7 Weeks in Kyrgyzstan via United and Turkish Airlines!
Nov 6, 2022, 3:35 pm
#31
Join Date: Apr 2012
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Thanks for this amazing trip report. You really got to see a lot in Kyrgyzstan and your pictures give a real feel for the place. The food pictures, including the piles of cherries at the market, are wonderful, similar to experiences I had in Kazakhstan. The Georgian food in Tbilisi is even better and Georgia is worth a visit (I have been 7 times for work and plan to return!), I welcome any future trip reports you wish to share!
Nov 6, 2022, 4:38 pm
#32
Formerly doc4science
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Nov 6, 2022, 4:50 pm
#33
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Thanks for this amazing trip report. You really got to see a lot in Kyrgyzstan and your pictures give a real feel for the place. The food pictures, including the piles of cherries at the market, are wonderful, similar to experiences I had in Kazakhstan. The Georgian food in Tbilisi is even better and Georgia is worth a visit (I have been 7 times for work and plan to return!), I welcome any future trip reports you wish to share!
Also, thanks for the recommendation! Georgia has been on my list since I first had khachapuri in Saint Petersburg last year. I am hoping to visit Tbilisi in March as an extension of my trip to Turkey, but need to convince my parents that it is worth it over Cappadocia... so far they aren't convinced.
It's good to hear you had a good experience in Kazakhstan too. I've wanted to visit KZ for some time and see the country via rail over a few weeks, but I don't think I'll be able to make that happen in the near future. As a part of the ANA RTW I booked for next summer I have almost 2 weeks in Central Asia so I think I'll have enough time to visit Almaty along with some cities in UZ and KG, but probably not enough to venture beyond there.
As for the near future, I should have another one of these in December about Chile and Argentina if Air Canada doesn't screw up my reservation again
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Nov 6, 2022, 4:51 pm
#34
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Nov 6, 2022, 8:00 pm
#36
Join Date: Jan 2017
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Thank you for some wonderful photos. Reminded me of my train trip across the Soviet Union back in 1976. The train skirted the northern border of Khazakstan (then the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic) and I had wanted to transfer at Novosibirsk to catch the train to Tashkent and Central Asia but had limited time and budget. But now, with the Cold War long over, I could still go back and do that and your trip report certainly motivates me to do so. Such an interesting part of the world. The photos of the communist era statues of Lenin and others are curious given that they were toppled in many of the former Soviet Republics after 1991, but now seem to be proudly displayed.
Nov 7, 2022, 8:25 am
#38
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Stockholm
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Posts: 3,369
More mountain fun! Traveling up the mountains to the east of the city of Karakol in Soviet trucks was certainly a fun experience--and a bumpy one at that. Staying in cabins atop the mountains was a nice way to conclude the day.
Soviet Truck
I think this was the darkest sky I've seen in some time rivaling my experience on a boat in the Galapagos. Very nice.
Soviet Truck
I think this was the darkest sky I've seen in some time rivaling my experience on a boat in the Galapagos. Very nice.
Nov 7, 2022, 8:27 am
#39
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Stockholm
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It was a few years since I was there but my take is that nature is stunning so if that and/or trekking/hiking is anything you like then Kyrgyzstan could be for you. The problem is that the country is poor(er than its neighbours to the West and North) and there has been political instability at times
Nov 7, 2022, 8:30 am
#40
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Yep! Pretty cool experience and I'm happy we did it. The hot springs were nice too, but I wouldn't go up there solely for the hot springs, the scenery on the other hand...
Nov 7, 2022, 8:48 pm
#41
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: TSV, Australia
Posts: 2,401
Thanks for posting such a comprehensive TR.
I visited Kyrgyzstan on a long trip to the Stans in 2019 and found it to be the least remarkable country of the bunch. Next time you’re in the neighbourhood, check out Uzbekistan as it was my favourite.
I visited Kyrgyzstan on a long trip to the Stans in 2019 and found it to be the least remarkable country of the bunch. Next time you’re in the neighbourhood, check out Uzbekistan as it was my favourite.
Nov 13, 2022, 2:06 pm
#45
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was recommended the tour company Kettik.kg and used them for my trip to Kol Tor--they are quite good and the tours are very affordable. For everything else I wasn't the one making the plans so I have no clue. Sorry I don't have more information to provide
usually I book everything on my own, but with this being a group program I didn't.I did see a few tourists (mainly from Europe, none from America), but emphasis on few. A very high percentage of foreigners there seemed to work at embassies and its the first place I've been where people assumed I was with the U.S. Embassy and not a tourist.