A week in Tbilisi: Random updates and fun stories
გამარჯობა!
Gamarjoba! I’ve been staying in Tbilisi for the past week and wanted to share some fun stories and random updates about my time here.
Sunrise from Narikala Fortress, one of my favorite places in Tbilisi.
Creating Daily routinesWhat’s been lovely about being in one place for an extended period of time is that it feels like I can experience what it’d be like to actually live here. It’s been wonderful living in the same hostel and getting to reintroduce some sort of daily routine. I’ve been going on regular morning runs, which serve a dual purpose as a moving meditation and a way to explore the city, revisiting my favorite cafes and parks, and building new friendships.
Rike Park and its plethora of lavendar.
There’s so much greenery in Tbilisi, whether that’s green spaces in the form of numerous public parks, trees lining the sidewalks, or grape vines providing shade from the summer sun. There are also hiking trails that are easily accessible, leading up to hills as high as 1000m.
Rike Park is one of my favorite parks on the east side of the river and is right next to the futuristic looking Bridge of Peace. I’ve conducted some quick morning workouts there as it’s lovely to be working out while surrounded by gardens. One morning I ran into a local who was picking all the lavender buds from the bushes and ended up with an entire plastic bag full of buds!
I’ve also enjoyed exploring the cafe scene here and using that time to catch up on my blog and set aside some time for quiet reflection and introspection.
living the local lifeMy first night back in Tbilisi I experienced a water supply issue at my hostel. It turns out that Tbilisi occasionally has water supply interruptions and it just so happened that the outage happened while I was there. The outages don’t affect the entire city, rather they impact different neighborhoods, and they are a way for Georgia Water and Power to periodically fix the city’s water pipes. What’s a bit unfortunate is that there’s no proactive announcement about planned work, so you don’t know when you’ll be affected. Luckily I only experienced the water supply interruption twice (a couple of hours the first night and eight hours the second night) but it was an important reminder of how crucial water is to our lives and a gentle reminder of gratitude for clean water.
Each morning at my hostel, Nonna cooks a full and delicious breakfast for her guests and will incorporate some classic Georgian dishes, including khachapuri! It was such a delight to watch her make them from scratch.
Stuffing the khachapuri with cheese
Pinching the edges of the Adjarian khachapuri to give it its classic boat shape
Mini Adjarian khachapuri (boat-shaped, stuffed with cheese
Presenting “Big Daddy” - a big megrulian khachapuri (round with cheese on top)
Navigating Medical care in GeorgiaI had banged up my toenails pretty badly after a steep and fast descent down Kilimanjaro in June. As a result my toenails were looking a bit bruised and gnarly*. I texted some photos to my friend who’s a doctor, and even she balked at the sight! My right toenail ended up falling off in mid-August but the toenail growing underneath was looking a bit wonky, so I decided to get it checked out before I embarked on my trekking trip to Nepal.
A friend living in Tbilisi recommended American Medical Centers as I was looking for a doctor who could speak English. It turns out American Medical Centers has several locations in Eastern Europe and Central Asia including Ukraine and Kazkahstan. They are American-owned and managed so the whole process felt similar to visiting a doctor back in the States except that I was pleasantly surprised with shorter wait times and amazing service.
The doctor who saw me ended up being a trail runner and consequently was quite familiar with toes like mine. It turned out that my toenails were doing just fine despite their gnarly appearance and just needed some tlc in the form of lotion and filing. He promised me they’d eventually grow back to normal (bad for my future OnlyFans account 😂). His recommendation was to size up half a shoe size in order to prevent this from occurring again in the future. Luckily I have a friend visiting me next week and she’s agreed to bring me new hiking boots (thank you Shirley - my toes and I are so grateful for you!).
Funnily enough, this doctor ran in the Kazbegi Mountain Marathon over the weekend - the same marathon where Kazu, Satori, and I were cheering spectators, and he did recall hearing our cheers and seeing us out of the corner of his eye. What are the odds!
