This last August I had the opportunity to fly to Kyrgyzstan and spend two weeks exploring the country. My reason for Kyrgyzstan was a friend’s wedding in Osh, which gave me the rare opportunity to stay with their extended family rather than in a hostel. The wedding came off amazingly, and in the following days we explored Osh and the surrounding countryside.
I then opted for a taxi from Osh to Bishkek rather than the 45min flight. This isn’t a typical tourist option; Being 11 hours instead of 45 minutes, and having 7 passengers with luggage in a minivan can be cramped. But that aside, it was the best way to see the Tien Shan mountains, and I made friends with my seatmate, a fellow travel photographer from Germany named Daniel Schminke.
The ride wound up taking 14 hours, including running out of fuel twice, but Daniel and I had a blast. We tried fresh made yogurt balls, saw some fantastic mountains, and even enjoyed the rants of the Angry Spaniard who was in the taxi with us.
One day we got ourselves lost. I saw these two building a wall and asked if I could take their picture. The response was a solid yes.
We also wandered into the famed Osh Bazar, and despite the dire warnings we had received from folks at the hostel we had a quiet lunch and no one got pickpocketed.
My last day in Bishkek, Daniel and I visited Ala Archa National Park. The clouds were moving in as we pulled through the gate, but there were still some great sights to be seen as we hiked, including herds of horses, and even a brief glimpse of an unnamed 4650 meter peak.
