Christmas in Central Asia

[Mattg]

Note to self: Get that note in Russian before my visit ...

Did you happen to notice if the ski lifts were open in summer, for tourists?

The chairlifts weren't running in summer, but the cable car was. The cable car can take you up to where the bar is, so it's still worth visiting in summer IMHO.

 

[JohnM]

The chairlifts weren't running in summer, but the cable car was. The cable car can take you up to where the bar is, so it's still worth visiting in summer IMHO.

RF is readying himself to buy me a drink up there....

 

[Mattg]

RF is readying himself to buy me a drink up there....

They had an impressive selection of vodka and other spirits.

 

[Mattg]

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

This was my first time visiting Kyrgyzstan and I didn't really know what to expect. What I found was a country that is markedly less developed than Kazakhstan. In fact, it looked like not a lot had changed since the fall of the Soviet Union. And things don't look likely to change any time soon, either. There was very little construction going on.

Bishkek is the capital city of Kyrgyzstan. It's a small city that - outside of the main square - is not all that modern and, honestly, is a little dirty. That said, the city and its people have a certain charm and Bishkek really grew on me after a couple of days.

The centre and heart of Bishkek is unquestionably Ala-Too Square. This part of the city was modern and lively.




Here you'll find the Manas statue and a giant flagpole housing the largest Kyrgyz flag in the country. The flag is protected by two non-smiling guards, whose post is ceremoniously changed hourly.




The impressive building behind the square is the most important museum in the country, the State History Museum. Sadly, this has been closed for "renovations" for over two years and I have no idea when it will re-open. There were no signs or information anywhere.

Behind this museum was one of the largest statues of Lenin still in existence - right in the centre of Kyrgyzstan's capital!

 

[Mattg]

There were plenty more statues and memorials around Bishkek. The largest was Victory Square, a massive monument dedicated to the Soviet victory in the Great Patriotic War (WWII).





Here are some of the others we found...

 

[Mattg]

We attempted to visit the other main museum in Bishkek, the "National Museum of Fine Arts Named After Gapar Aitiev". This was also closed on the day we went!



Another major attraction in Bishkek is Osh Bazaar, where you can buy pretty much anything. There were plenty of shops selling traditional felt hats, as well as clothes, whole chickens, fish, vegetables, cakes, animal parts, electronics, handbags... you get the idea. The prices, as is generally the case in Kyrgyzstan, were very cheap. The bazaar was crowded and didn't feel 100% safe, so I wouldn't spend too many hours there. But it's worth checking out. If you want to buy anything, expect to bargain!

Apparently there is another even bigger bazaar in Bishkek, Dordoy Bazaar, where cheap goods arrive from China and are traded by the truckload. As far as commerce is concerned, this is literally where east meets west as many of the Chinese imports are then trucked further to the west. We didn't visit this bazaar, however.

Another place you can shop is the Zym department store. This looks like an impressive modern building (by Kyrgyz standards) on the outside. But if you expect it to look like that from the inside, you'll be disappointed.




In general Bishkek seemed quite safe, although we did have one incident. We were walking down the main street one evening when a guy approached us speaking Kyrgyz. I think he was homeless and asking for money, but I can't be sure. We ignored the guy and kept walking, so he grabbed my friend and started kicking him! We managed to get away unscathed, but that was disconcerting to say the least.

Other than that incident, I enjoyed Bishkek a lot in the end. Here are a few more photos from around the city...

 

[Mattg]

Panfilov Park, which is literally shaped like a Communist star.




The totally deserted main railway station of Bishkek:

 

[Mattg]

We were in Bishkek for New Year's Eve. The main public festivities were taking place at Ala-Too square. When we visited mid-afternoon on December 31st, there was a concert on and lots of families with young children were taking part in the carnival-style games.




We were back at the hotel at midnight. Our hotel actually organised a little party in the restaurant with free nibbles and champagne for guests. Around 11.50pm we tuned in to see the President of Kyrgyzstan give his annual New Year's address on live TV. I didn't understand a word of it, but I'm sure he said lots of nice things.

At midnight we headed outside to watch the fireworks display. We didn't have to go far to see fireworks, as every man and his dog had their own personal stash to let off!

As an aside, I was seriously impressed with our hotel. We stayed at Futuro Hotel, which is a little way outside of the city, but the hotel provides a free shuttle service to/from Ala-Too Square. It also provides an airport shuttle service, which is free if you stay at least 3 nights and book directly with the hotel. The hotel was modern and well-equipped - it even had a library - but the best thing about it was the service. The staff were super friendly and helpful, and even though it's a small hotel, the restaurant is open 24/7. An excellent free buffet breakfast is provided every morning too. I definitely recommend this hotel if you're heading to Bishkek.



