We had a 150 km (93 mile) drive one way to get to Köl-Suu on some pretty rough roads, so it was going to be an all day event just to get there.
But first, we had to see some things around town!
Looking down on the city park where we had spent the night.
Opposite direction looking downriver.
We stopped at a market where they sold a lot of cheese products.
The Home Depot guy!
We're amazed at the variety of stuff some of these little shops sell, but do you think we can find a bungy cord?? Ended up buying a piece of rope to hold Vladdy's side door open.
We had to buy special border permits in order to drive anywhere close to the China border. We had applied for them in advance, and picked them up and paid for them in Naryn. They cost 2,500 SOM ($40 CAD, $28.50 USD) per person.
Ruth found a little kitty cat.
Or maybe the little kitty cat found Ruth!
Beautiful mural!
The small city of Naryn, Kyrgyzstan.
They even have a nice exercise park.
Time to hit the road up into the mountains!
Eagle statue.
At the military station where we had to have our border permits reviewed.
While it had been a nice day with a nice forecast in Naryn, this was not the case when we arrived at the border station 1200 meters (4000') higher and 80 kms (50 miles) away! It was cold and raining.
It took us about a half an hour to clear the border station, and then we had some very remote driving to do! We saw very few people or other vehicles, but we did see some interesting animals!
We came across a small herd of yaks!
They are funny looking animals.
Apparently there are no more "wild" yaks in Kyrgyzstan.
These ones are known to be "semi-domesticated".
However, they are free roaming.
We stopped at a small canyon to have a walk and stretch our legs.
The wooden bridge over the canyon.
Still a patch of snow down there.
A lone horse rider in the distance.
Nice waterfall in the canyon.
Bjorn and Freya enjoying the view.
We passed another larger herd of yaks in the distance. There was one baby.
Scenery along the way.
The road to Köl-Suu.
We arrived at the yurt community of Köl-Suu and it was pouring rain. It would not have been enjoyable to try to cook and sleep in the cold and rain, so we started enquiring about accommodation, but it is still very early in the season and most of the camps are still setting up. The first place wanted 8,000 SOM for the four of us to share a yurt.
We thought that was too much and moved on to another one where we saw a German plated 4 wheel drive motorhome parked on a flat area overlooking the river. We parked in the same area to contemplate our options.
A young local woman came over and she spoke quite good English. She explained that this was private property and it would cost 1,000 SOM per person to camp there. So we asked about staying in a yurt, and it really wasn't much more money. By the time all was said and done, we agreed on a price of 10,400 SOM ($166 CAD, $119 USD) for the four of us including dinner and breakfast.
Our accommodation for the night!
It was toasty warm in there while it was wet and cold and miserable outside!
Bjorn dressed in local attire!
I haven't yet explained why we came all the way up here.... more about that in the next post! By the way, we have now driven to within 20 kms from the China border!
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And in Canada...
Spies, I tell you. Spies. Will you meet the Chinese agent in a yurt camp or along a desolate road? LOL
ReplyDeleteLol, we must have missed the agent because, he/she never showed up at the meeting place!
DeleteI found the mural interesting. DOXA is a prominent Kyrgyz-German artist duo (Sergei Keller and Dimitri Petrovsky) known for massive murals, graffiti, and monumental-decorative art across the region. Their work often highlights local Kyrgyz culture, social issues, and heritage
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info on the artists for the mural. I usually look that up when I label the pictures. I beleive there was another beautiful mural in town, I saw it when we drove through the day before but not this particular day and I think it may have been by the same artists.
DeleteI wondered about the turban or other head covering that most of the women seem to wear. Apparently they're traditionally worn by married women.
ReplyDeleteI also read that face coverings (like those worn by some Muslim women) are not allowed - they risk receiving a fine if they're seen with one.
I didn't realize that it was only married women that wore this style of head scarf. You also get the traditional Muslium headscarf but you are right, none of the women's faces are ever covered.
DeleteThe yurts look very interesting. You didn’t mention what the bathroom facilities are like. Do they bring your food to you or is there an eating area that you go to.
ReplyDeleteThe yurt was definitely very comfortable and so were our mattresses and it was nice and toasty warm inside when the stove was going.
DeleteThe bathroom facilities weren't ideal though. They did have a western style toilet but it wasn't up and running yet so we had to use the traditional pit/squat toilet which was basically just a small outhouse with metal walls and a wooden floor created with several boards and two of the middle boards taken out to create the "hole". You had to be careful not to fall in, lol!
Our food was brought to us in the dining building, unfortunately it wasn't heated so it was quite chilly sitting in there.
What a cool stay in a yurt! I think that was a good decision with the cold and wet weather. It looks very cozy. I gotta ask, though, what kind of bathroom accommodations are there?
ReplyDeleteGorgeous photos! It looks like such a beautiful and interesting area. And so few people - love that!
It was a really nice yurt and we definitely enjoyed our night in it. It was a lot more comfortable to stay the night in it than it would have been in Vladdy or the roof top tent, it was the right decision for sure.
DeleteThe bathroom facilities weren't ideal though. They did have a western style toilet but it wasn't up and running yet so we had to use the traditional pit/squat toilet which was basically just a small outhouse with metal walls and a wooden floor created with several boards and two of the middle boards taken out to create the "hole". You had to be careful not to fall in, lol!
I really is a gorgeous area and we wished the weather had been better so that we could have seen the gorgeous mountains from the yurt camp.