Greetings from Kochkor, Kyrgyzstan! As you can see, I have internet access again, even at this homestay in a tiny village in the Kyrgyz mountains. I suppose there’s no such thing as “off the grid” anymore. In addition, it’s exciting to once again have access to the entire internet without the need for VPN. Way to go Kyrgyzstan!
Mountain wake-up and winding roads
I woke up rested and refreshed in my mountain yurt this morning. There’s something about the cool mountain air that just makes me feel amazing. I’m trying to enjoy it while it lasts, because by the time we get to Uzbekistan I’ll be looking at temperatures up in the 40s again.
After a delicious breakfast of pancakes, fresh jams, and a surprisingly tasty semolina porridge, we said goodbye to our hosts and their animals and set off on a 5-hour drive to the town of Kochkor. The roads along that section are all under construction by the Chinese, since the Kyrgyz government can’t afford to repair them and apparently struck a deal with the Chinese government to make the investment and carry out the work. As a result, some sections are beautifully freshly paved and smooth, and others involve rocky detours and fly-off-your seat bumps.
We stopped off a couple of times to take photos, use an ATM, or to buy water and use the bathrooms and such. Being in a country with western toilets again is exciting, folks. Hey, what can I say? When you travel, you learn to appreciate the little things. Also, the vodka selection in the convenience stores has gotten a heck of a lot better. And they sell the local beer in 2-litre plastic pop bottles here, which is kind of fun and also convenient for transporting it.
Homestay in Kochkor
We arrived in the tiny town of Kochkor, which apparently means “where the snow runs away”, in the early afternoon and checked into our homestay. Kyrgyzstan has an organized network of local family homestays under the CBT (community-based tourism) umbrella. There are several of these organizations, designed to help tourists learn more about local culture while providing a source of income for local communities.
This is an actual homestay, which is nice — the family really lives here, the kids were playing in the yard while we sat out on the front porch having a drink. It’s pretty much like a bed & breakfast, where you get to interact with the hosts while staying in their home. We have three comfy rooms, lavishly decorated with local rugs and blankets. There’s also a shower, which is pretty exciting after two days of dusty mountain roads.
Carpet making workshop
This afternoon we went to visit a local carpet-making workshop. Kyrgyz carpets are different from other more well-known rugs like Turkish or Moroccan; the wool appears to be coarser, and the techniques used are closer to felting than anything else.
We got a demonstration of how the local women make the carpets, and got to try our hands at making our own design. Let’s just say that I don’t think we’ll be winning any design competitions anytime soon; our rug looked like a kindergartner’s drawing that his mother is forced to praise and put up on the fridge. But it was fun dancing on the rolled-up carpet to get the water out. Also, the family at the workshop had really cute kids who made friends with us.
Quiet night in
After the workshop, we pretty much just went back to the homestay to chill out and relax. We were able to do some laundry and hang it on the line to dry. We relaxed and spent some time using the WiFi.
Dinner was another lavish spread, with soup, salad, bread, and these delicious Kyrgyz-style steamed dumplings. And to think that before coming to Kyrgyzstan, I was worried that I wouldn’t like the food! It seems like I’ve done nothing but eat since I got here.
Early night tonight, as we have another long driving day tomorrow. More soon!