Russian Cruse Ship on the lake Issil Kol

What best than getting on board of an old Russian cruse ship on the lake Issil Kol (or Issyk Kul)? Not much I tell ya. I went this week end to this alpine lake in Kyrgyzstan, at 1600m high and warm enough to swim in it, with the view on the peaks of the Tian Shan in the background, culminating at more than 7000m high!

In fact the whole situation was quite unrealistic: I was suntanning on the beach while looking either at the mighty Celestial Mountains (Tian Shan) or at the old mini Russian cruse ship full of baboshkas, or just listening to the mix of Russian disco and French 80s music… I felt like in a camping site on the beach in France, with all the [nice] people that come with it. For example on the main street there is just old BMW and Mercedes tuned up and driving like maniacs, with big sound system playing either Fairytale or Vengaboys. Quite fun

Yet I feel very happy to have been catapulted in this country. I love the mix of European and Asian culture, quite unique. This morning I had croissants for breakfast, and then for lunch I had lahgman, the Central Asian noodles with lamb meet on top and a sauce tasting vaguely bolognaise… Delicious! People seem quite friendly also, except maybe for the internet cafe workers. And there’s so much strange things: I saw a gas station pump with instructions written in German! There are also many cars with the driving wheel on the right side, straight from Japan. I also saw a Volkswagen Golf with the sticker controle technique on the windshield, straight from France!

Tomorrow I will deal with getting a new Chinese visa, and I will also learn whether the border is open or not, which would completely change my itinerary. I really don’t know what to do if the border is closed. Maybe Pakistan? or Uzbekistan? or Iran, for more spicy travelling! Or maybe the Köl-Ükök lake?

Russian Tourists on Issyk Kul