12th December, 2023.
Hitchhiking in Kyrgyzstan,
After eating some breakfast and preparing myself some sandwiches, I get all organized and leave the apartment in Bishkek. It is cold but not as cold as I imagined.
Everything works well with taking the two buses to my hitchhiking spot.
Once in there, in no time a car stops. It is actually a private taxy, and the passenger decided to take me along with him. He is going to Naryn. He also takes an elderly man who is trying to reach a town nearby. The elderly man is carrying a small tree and he is from Uzbekistan.
Saidy is a very intellectual guy. We talk a lot during the time of our journey together and most of all about some interesting topics, important issues and the complexity of us human beings.
I do believe everything happens for a reason but sometimes I just want to ask: Can I please just go there and see this? My sign it was saying “Ottuk”, a village by the Issyk-Kul (“warm lake” in Kyrgyzs). But it happens that there is another Ottuk village near Naryn, and Saidy though I was going there, because I told him I would go to Naryn in the next day.
Of course I only got to know that when we were already in the “wrong” Naryn. I could take my chances and try to go back toward Issyk-Kul. I wanted so much to see it! But it wasn’t the right decision to make, so I come to Naryn with Saidy.
I have time to explore the city so I decide to drop off my backpack somewhere and do that. My plans are to reach Tash Rabat (the tomb / monument to Manas’ wife, which is located over 1 hour driving from Naryn) from here tomorrow, and come back either to Naryn or pass by, going towards Arslambob.
I ended up finding a place for private classes for SITs. Laugh. I talk with the teacher, a really nice guy, and he tells me I can leave all my things there. He will be teaching until 8 p.m., and he even invites me for dinner after that.
Unfortunately, I get terribly mistaken with the directions. I simply confused left for right and that makes me lose a lot of time and not really see Naryn as I wanted. Shame. But I do see some beautiful views of the red mountains and the river.
Naryn region is a magical place in Kyrgyzstan! When you search for things to do here, you will find out that there is lots of hiking to the mountains, different and beautiful lakes all around, and some spectacular views. But all of that is doable and mostly great in the Summer! During the winter (when I am here), you still will see lots of beautiful landscape while moving from here to there, but you cannot really go deeply in the region and explore.
When I am coming back I am extremely tired and my boots are hurting my feet. I decide I cannot have dinner with the teacher because I need to find a place to stay overnight, and it is better if I do that during daylight.
That though doesn’t work much because it gets dark when I start walking towards the end of the city. I decide to ask for a night shelter in a mosque. By luck, the man responsible for the place is there at that moment, and even without much English, he let me stay. It is a mosque only for men and I stay in a separate room outside, where there are mattresses and some other things.
After eating the remains of the food I brought with me from Bishkek, I try to sleep. Unfortunately, I am not very successful.
10 Years Around the World 