Day 21 and beyond Recapping Kyrgyzstan

 Well we are finally home now and have had time to catch our breath after this amazing adventure. Although there were a few negatives on the whole trip, overall it was an amazing experience.

Looking back and with all the planning required to do this, we were a little disappointed the motorcycles were not as requested with lowered seat and suspension for Ann. I was happy with the upgrade from the 700GS to 800 GS and aside from the local mechanics messing with the already good brakes it had, I only had to deal with dodgy keys and locks. Others in our group were not as lucky. That being said, Hugo and Ellis did a fantastic job of coordinating the repairs with the suppliers and keeping them running throughout the excursion.

The travel between Dubai and Kyrgyzstan was probably the biggest pain to be honest. In our case we flew with FlyDubai, a subsidiary company of emirates. You know when you see movies of people in planes sharing their seats with goats, chickens and yaks....... well it wasn't quite that bad, but seriously giving you a meal that was like eating an inner sole and then wanting to charge you for a coffee? Seriously! and then to endure a 5 hour flight without any inflight movie... Shit I would have been happy to watch the air plane simulation. It was no surprise that we missed our connecting flight on the return leg due to the plane being late.Of the 3 couples on the tour, all 3 experienced some level of inconvenience. The worst was Peter and Zelda, not only missing connecting flights, but then having to get a taxi to another airport 80 miles away, and then losing their luggage as well. We are still not sure if Aeroflot has found Peters bags yet.

So now to the good bits.Kyrgyzstan is an amazing country. Nearly every direction you look you will see snow capped mountains, vast open plains, fast running rivers filled with icy crystal clear water and horses and donkeys by the truckload. The Kyrgyz people are so welcoming and friendly and even if they dont speak any english are willing to try and help you if you are lost or in trouble. It really does dispel the myth of soviet countries being dull bland colourless entities. The sky was the bluest I have ever seen, the hills the greenest and the lakes and rivers the cleanest and bluest.

This is by no means a third world country, but the basic wage is far less than the western world. People are just happy with what they have and dont see the need for the luxuries of the western world.they seem to make things work for them and rely on their livestock and land for survival. Pretty much everyone has a vege garden and the vegetables are the tastiest and freshest  we have eaten outside of our own garden. The children are happy to help out around the house and in the garden  and are not focussed on computer games  and other western niceties.

Its hard being a horse owner to understand that anyone can milk this creatures let alone eat the meat but it happens here and is just a part of life. The horses are so healthy and well cared for and the herders take good care of their herd.

This country is not one that many people know about yet. Hikers are making their way into the wilderness areas and tourism is now picking up and is one of the countries main sources of income. We are so glad we got to see this beautiful country before the western influences spoil it. We came here with no pre-concieved notions of what to expect but we are taking away much more. We are some of a few people who have navigated the country on a motorcycle, seen it in all its unspoilt glory and taking away a lifetime of memories and friends. Riding around Kyrgyzstan with Hugo, Ellis, Peter, Zelda, George and Ruth gave us some great times that we may never have experienced. We truly did have a multicultural experience.

Ann and I thank you all for making this such a great expedition and look forward to our paths crossing in the future somewhere. May all roads lead to a brighter future for all. Finally thank you Kyrgyzstan for being you.