstan across a raging river to immigrations on the other side to enter Kyrgyzstan. We'd been prepped to expect long delays while our passports were being processed but our actual experience was not bad at all. Apparently Sasha plied the boarder guards with boxes of chocolate (the other currency of bribery in this part of the world) and they were sufficiently placated to let us through quickly. Kyrgyzstan is the country which has recently had much political trouble and disharmony (to put it politely) between the ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in the southern part of the country. Bishkek is located in the extreme north.
Arrived in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan at around 2pm. Checked into a very deluxe Hyatt hotel and ate a completely unnecessary but delicious three course lunch. We're astonished by the level of training of the hotel staff here and their excellent English.
At first blush, Bishkek, while far less affluent than Almaty, appears to be an interesting and appealing town. Our map suggests that it is quite walkable and we're considering spending the day tomorrow exploring in lieu of the day hike (while promises to be much like yesterday's).
Went to see a former Lenin Museum which is now The State Museum. It contains many of the decorations of the old museum including an entire floor of massive bronze relief sculptures depicting the rise of the communist party and huge statues of Lenin in assorted poses. One crazy left-over is a painting of a world leader dressed as a cowboy (read: Reagan) astride a Pershing missile. The upper floor of the museum was much more interesting to me personally because it was ethnographic. We saw lovely Kyrgyz textiles including a charming applique cradle cover, felt work, gorgeous coral and silver jewelry and displays explaining the history of the Kyrgyz peoples.
Dinner at a local restaurant where a small group of musicians performed traditional Kyrgyz instruments. A woman played a three stringed instrument akin to a duma. A man played several different types of wooden flutes. We learned they both are graduates of the conservatory and play many western orchestral instruments, but have interest in reviving Kyrgyz music which was suppressed during Soviet times.
Hyatt Bishkek is wonderful. Everything is much less expensive here than in Almaty. Took an innocent photo of the hotel exterior and a (hotel) security guard came running out to tell me that photos are not permitted. I showed him what I took and he let me keep the picture. Apparently Hyatt is quite security conscious, particularly given recent uprisings in the south and even problems in Bishkek itself in the spring.
Kyrgyzstan factoids: 94% of the country is mountainous, avg. elevation is 2,750 meters, 40% over 3000 meters, 75% under permanent snow and glaciers. 80 ethnic groups: 66% Kyrgyz, 14% Uzbec, 10% Russian, plus minorities like the Dungan, Ukrainian and Uyghur.
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