* I did not include a photo of my toe because I figured it wouldn’t be appreciated.
Buying Georgian WineI wanted to buy a bottle of Georgian wine for an upcoming home-cooked dinner with Kazu and Satori so that they could get their first taste of Georgian wine. I ended up visiting Wine Gallery, purely because of the number of highly rated reviews on Google Maps, and it was such a fun experience. The ground floor contained regular wine bottles but the basement was filled with large stainless steel vats of wine. Each vat contains a different type of wine, including wine made in the local Georgian qveri (natural) style and wine made in the traditional European style, and you can get wine on tap! The wine is sold in plastic bottles and is a lot cheaper than the options on the ground floor. The cheapest was a dry white wine that sold at 3.8 lari ($1.15 USD) for 1L! However it was made using the European style of winemaking so I opted for a qveri wine made from the same grape Rkatsiteli and sold at 12 lari ($4.56 USD).
Kazu, Satori, and I ended up enjoying several home-cooked meals together and were joined by Kenta, a Japanese traveler they met while traveling on the Pamir Highway in Tajikistan. It was heavenly “going home” each night to their rented apartment to cook and enjoy a homemade meal together.
Japanese-style meal of Temaki (hand rolls) - one of my favorites!
Rice was heavily featured at each meal - I had definitely missed it!
But, we also enjoyed a meal out together at Cafe Daphna, which I think has the best mushroom khinkali in Tbilisi. These khinkali are heavenly -richly flavored with garlic and herbs and the mushrooms seemingly melt in your mouth (I’m pretty sure butter has something to do with this).
Enjoying our last night together
Wizards are everywhere
Turns out there’s a Harry Potter store in Tbilisi! Ollivander’s store is tucked away in the Vake district (a more modern looking neighborhood) and tolerates Muggles like me.
Of course I had to step inside and take a look!
Sighnaghi and Davit Gareja
SighnaghiSighnaghi is affectionately known as the city of love. It’s a very charming town in the Kakheti region of Georgia, also known as the wine region! Alaska and I spent one day and two nights there wandering around town, which is quite small. It’s the most touristic place I’ve been in Georgia so far so one day was enough for me. The red roofs remind me of Dubrovnik, Croatia and there’s something quite beautiful about seeing the town from above.
Davit Gareja MonasteryWe drove to Davit Gareja on our way back to Tbilisi from Sighnaghi. This monastery complex is located right on the border of Georgia and Azerbaijan - in fact ~150m of the road to Davit Gareja technically falls within Azerbaijan! The monastery has been a source of border dispute between the two countries as both claim rights to the monastery due to the monastery’s historical and religious significance. Unfortunately we were not able to hike to Udabno Monastery, the upper part of the Davit Gareja complex, because access was blocked off by Georgian border guards due to the recent Georgian-Azerbaijan tensions.
Davit Gareja was constructed in the 6th century by a group on Assyrian monks who came to this area to settle down and spread the word of Christianity. What makes this monastery complex so unique is that the monasteries have been carved straight from stone! All types of rooms, from libraries to bedrooms to living areas, are carved from the stone. It was fascinating to see stairs carved from the stone and imagine hundreds of monks carefully making their way to the caves. It reminded me of the caves in Cappadocia, Turkey.
Gergeti Glacier
I spent last weekend in Stepantsminda, officially named Stepantsminda but still commonly called by its former name Kazbegi. Stepantsminda was originally named after a Georgian monk Stephan but the name was changed to Kazbegi in 1925 during Soviet rule. Given the animosity between Georgia and Russia, it’s not surprising that the name was changed back to Stepantsminda in 2006.
Stepantsminda is a three and a half hour marshrutka ride north of Tbilisi, and it’s one of the most popular places to go hiking (the other is the four day hike from Mestia to Ushguli - more coming on that soon). Kazu and Satori happened to be in Tbilisi as well, so we made the trip to Stepantsminda together.
