At the border crossing from Kazakhstan into Kyrgyzstan there was an incident.
Some horses had made an illegal incursion into Kazakhstan, presumably seeking greener pastures. Diplomatic channels were brought online and shepherds were summoned. Human traffic was halted while the fugitives were ushered back across the frontier through the border gates.
Some of them, clearly aggrieved, left fresh steaming deposits in no man’s land. The most junior soldiers were despatched immediately with spades to rectify the situation and restore order.
It was snowing in the Tian Shan mountains, towering above the scene. Freezing cold on the plain for those waiting on the horse business to conclude.
I always thought Lord of the Rings should have been filmed here, Mongolia and Xingxiang. The majestic mountains, mighty rivers and vast steppe better conveys the grandeur of the landscape described in the books.
But it would cost a bomb.
Issyk Kul, a huge mountain lake with beautiful clear waters and ringed by the Tian Shan, is about 160km long and 60km wide.
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Bishkek, the capital, can be a bit ‘meh …’ so you need to try harder to get your travel kicks. Oak Park and the surrounding areas are a good place to explore.
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The visitor needs to keep in mind the very recent history and geopolitical realities of this region. A historian/guide attempts to rehabilitate Stalin while denouncing Solzhenitsyn, apparently the former unaware of, and the latter exaggerating of, the numbers of executions carried out.
They lose composure briefly when I ask them to repeat that.
You would be naive to expect messages that are not State sanctioned in a Central Asian democracy. We do the same in different ways.
As everywhere I have been in Central Asia, the people here are friendly, welcoming, honest and have a good sense of humour.
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It is a vastly more rewarding interaction with local people than you get, for example, on the Mediterranean, which fluctuates between the awful faux-servitude at the high end and the tourist-weary rudeness you encounter everywhere else.