Bishkek - East Kyrgyzstan

Day started badly. Woke up at 4am because of a random nightmare, and lay awake for 3 hours thinking up ways to do grevious bodily harm to the Chinese consul in Bishkek. Ate breakfast and hit the road, the wrong road and ended up walking a few blocks to find a marshrutka heading for the bus station. Upon getting in, by pants were caught upon a nail and ripped at the knee. Found bus tickets without a hassle and a bus, before a policeman took me into a private room and searched everything thoroughly, including my money "for counterfeit." Subesequently, I think he managed to pocket some, despite my paying attention to what he was doing.

On the bus, we met Jazgul, a Kyrgyz girl studying English who invited us to her house in a village. Ollie wanted to do a 3 night hike, but this depended on the weather - hence procrastination with our answer. We said we'd call her that night. Subesquently, it turned out that the mobile phone network in rural Kyrgyzstan doesn't work.

Bus ride was pleasant, if a bit long for the short distance that we'd covered. The aircon worked. We stopped for lunch at a bus station flanked by some high mountains - smoked fish from Issy-kul lake and bread. The lake was stunning - the deepest blue I'd seen since Van Golu in Turkish Kurdistan.

Arriving in Karakol, we got off in the centre and walked a block to our hostel - a pleasant wooden Russian house, with an English-speaking owner who proceeded to tell me stories about the Polish king Jan Sobieski. Very Russian-looking country town, with a predominantly Kyrgyz population.

The second day we got up at 5 am and walked to the Sunday animal market. Quite a weird affair - old guys drinking vodka (yes, 5am), munching on pieroszki and pulling sheep, goats and calves out of the boot of their Zhiguli, or stuffing them into the Zhiguli. The horse section was the most exciting, as some of the horses would start to buckle not liking their neighbours.

We decided to go up to Altyn-Arashan - a 5 hour walk up a valley to an altitude of 3000m. Damien, an Australian who'd come up through Afghanistan, Tajikistan decided to come part of the way with us. Nice walk - tall spruce trees, a roaring flooded mountain stream, horse herds, snow-capped peaks in the distance. It took 4 hours. We met a total of maybe 3 people.

Altyn-Arashan is amazing - at 3000m it's just a couple of wooden houses, a few sheep, horses and goats. We decided to stay at the former Kolhoz (collective farm). Good choice. The caretaker, Alexander, was incredibly interesting - a very educated, friendly yet reserved demeanour - I bet he had a few stories hidden away. We could eat dinner at his house, and use the scorching mineral baths. Two copulating goats and the fact that a bear had ripped up two horses up the valley completed the experience.

Aside from that there wasn't much to do - the next day was rainy, and a walk managed to get us soaked and wet. We walked down the day after and found that Rolando and Laura (Brazil - met in Samarkand) were staying at our hostel. Great folk. More Iranian prison stories to light up an evening.

Heading to Kochkor today where we hope to organise a horse trek.