The hike to Gergeti Glacier was beautiful. We had a very early morning start at 5am in order to beat the forecast of afternoon rain and were rewarded with a glorious sunrise and stunning views of Mt Kazbek, the third highest mountain in Georgia at 5054 meters.
When we first arrived in Stepantsminda it was lunch time, so we followed our noses to a local bakery. The owner invited us in to see how he and his brother baked the bread. It was so cool to see the bread baked in a traditional manner!
You can see the two khachapuri baking in the oven
Kazu looking very pleased about our acquisition of khachapuri (cheese-filled bread) and lobiani (bean-filled bread). We were lucky to get them straight from the oven so the ooey gooey cheese was scrumptious. The lobiani made a perfect hiking snack for our trip up to Gergeti Glacier.
Feed me Georgian food all day
I am in love with Georgian cuisine. It has many vegetable-focused dishes (very vegetarian friendly!) which was quite welcome after spending over two months traveling in Central Asia - when the focus is plov (rice with meat) or bread, you dream of vegetables other than a cucumber and tomato salad! Georgian cuisine also has a strong focus on good bread (khachapuri, lobiani, and other stuffed breads) which seems to balance out all the nutrient-filled vegetarian dishes. The fresh produce is amazing here and I definitely arrived during a good time - it’s the season for ripe stone fruit and figs and I love picking up a bag of figs on the walk back to my hostel.
Here’s a quick look at some of the meals and foods I’ve had while making my way across Georgia. If you’re in New York I recommend checking out Chama Mama. It’s a Georgian restaurant located in Chelsea that features delicious Georgian food and wine. Special shoutout to Jesse and Christine, who first recommended this restaurant, and Liz for introducing me to my first Georgian meal!
One of my favorite things about Georgia, especially visiting in August and September, is the fresh and sweet figs and stone fruit! These figs are the best I’ve had in my life.
Bread is a staple in Georgian cuisine. Here you can see khachapuri (bread stuffed with cheese) being baked in a traditional oven.
Chebureki is a fried dough stuffed with meat that closely resembles an empanada. The pastry was deliciously flaky, but the meat filling inside was quite sparse!
Look at that fig! Equally beautiful and delicious.
One version of khachapuri, cheese-filled bread, bought in Kazbegi, Georgia. We were able to get them fresh out of the oven from a bakery owned by a pair of brothers who invited us into the shop to take a look at how they bake the bread. They only make khachapuri, lobiani (bean-filled bread), and plain bread.
A deeper look into chebureki.
A very quick introduction to Uzbekistan
“If somebody wants to understand who the Uzbeks are, if somebody wants to comprehend all the power, might, justice and unlimited abilities of the Uzbek people, their contribution to the global development, their belief in future, he should recall the image of Amir Temur.”
The above quote greeted me upon entering the State Museum of Temurid History. I had held off visiting any museums during my week in Tashkent, needing the opportunity to have some downtime and knowing that I’d be back in September, but the one museum I wanted to visit was the State Museum of Temurid History, also known as the Amir Temur museum.
I had first heard of Amir Temur when visiting the mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi in Turkestan, as Amir Temur was the visionary behind the mausoleum. Amir Temur is of Turkish and Mongol descent and was born in Transoxiana, which is now modern-day Uzbekistan, in the 1320s. He was a famous leader who founded the Temurid (also spelled as Timurid) empire in the 14th century. Depending on who you talked to and what sources you referenced, he was either a beloved, powerful ruler or a ruthless despot. I’d read that he was most well-respected in Uzbekistan, so I knew that I’d be able to learn more about Amir Temur’s story there and his influence on the culture and history of Uzbekistan.
Unfortunately I don’t have any photos of my visit to the museum as I went there right after visiting the US embassy, where I wasn’t allowed to bring my phone or any type of electronic device (I felt very proud of myself for navigating my way to the museum without a phone!). But I do have notes I jotted down in my journal that I’d like to share with you - some brief observations and reflections as I wandered around the small but impressive museum. It’ll be as if you’re in my head while my thoughts are coming in real time.
