Thoughts on Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan didn't strike much interest when I first did my research, looking nothing more than a rich and overpriced stan country with nothing all that much to offer. With my time in short time in Kazakhstan, I must say it wasn't all that impressive, especially when compared with it's cheaper neighbours, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan which offers far superior landscape and cultural/historical richness respectively.

Out of the places I visited in Kazakhstan, the only one probably worth mentioning is Astana. A fairly new and rapidly developing capital offering some funky architecture with not too many souls. One can't help but feel they decided to build a city in the middle of nowhere for no one.

Constant development

Top Highlights of Kyrgyzstan

Having spent 24 nights in total in Bishkek sorting out visa bureaucracy I was happy to finally get out and get a glimpse of what Kyrgyzstan had to offer beyond the city. My 3 highlights below:

1. Kyzyl-Oi

A small village/town located about 200km south of Bishkek, I was first attracted to here due to a national horse game event organised by the CBT giving me an opportunity to see the Ulak Tartysh games. A polo game where they gallop around on horseback with a headless goat.

Having met the previous night 2 fellow Australian Sam and Zach who had ended up in Bishkek after escaping visa trouble in Uzbekistan whilst on the Mongol Rally, Icak from Indonesia and Jessica from the US, we left for Kyzyl Oi the next day.

After some hiccups with a scrumbag taxi driver, we're finally glad to be in Kyzyl Oi and finding a cosy little homestay ran by a lovely family and getting a homemade Kyrgyz dinner. From Left to Right: Zach, Jess, Sam, Icak.

Tajikistan P6: Continuing the Pamir towards Osh

Leaving Khorog, I headed towards Murgab for the At Chubysh festival, a festival celebrated on the the 2nd weekend of August which celebrates the horsemen heritage  of the Kyrgyz people. The festival itself was interesting and the drive provided some scenic views. However, the seating arrangement of the shared taxi to Murgab was something less to desire, being stuck in the middle row with 2 adults and 2 kids(5 total) but made up for the friendly locals in the car. Not to mention the car constantly breaking down with a leaking radiator.

Road to Murgab

Stuck in the middle seat...