Our hostess had asked what time we wanted breakfast, and we agreed on 9:00am. So we were surprised when there was a knock on the door at 7:45, and I opened it to find her with a tray full of food for us!
It turns out that we had forgotten that there is a one hour time change between Almaty and Bishkek. Good thing it wasn't that important. Anyhow, we were ready to eat and had already been up for a while.
Breakfast is served!
We've decided that we like staying in places where breakfast is included. Usually the reviews are pretty accurate, and this one had a lot of comments about how good the breakfast is. And they were right! It was a delicious breakfast.
Someone asked to see our accommodations in Bishkek. It was a tiny room, but really well laid out, and spotlessly clean...
It had a nice kitchenette as well.
And they even squeezed a washing machine into the bathroom.
And the price was right, at 3,200 KGS ($50.50 CAD, $36.50 USD) per night with breakfast included.
We had downloaded the Yandex Go app that is popular in this area. In fact, you pretty much can't visit here without it. It's really the only way that you can get a taxi. Similar to Uber. And it has a navigation app that is apparently more accurate in Kyrgyzstan than Google.
So we ordered a taxi to take us about 9 kms (5 miles) to the other side of town to pick up our rental campervan. Cost for the taxi was 300 KGS ($4.85 CAD, $3.50 USD).
We're using a company called UAZ Buhanka Rentals. They are owned by Vlad who is the contact here in Kyrgyzstan, and Alex, who is based in the U.S.. We had friends who had used this same company and the experience was highly recommended.
Vlad came out to greet us, and we went inside to go over the details, complete the paperwork, and of course finish making payment. We had sent a deposit a few months ago, but now had to pay a damage deposit and the balance of payment.
Because it's still early in the season, we had made a deal at €2,700 ($4,300 CAD, $3,100 USD) for 30 days. No, it's not cheap... but this is the way to explore Kyrgyzstan for a once in a lifetime experience!
Ruth, with our first photo of Vladdy!
Yes, we have nicknamed our campervan Vladdy. Short for Vladimir, a strong, popular Russian name. Just a coincidence that our contact at the rental place is also Vlad!
Vladdy is a 2023 model, although these vans have been built in Russia for about 60 years and the design has changed very little. Yes, they are now fuel injected instead of carburetor, but that was a fairly recent change. No airbags, no fancy electronics. Just a functional "built like a tank" vehicle.
And they kind of drive like a tank as well! We had a short demonstration with Vlad and one of the mechanics regarding how to put it in four wheel drive etc. These vans have a lot of quirks. Even the new ones. Vladdy has only 7,500 kms on him, yet drives like a much older vehicle!
A piece of artwork on the building where UAZ Buhanka Rentals is located.
We felt we were ready to go, and so we said goodbye to Vlad, and got on the road with Vladdy. Now remember, we're in the middle of Bishkek, a big busy city of about 1.4 million people. But I've driven in a lot of busy places, so not much fizzes me anymore! But you do need to be careful, that's for sure!
First stop was a big Globus supermarket to stock up. Keeping in mind that we don't have a refrigerator, and even a styrofoam cooler and ice would be hard to come by. So, lots of stuff that needs to be used that day. Grocery shopping will be a regular occurrence.
And it takes soooo long. Everything is in Russian (or Kyrgyz) so we need to google translate all the labels to make sure Ruth can eat them, although they had a surprisingly good gluten free section, once we figured out how "gluten free" is written in Russian!
Ruth, in the big Globus grocery store.
These two girls were giving out free samples. The one on the right knew a few words of English and was happy to use them. Like teenage girls everywhere, they were full of giggles.
Loaded up with food, and we also bought some sheets. Bedding is not usually included (most renters bring a sleeping bag) although Vlad had some good quality blankets that were left over from a previous renter. We just hit it lucky this time because although these had been washed, they don't want to be in that part of the business and told us to donate them to a local family at the end of our trip.
Then we hit the road to our next stop... a high quality sporting goods store. I needed some new hiking pants and wanted to get something that will last. I ended up spending 11,140 KGS ($175 CAD, $127 USD) on a mid range pair of pants that were made in Germany. They had some that were three times that price!
Bishkek has a lot of wide boulevards.
This photo doesn't show it, but traffic was actually quite heavy.
They are building a huge new stadium... shaped like a giant yurt!
This overland vehicle in front of us had strange license plates.
It is from Mongolia!
People double park everywhere. They just don't seem to care.
We drove west about 70 kms (43 miles) outside of the city and up towards the mountains. Found a great little free camping spot by the river. There are some yurt camps that offer camping, but other than supplying bathroom facilities of various qualities, you really don't get much more for your money than free camping gives you.
I pulled Vladdy off to the side of the road to walk down and check out a spot.
Yep, this will do for the night!
GPS 42.61792, 74.006394
Vladdy!
The interior is a little unorganized.
Unfortunately, the weather is going to test us the first two days. Spitting with rain showers when we got parked up, so it was difficult to get things organized the way we want. And today (Friday) is going to be worse, with heavy rain expected after lunch and it won't end until about noon Saturday. But after that, and all next week are looking pretty good.
Ruth, having a late lunch.
View through our wet side window.
Ruth, making dinner during a break in the showers.
Until it started up again.
Despite the rain, the temperature is about perfect. Highs of about 22C (72F) and lows about 15C (60F). And ZERO bugs of any kind so far. Of course it will get colder up in the mountains, but I think we're prepared for that.
Slept really well again last night.
We're going to change locations this morning because if it's going to be pouring with rain for 24 hours, we want somewhere with a better internet signal.
So far... so good!
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Nice deal on this 6 Person Camping Tent
And in Canada...
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