Kyrgyzstan

Despite being right next to each other, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are vastly different countries. They are both mountainous but whereas Tajikistan is relatively barren, Kyrgyzstan is lush and green. Therefore, we set off from Osh intent on taking our time through Kyrgyzstan and enjoying the scenery before we hit the deserts of Kazakhstan. The drive was absolutely stunning and the road construction was infinitely better than Tajikistan. For the first time in a fortnight, the Subaru once again became a long distance cruiser as the potholes of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan were left behind. Night one was spent by a lake; it was amazing to be in the middle of nowhere with only a farmer and his sheep for company, with the added bonus of there being no mosquitoes for some reason. We therefore also planned to spend the next two nights at another lake, Lake Issyk-Kul. On route we managed to rack up our first speeding fine as Charlie got done for doing 110 km/h in a 90 km/h. Sadly no amount of rubbish about being told false speed limits by the border guards would sway the policeman and so we were forced to pay our $7 fine, in cash of course. The Lake was amazing; Lake Issyk-Kul literally translates as the warm lake but as we soon found out that this was because it doesn't freeze in winter and not an illusion to the temperature of the water. However, with water inevitably comes mosquitoes and so as soon as it was dark it became a race to soak yourself with DEET in an effort to keep them at bay - the less glamorous side of camping (if in fact there is a glamorous side). We spent an amazing two nights by the lake before setting off to Kazakhstan. It was on this journey that we had our second piece of contact with the Kyrgyz police. We had stopped to look at the GPS when a policeman beckoned me over to his car. He then proceeded to explain that unless I gave him 1000 som he would arrest me. As I didn't have 1000 som I asked him for his dollar rate which turned out to be $20. This wasn't a great exchange rate and so I kindly pointed this out to him - the rate is more like 75 som to the dollar. Sadly he didn't want to budge and so I was forced to hand over the cash as I had no wish to visit the local police station. Definitely not value for money. Oh well - its now five days in Kazakhstan before we head off to Russia! KBO.