The receptionist was saying that they get a surprisingly large number of Australians at this hotel - he guessed that he'd met around 20 over the last year. Apparently, most of them are working in Kazakhstan and come across the border for a few days at a time to renew their Kazakh visas. (I wouldn't have even known that was a thing!)

Not far down the road from our hotel was a 24/7 hypermarket, which was so large that it had a whole aisle just for vodka!

 

[Mattg]

One of the major tourist attractions in Kyrgyzstan is its mountains. Many people visit in summer to go hiking. Unfortunately we were there in winter and the temperature was below zero degrees, but it would have been a shame to not even make an effort to head into the mountains!

We did a day-trip to Ala-Archa National Park, which is about an hour away from Bishkek. To get there, our hotel booked a taxi for us. The trip cost a fixed price of 3,500 som ($70) which included the trip there and back, park entrance fee and 2 hours of waiting time while we went hiking. We ended up getting a delightful taxi driver called Almas who spoke English pretty well.

We were hoping for a clear day, but it wasn't to be. It became increasingly foggy and even started snowing when we arrived. We were undeterred and still went for a hike, but it certainly would have been a better experience on a warm, clear summer's day!

 

[Mattg]

We had some great meals in Kyrgyzstan. The food was similar to Kazakhstan, with lots of meat and pastries, and very cheap. For example, we paid around $8 for all of this:



There were also a surprising number of craft breweries and cool little cafes around Bishkek.

One of the most popular eating establishments in the city seemed to be KFC. But who needs KFC when you can eat BFC (presumably, Bishkek Fried Chicken)?




Some final thoughts on Bishkek. It's definitely less developed than the major cities in Kazakhstan, but that's not to say it's any better or worse. It's just different.

There were virtually no other tourists in Bishkek, and the few that we came across were from Russia or other parts of Kyrgyzstan. As a result, the country is woefully underprepared for tourists. English is also not widely spoken. Now, that is something I don't actually mind as it means you get a genuine experience, rather than just seeing what the country wants you to see! But it might not be for everyone. There were virtually no tours being offered, and I don't recall seeing a single tourist information centre. We did find a free walking tour being advertised online, but nobody showed up at the meeting point. So you're pretty much on your own! Public transport is also limited, although taxis are plentiful and cheap. The average fare to get across town is around $2.

In general, most people we met were not used to dealing with tourists (and assumed I was a Russian expat). At one restaurant, for example, the menu was only written in Kyrgyz. I tried to pronounce the names of the items I wanted to order, with some success, but there was one item with an unpronounceable name. So I tried pointing to it on the menu, but the lady didn't understand what I was doing and just stood there looking confused, wondering why I was moving my fingers. I never did get to order that thing. That said, most people were super friendly and would try to help you, even if they didn't speak English.

One thing I didn't like was the amount of men spitting on the street. But, on the whole, it was a wonderful unique experience and I would be happy to return to Kyrgyzstan!

 

[henleybeach]

Not many people can say they’ve spent New Years in Bishkek !
That little incident would’ve been a bit scary, thank god it all ended well and you didn’t let it spoil your trip

 

[RoMambai]

Thanks Matt - great pics. It does get better in the summer months when many Russian, but also European, tourists visit for alpine tours, yurt homestays and lakeside holidays. I spent 2 weeks there and loved it. Osh is also very nice and is majority Uzbek which gives it a completely different feel to the rest of the country.

 

[Mattg]

We had planned to spend a few days in Tbilisi on the way back to Europe. As you'd probably expect, there are no direct flights from Bishkek to Tbilisi. The one-stop options weren't great either - we had the choice of flying Ural Airlines with a >24 hour layover in Yekaterinburg, S7 with an overnight layover in Novosibirsk, Aeroflot via Moscow, Air Astana back through Almaty or Turkish Airlines via Istanbul. Turkish was offering decent a connection and the price wasn't totally unreasonable, so we booked that.

We were supposed to leave Bishkek at 7.30am on New Year's Day, then have a ~3 hour layover in Istanbul before connecting onwards to Tbilisi the same day. After we booked, Turkish Airlines cancelled the 7.30am flight and put us on a 9.30am flight out of Bishkek with a now ~1 hour layover in Istanbul. This was supposed to be on the day the new Istanbul Airport would become fully operational, and that inbound flight had an on-time performance of ~30%, so there was almost zero chance we would have made the connection. In the end, the opening of the new airport was pushed back and the 9.30am flight was cancelled anyway.