Wow. The central hall of the museum is absolutely stunning. I wish I had my phone to capture the beauty of the museum’s interior, but alas no phone. So here’s a photo off the internet.
Source: Central-Asia.Guide
MUSINGS AND OBSERVATIONSThis is less of a history museum with thousands of artifacts and relics but more of a brief glimpse into the Temurid history. It was the perfect appetizer of an introduction to Uzbek history.
On display is a letter (the real thing!) from Amir Temur to King Charles VI of France from 1402. These two rulers connected?! Why was this never mentioned in history class? I’d never heard of Temur before coming to Central Asia, yet he was in correspondence with European rulers, who we did learn about.
One gallery contains portraits of various Temurid princes, descendants of the great Amir Temur, and details their quick biographies. Amir Temur was definitely prolific in his offspring - one exhibit shows his vast and complex family tree that includes well-known historical figures such as Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor who built the Taj Mahal, and Babur, the founder of the Mughal empire. Amir Temur also claimed to be a descendent of Genghis Khan (who ruled a century earlier) and held this warlord in high regard.
It can get confusing that Temur can be spelled multiple ways in the English alphabet. I’ve seen Temur, Timir, and Timur, and Amir Temur was also known as Tamarlane.
This museum has been my favorite out of the museums I’ve visited in Central Asia, although most of them were in Kazakhstan. I wonder if this is because it seems like Uzbekistan has had more investments in their tourism infrastructure.
There was a New York City proclamation on display signed by Rudy Giuliani during his time as mayor of New York City. It celebrates the 9th anniversary of the Republic of Uzbekistan (it only became an independent state in 1991!).
It’s funny that portraits of Amir Temur painted by European artists portray him as very European-looking with Caucasian features, which contrasts sharply with the portraits of him painted by Central Asian artists where you see him with more Asian and Arabic features.
Architecture and art from the Temurid period deeply influenced architecture in India, as evidenced by the design of the Taj Mahal and other buildings built in India around that time.
Learned about Mirzo Ulughbek (also spelled Ulugh Beg), a famous astronomer and grandson of Amir Temur. He’s recognized as one of the most important astronomers and scholars of the 15th century (again, did not learn about him in school!). He built the Ulugh Beg Observatory in Samarkand in the 1420s, and the observatory is considered to be one of the finest observatories in the Islamic world at the time. While he was a great astronomer, he was a poor ruler and ended up being overthrown and assassinated.
After leaving the museum, I felt excited to learn more about Uzbek history and visit more museums when I’m back in Uzbekistan in September. There’s a richness to the history here, a sense of strong Uzbek identity and pride, that feels different to the museums I visited in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan - I wonder if that’s because Uzbekistan has less of a leftover legacy from the Soviet Era.
Exterior of the State Museum of Temurid History.
Source: Wikipedia, RyansWorld - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21988099
A brief stop on US soil
Long story short, while I was traveling in Africa I realized that I needed to renew my passport. At that time internet access was limited, so I asked for my mom’s assistance in researching which US embassies would be the most convenient to renewing my passport. A huge shoutout to her for her tireless research and support (although I have a feeling she also enjoyed doing something unrelated to work 😂).
After reviewing and narrowing down options, I chose to renew my passport at the US embassy in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. It wouldn’t be too inconvenient with my travel plans but most importantly, I’d have the option to pick up my new passport at the embassy in person. According to the embassy’s website, mail in Uzbekistan is unreliable so they don’t trust mailing your new passport to you. Fine by me! Additionally while the embassy processed my new passport, they’d let me keep my current one so that I could travel internationally - bonus points! The embassy also had a surprisingly high rating on Google Maps (4.3 with over 200 reviews - rare for a government operations?). This was validated by my email communication with them - the American Citizen Services, the embassy department managing passports, was very responsive and incredibly helpful.
