Kyrgyzstan

I never knew much about those countries in the middle of the world that end with stan, and I still don't know much, but I'm here and it's not what I expected. I'm not really sure what I expected, but it wasn't this. After having lived and traveled only in Asia in the last year, I got used to being a celebrity everywhere I went. It was slightly dejecting coming here, to "Central Asia" and no one really caring to look at you. Actually, now that I used to it, it's going to be weird going back to China.

Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan has a very culturally diverse population. I think only 40% are Kyrgyz. There are lots of Russians, that is why we don't stand out here. It's a little more difficult to tell who is a tourist, but for the most part it is pretty obvious. Their clothing and the lack of facial expression give the Russians away.

The farther south we travel, the more Kyrgyz people there are. They are a nomadic people related to Mongolians I think. This country is mostly mountains, and a very large lake. The second largest alpine lake in the world (Titicaca is number one). So we have been enjoying nature mostly. We have done a four day and a three day back packing trip so far, reaching elevations in the high 3000 meters. So far the weather has been unpredictable. We have had sunshine, wind, rain, lightning, hail, and snow. It's been exciting and frustrating at various times.

More later...