We were rebooked on a flight leaving Bishkek at 3.55am the following morning, which meant we now also had a ~7 hour layover in Istanbul. We also lost an entire day in Tbilisi, which is a shame when you only had planned two days! This was literally the only option - between the time of booking and the date of departure, TK had cancelled all 5 of the other FRU-IST flights originally scheduled for 1 and 2 January.

Because our layover in Istanbul was now over 6 hours, we would have been eligible for a free Istanbul tour provided by Turkish Airlines. The only catch was that I would have needed to get a visa for Turkey. We'd both already been to Istanbul and I did have lounge access, so we just stayed at Ataturk airport during the layover.

 

[cgichard]

So what did you manage to do in that very short time in Tbilisi? Had you been there before?

 

[Mattg]

So what did you manage to do in that very short time in Tbilisi? Had you been there before?

I'm afraid I got caught up doing other things over the last few days, but I am getting to that

Yes, I had been once before.

 

[Mattg]

As our flight left Bishkek in the middle of the night, we didn't bother booking a hotel for the night and just headed to the airport around midnight.

There was a security checkpoint that you had to pass through to enter the airport terminal in Bishkek. The security officers asked us where we were going and we really interested to know how much we'd paid for the tickets to Istanbul. (This wasn't part of their job, I think they were just curious and were dreaming of visiting Turkey.)

Ours was the only flight departing Bishkek during the night. The check-in desks opened around 12.30am and there was quite a crowd waiting to check in, although the rest of the airport was empty. This is the international departures area:



We were soon processed and headed up to the one and only lounge at Bishkek Airport (the "Business Lounge"). We remained the only passengers in the lounge for nearly 2 hours, although a few more people joined us shortly before the TK flight boarded.




The lounge had a small selection of snacks available as well as some hot food that was no longer, well, hot. I have no idea how long the hot food had been sitting there! The usual non-alcoholic drinks were available, as well as one type of red wine, white wine and beer. Other alcoholic drinks were available for purchase from the bar and there were drinks menus at every table.



There was one shower available in the lounge which worked fine - except that the door to the shower room wouldn't close! Otherwise, the wifi worked well and there was a TV room and a small children's play area, so it was a reasonable lounge for what it is.

 

[Mattg]

Flight 6: TK347 Bishkek - Istanbul
Boeing 737-900ER
Departure time: 03:55
Arrival time: 07:10



This flight was completely full. Most of the other passengers were Kyrgyz and there was only one Russian-speaking flight attendant. She worked bloody hard for the entire flight.

The legroom on the new Boeing 737-900ER was fairly standard:



There was a blanket and pillow on every seat. There were also in-flight entertainment screens at each seat but mine didn't really work. Whenever I selected a movie or TV show etc. it just wouldn't play. I didn't bother asking to get it reset as I was planning to sleep for most of the 6-hour flight.

Well, that didn't really happen as the night was just full of interruptions. After take-off the crew handed out amenity kits to everyone in economy class - fair enough. These contained socks, eye masks and earplugs. The crew then came around to serve everyone a cheese sandwich and drinks. The rubbish was eventually cleared away but the lights were kept on. I nodded off to sleep for a while, to then be woken up by the crew serving hot breakfast to everyone. I thought I must have slept for most of the flight, but nope - only 30 minutes had passed. Why on earth were they serving breakfast an hour after the snack at 5.30am origin time (2.30am destination time) with another 4 hours to go?

I figured that since I was already awake, I might as well partake in the breakfast. As with most Turkish Airlines meals, it was very good. I just wished they would have served it an hour before landing and not in the middle of the night.



With 3 hours and 30 minutes to go, they collected the breakfast rubbish and served tea and coffee. By now I was really tired and just wanted to sleep, but the cabin lights were still on. 15 minutes later, there was announcement asking if a doctor was on board. Nobody responded to the initial announcement, so one of the flight attendants came through the cabin waking people up to ask if they were a doctor. The lady sitting in the window seat of our row eventually volunteered and then made frequent trips to the back of the plane for the next hour or two.

The seatbelt sign was also switched on and off multiple times throughout the night for turbulence. Each time this happened, the flight attendant would come through the cabin yelling at everyone in Russian to fasten their seatbelts. She woke me up at one point because she couldn't see that my seatbelt was fastened underneath my blanket (fair enough - safety first).