The day before my embassy appointment, I practiced traveling from my hostel to the embassy which took a little over an hour by metro. Why would I do this? Well because the US embassy doesn’t allow for any electronics, and that includes phones, laptops, USBs - you name it. My appointment confirmation even said that if I showed up to the embassy with any electronic devices, I’d be turned away and asked to make a new appointment, and I definitely did not want that!
My very handy map, including embassy information just in case I needed to approach a stranger for help.
It was such an interesting - and new! - experience navigating the city without my phone. I had a SIM card while traveling in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan so it was pretty easy to quickly open Google Maps and figure out my route. Or when traveling in countries where I didn’t have a data plan, I’d reference my offline Google Maps (highly recommended travel tip!) to make my way around a foreign city.
I wrote down instructions of which metro to take, how many stops to stay on, and how to change metro lines. I drew a map of how to walk from the metro station to the embassy (a 30 min walk) and identified what viewpoints would be nearby to use as markers during my mark. With the help of Google Maps street view, I was able to see what the viewpoints would look like so it would be easy to identify my location and direction once I was there.
I was a bit familiar with the route given I had practiced the day before and had been going on morning runs to familiarize myself with the city, so on the day of my appointment I semi-confidently embarked on my phone-less adventure.
However, I didn’t realize all the ways I rely on my phone and realized this by noticing that I kept on unconsciously reaching for it. I wanted to check the number of steps I ran that morning, write down a passing thought so I wouldn’t forget it, check and confirm I was walking in the right direction. It was an opportunity for me to practice being truly present. And it was hard at first, but I began to be more and more aware of my surroundings, observing more things and being more aware of what was going on around me. I felt like I could truly be here. I didn’t realize how much my phone ends up being a distraction rather than a tool, especially when I spent the rest of the day without my phone wandering around the city and visiting a museum. It was eye-opening for me - I had prided myself on being the type of person who could be away from her phone and not bothered, but traveling in foreign places has made me more reliant on my phone than I’d like and it’s become a distraction for when I’m bored or lonely. I came away from this experience grateful for this experience and not as annoyed at the embassy for forbidding me my phone.
I’m trying to think of how to describe the experience of walking onto the grounds of the US embassy (the first US embassy I’ve ever been to) as it became a bit of an emotional experience, which was entirely unexpected! It was a moment I wanted to capture and share in this journal.
In a way, arriving at the US embassy felt like coming home. I felt emotional knowing that I was technically on US soil and that this was as close as I’d get to US for a while. The embassy also felt familiar in some ways: the security guards were dressed in military outfits similar to what you’d see on security personnel back home rather than the uniforms of the local Uzbek police; the layout of the embassy reminded me of something I’d see in D.C.; and American flags were subtly on display everywhere within the embassy.
I also felt a sense of relief. It’s sounds strange but the moment I stepped foot on embassy grounds, I felt secure - I was a US citizen on US soil protected by the US embassy. I felt like I didn’t need to be on constant alert here and could finally relax my guard. Whenever I travel, a part of my mind is always on alert and dedicated to scanning my surroundings and assessing whether or not I’m safe. It’s not to say that I’m in unsafe environments (I’ve felt pretty safe while traveling in Central Asia), but I didn’t realize how much of my brain has been dedicated to keeping me safe, so it felt so nice to feel like I could just relax and let go. Granted I’m aware that I do have certain levels of privilege in being able to feel relaxed in this environment and not everyone would have a similar reaction.
The appointment itself was easy and straightforward. I was greeted with smiles and familiar American accents while a BBC TV travel program played softly in the background. I submitted my paperwork surrounded by posters of America’s famous national parks and photos of famous Olympians before making my way back through the security gates and into the busy streets of Tashkent, feeling grateful that I’d had a brief stop on US soil.
Not Tashkent.
A photo from D.C. (you can see the Washington Monument in the distance) that came to mind that seemed fitting for this post.
