Leaving Kazakhstan, Entering Kyrgyzstan

This morning we were up early to have our bags out by 7am so they could be pick up by the porters and loaded up into the bus. We had breakfast, and were on the road by 8am. On the bus ride, we were told about the politics, history, religion, etc of the land we were leaving. The Soviet history is an interesting one, and to learn about the fall of the Soviet Union while in the last republic to break away from the USSR was interesting and certainly shed new light on the topic. The ride was a fairly scenic one. Once we had escaped the city, we were on rolling plains with the Tien-Shan Mountains in the distance.

After about a three-and-a-half hour ride, we made it to the border. We had been told to hide all our money because if any of the customs officials while searching our bags saw any money, they would find a way to "confiscate" it. I was terrified because we had been told to be prepared to only use cash on this trip, so I had lots of cash to hide... (I am planning on shopping for carpets in Turkmenistan, so I brought enough cash to make these purchases.) We were then told to bring all our cash with us, but leave our bags. Well I had hidden all my money in various nooks and crannies of my bag, so I was forced to leave all my cash in my bag and just hope and pray when it was searched they didn't see any money... This was a nerve-wracking time, I assure you. We were also briefed on the possible issues we could run into and what to expect from the border crossing, so long before we entered the crossing itself, we were all pretty terrified... At any rate, we got to the cross and got off the bus, which was immediately taken to an area where we could no longer see it. We then went into the immigration and customs booth for the Kazakhstan side of the border and got into a line to see the official, sitting pretty in his little booth. We were pressed from behind by pushy, (and some) smelly travelers who had no concept of a line/queue or dental hygiene. People would blatantly push past tens of people, using hands, arms, elbows and whatever else was available to scratch, claw, and push their way to the front of the line. In essence, it was utter chaos. And I haven't even gotten to the brides yet...

So I finally got up to the little man in his box, and he took his damn good time looking at my passport. I instantly regretted having a picture in my passport where I had a beard. Not only have I not had a beard for two years, but it certainly subjects me to heightened scrutiny at dicey borders like this (Egypt almost didn't let me in, since I looked nothing like my passport picture). At any rate, I finally got an exit stamp from Kazakhstan in my passport. Yay! Now we had to walk the 100 yards or so across the river that serves as the border between the two countries to the immigration office of Kyrgyzstan. When we got there, Ulga (one of our guides) collected all of our passports and disappeared into a dark, smokey room. She emerged several minutes later and we walked to the bus. No questions asked. She had apparently paid a "fee" to expedite us past the lines. We didn't even have to be seen by anyone to make sure we matched our passport. When we got back to the bus, I was still worried that my money in my bag had been "confiscated" but when we got on board we were told that the guards wanted to search the bus, but our driver had paid a "fee" which apparently rendered the bus immune from search. Nothing like some good "fees" to grease the wheels of bureaucracy! The whole process took about an hour and fifteen minutes. Not bad when we hears that it took the last group about three-and-a-half!

We climbed back on the bus and drove the 20 kilometers to Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. We were take. To our hotel, where we had a quick bite for lunch, then a little downtime (since we had arrived earlier than planned due to our "breezing" through immigration on the way!). After a little rest, we piled back into the bus and were taken to the National Historic Museum of Bishkek (previously called the Lenin Museum).

















Inside the museum were larger than life-sized statues from Soviet times which depicted the evils of capitalistic society, the toils of the working class prior to communism, the glorious revolution, and the happiness communism brought to the people. Crazy shit. And the best part were these huge murals on the ceiling as you walked through... My favorite was a painting of a huge ballistic nuclear missile that Ronald Reagan was sitting astride, wearing a cowboy hat and an American flag as a t-shirt. It was amazing. We also saw handicrafts and other stuff from the country. Kyrgyzstan is famous for their fine felt and felt products, and there were tons of felt products on display. All in all, a very educational experience.

After the museum visit, we headed back to the hotel for less than an hour, and then were off again for dinner! We ate at a cute little restaurant, and after dinner we were treated to a concert of local folk musicians, who played local instruments and sang/played local folksongs while in traditional, local dress.

















After the concert, we headed back to the hotel for bed! I was planning on describing some of the other travelers on tis trip, but since I've gone on so long about today, I will wait for a day when there's less to report about!



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