Eventually the medical emergency seemed to be under control and the cabin lights were dimmed. I tried to sleep for the remaining hour or so of the flight before we began the descent, but the cabin was way too warm. I just never got comfortable. So I arrived in Istanbul feeling like a bit of a zombie. I don't really blame Turkish Airlines though - that's just inevitable when the flight leaves at 3.55am.

By the end of the flight, the toilets were in an absolutely disgusting state.

All in all, this was just a strange flight. But we did arrive in Istanbul safely and on time. As soon as we parked, there was a mad scrum to get off the plane with people pushing and shoving in the aisle to get to the front. We then disembarked onto busses, meaning everyone got to the terminal at exactly the same time.

 

[Mattg]

Turkish Airlines Lounge, Istanbul

In contrast to the flight we'd just left, the Turkish Airlines Lounge at Istanbul Ataturk Airport was excellent! Aside from being an architectural masterpiece, it's huge and covers two floors. I would dare say that it's even better than the Qantas First lounges in Sydney and Melbourne.

This lounge has pretty much everything you could want, and a bunch of stuff you probably didn't even realise you wanted. There's a TV room, a billiards table, a golf driving range simulator, gaming consoles, a children's play area. There's also plenty of toilets and showers, as well as a roaming massage therapist. If you have a long layover and are connecting in Business class onto long-haul flight, you can even use the sleeping rooms (although the criteria for access to these is quite strict).





This was the shower room:



The highlight for me, though, was the food! We arrived around 8am as they were serving breakfast, and didn't leave until 1pm so also got to see what was on offer for lunch. There were so many food options, but the majority were unashamedly Turkish. Yum!

There was fresh simit, gözleme, eggs, hot paninis, fresh pide, grilled meats and a whole range of other options available from the buffet. For lunch there was also Thai curry available. My favourite part was the olive stations where you sample all sorts of different Turkish olives.




There was also no shortage of drinks. As well as all the usual suspects, there was a large choice of wines and spirits available as well as barista-made espresso and Turkish-style coffee. To accompany your coffee was Turkish delight and a whole selection of different types of cake. I may have over-indulged a little bit...



The lounge was absolutely packed when we arrived, but a bank of European flights left shortly afterwards and the lounge pretty much cleared out. It got busy again prior to the next bank of European flights, so it seems to ebb and flow in waves.

If there was any lounge you could be "stuck" in for 6 hours, this would have to be one of the better ones! I can't wait to go back there next week.

 

[Mattg]

Flight 7: TK382 Istanbul - Bishkek
Airbus A320
Departure time: 13:50
Arrival time: 17:10

This flight was pleasantly uneventful. Boarding was via bus again. There was plenty of leg room in the exit row that we were assigned.

Lunch was served. It was a beef kofta with rice and various accompaniments, and it looked good, but I was still full from lunch so declined.

There were screens fitted on the back of each seat, but these showed only the route map. So I just sat back, relaxed and enjoyed the scenery.




We landed on time as the sun was setting in Tbilisi.

 

[Mattg]

There are three main ways to get from Tbilisi's airport to the city. The most common choices are to either take a taxi or the number #37 bus. There is also an airport train but it only runs twice per day. Yes, seriously - twice per day. And it's so poorly patronised that most Tbilisi locals didn't even know this train exists!

It just so happened that we arrived right when the afternoon train was due to leave, so we caught the train. It leaves from a fancy new station just across the road from the airport terminal.




The Tbilisi airport train timetable was posted on an A4 piece of paper on the door to the station entrance.



The actual train was not nearly as modern as the airport railway station. I believe Georgian Railway is currently in the process of modernising its rolling stock, but this train looked like it was right out of the Soviet era and hadn't been refurbished since. It was noisy and many of the chairs inside the carriage were broken. The doors at the end of the carriage kept randomly opening and closing - perhaps there's even a ghost haunting this train.





I think we were the only passengers on the train. To buy a ticket, you needed to place GEL 0.50 (equivalent to 25 cents) into a box at the end of the carriage. No change is provided.



I don't think we ever reached more than 20km/h and there was frequent stopping and starting. Finally we arrived at Tbilisi's central railway station, which seemed to be a shopping centre with a railway station attached.

From the central station, we were able to catch the metro from Station Square to our accommodation. The metro system does seem a bit more modern and is easy to navigate. You can use a "Metromoney" card to ride the metro and the fare is, again, GEL 0.50.