This is a brief entry about settling into a new country.
Besides immediately making you think of the OshKosh B’gosh line of kiddie clothes, Osh is the second-largest city in Kyrgyzstan. We end up here by default, as it’s the nearest destination after departing Uzbekistan where we did.
As far as the physical environment goes, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are very different.
The most obvious difference is that Kyrgyzstan is much more ‘Russified’ than Uzbekistan. Kyrgyz is paired with Russian everywhere, and the language is still written in Cyrillic letters.
Whereas in Uzbekistan, most sad communist-era infrastructure has been torn down and replaced with brighter, modern streets and buildings, there is more of a cultural hangover of Sovietic decrepitude and drab grayness here.
Kyrgyzstan is more Russified and less Islamified. Uzbekistan, like many Muslim-majority countries (Turkey, Malaysia, and Indonesia come to mind), tries to tie its national identity to a greater Islamic influence. This can be a bit of a tightrope-walking act – nobody wants to encourage young male hotheads to reach for their martyr’s crowns either.
Kyrgyzstan seems much more secular. It’s also an interesting mix of Asiatic and Caucasian people.
It doesn’t help that the weather is rainy and gray in Osh. In spite of these differences, we’re happy to report that Kyrgyz people are as friendly towards us as Uzbeks. Lucky us!
We opt to fly to Bishkek, the capital, rather than undergo a twelve-hour bus ride. At first we think we’re getting onto a Russian-built aircraft, because we don’t recognize the model as anything we’ve seen before.
It turns out to be an old McDonnell Douglas MD-80 (since taken over by Boeing, I believe).
Bishkek is a much different kettle of fish than Osh. It’s way more lively and modern. And way less depressing. There are still a lot of bedraggled Soviet-era flatblocks around, but in Bishkek, they add to the general interest.
We spend most of our time here attempting to amass enough cash to rent a vehicle. (The company we deal with only accepts cash. Preferably US dollars.) This means multiple visits to different ATMs.
At least one afternoon is enjoyed at the extraordinarily excellent National History Museum of Kyrgyzstan.
Unfortunately, we can’t find a link that does justice to this recently-revamped museum and its wonderful exhibits.
This is a Kyrgyz specialty – Ala Kiyiz carpets, with colourful patterns dyed into the felt with which they’re made. We’d love to bring one of these puppies home.
Sight or Insight of the Day
At last, our vehicle is delivered and we’re ready to hit the road.
We are hopeless anthropomorphisers. Our 2002 Toyota 4Runner is dubbed Sergei.
