Through the Torugart Pass

A trip through the 3,752 meter Torugart Pass was arranged for us by Novinomad Tour Agency in Bishkek. We started off from Tash Rabat caravanserai, opting to spend the night closer to the border. (The other option was to stay in Naryn - a one-street town, though the one street is endless. The town had fallen into a state of disrepair and neglect: even the public bath house was out-of-service in Naryn.)

Here is a view from the back seat, soon after we started off in the morning. Note the Kyrgyz flag deodorizer handing from the rear view mirror.

The road to the Chinese border passes through the Tien Shan Range - it had snowed the night before.

This is a land of yaks and yak herders only.

One of the last few rises.

At the midpoint of the pass! Our semi-heroic driver did a fine job, and deserved to be 'immortalized' through this portrait. Here, at the pass itself, we had to wait for hours while our driver from China came to pick us up.

Unfortunately it was not possible to photograph the wild Kyrgyz border militia (they were all garbed in jungle fatigues; the boss reeked of vodka fumes), nor the ultra-uptight Chinese border contingent.

Last Stand in Kyrgyzstan

Before traversing the Torugart Pass into western China I stayed a night at the old Silk Road caravanserai of Tash Rabat. Opinion is divided over just what the old building at the far end of this picture was used for (some say a mosque). It was reconstructed by the Russians.

To the left of the picture are some of the tourist yurts of the valley, including the one I slept in. It was a cold night, and the high altitude (3,500 meters) caused a sleeplessness, with shortness of breath and a racing heart rate!

A survey of the landscape.

Portait of a Uighur

On my first day in Bishkek, capital of the small, mountainous country of Kyrgyzstan, I met this Uighur man while taking pictures of the Philharmonia (see behind statue). Most of the Uighur people live in China's western frontier province of Xinjiang, though they are also represented in Kyrgyzstan and other neighboring countries. Unfortunately, I was unable to have a chat with this gentleman, due to severe language difficulties!

Yet Another Alpine Plateau

Above the village of Arslanbab, Kyrgyzstan, one finds views and scenes such as this peak.

Horses led up here to graze.

Burnt, spindly stalks.

Speculative cows.

The Punching Machine

In the small, isolated, heavily conservative Kyrgyz mountain village of Arslanbob, predominantly comprised of strict Muslim Uzbeks, there is only ONE source of entertainment. THE PUNCHING MACHINE. Having spend some years in South Korea, I am well familiar with this great invention. In cities such as Seoul, gangs of frustrated office workers regularly hit the bottle after slaving through hours of stultifying overtime work, and then ... head for the nearest PUNCHING MACHINE. Taking turns punching or kicking the machine, while obviously visualizing their boss, they then compare scores, and perhaps head to the batting cages next. Some of the Korean punching machines have a human form - specifically, they resemble American soldiers.

Being a great fan of the punching machine, it was a delight to find one (a model i had never seen before) in such a far flung place as Arslanbob.