First impressions from Tashkent: a bakery lover’s paradise!
I spent about a week in Tashkent, Uzbekistan and the main focus was chilling, which was much needed after spending most of the previous four weeks constantly on-the-go and, most recently, experiencing a bout of food poisoning that put me out of commission for several days.
There are not many photos from my time in Tashkent except of beautiful crafted pastries and baked goods. But, I’ll be back in September!
My first impression of Tashkent is that it is a bakery lover’s paradise! There are many Western-style bakeries and patisseries here in Tashkent and if you know me well, you’ll know that this makes me very happy. It had been a month of being dessert-free due to a combination of not having access and or cravings, but it just so happened that I was experiencing anovulation* and had a strong craving for sweets while in Tashkent. Lucky for me, there’s a plethora of bakeries here, so I happily spent my time exploring while catching up on this blog.
* anovulation = all the hormones and symptoms of a period but without the actual bleeding - yay! Shame that they don’t teach this in health education classes or at the doctors and that it takes Google to figure this out, but that’s a whole other conversation.
Anyways other than being delighted by all the bakeries, here’s a lightning round of first impressions from Tashkent with photos of baked goods sprinkled in.
An example of the beautiful architecture in Tashkent. The city contains a mix of neoclassical architecture (what comes to mind when you think of Paris, although I’m aware it’s not exactly the same thing) and Soviet brutalist architecture (the very minimalist, cubist, and sometimes ugly massive, monolithic buildings).
It’s hard to count and manage cash here! 1 USD = ~12,000 Uzbek som. So you can imagine that even having 20 USD means a whole wad of cash - thats almost 250,000 Uzbek som. Banknotes range from 1000 som to 100,000 som and it is very easy to mix up that 10,000 and 100,000 som. I always have to do a second glance to make sure I’m giving out the right amount of cash - all those zeros!
Tashkent is the most Westernized city I’ve visited in Central Asia, even more so than Almaty. It has a strong European feel, which I think this is due to how the city is laid out. Tashkent reminds of Paris in some ways thanks to the large roundabouts that circle museums and monuments designed in a neoclassical style. Part of it is also due to the number of cafes that dot the sidewalks with their outdoor seating spaces. Of course this could also be entirely due to the fact that my hostel was in one of the wealthier neighborhoods in Tashkent.
There seems to be a prominent East Asian presence in Tashkent which is quite exciting! This means being able to find seaweed sheets and familiar ingredients at small Korean and Chinese mom-and-pop shops. This also means lots of K-beauty stores aka my happy place. It’s been fun browsing through brands I’ve read about but were hard to access back in the US. What I love is that many of the most effective K-beauty brands are quite affordable and better priced than the brands back home.
Horse meat isn’t as prevalent here as compared to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. I haven’t really seen it on the menus or in grocery stores here in Tashkent, although that could be due to being in the most Western city in Uzbekistan (though to be fair, Kazakhstan’s Almaty did have horse meat featured on most menus). I wonder if this is because Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan’s nomadic history have a stronger influence on the cuisine than in Uzbekistan.
Excited at how easy it was to find seaweed and soy sauce at the Korean grocery store. I also came across several Chinese grocery shops that featured uniquely Chinese snacks and ingredients, such as beef noodle soup paste and Chinese noodles. Of course, 老幹媽 was also present!
At Breadly Cafe, moments before I got to hold one of the cutest babies ever
Uzbekistan seems to be a wealthier country and have a better infrastructure than Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The moment my bus crossed the border from Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan, I experienced a smoother ride and cleaner, wider roads.
I’ve encountered more expats in Tashkent than in Almaty, and there’s a nice familiarity in meeting fellow Americans and hearing about their lives living in Tashkent. A fond memory is meeting some American expats at a cafe. I got to hold and embrace a baby (grateful and honored that Clarissa trusted a complete stranger with her one-year old son!) and talk to him in Chinese (his grandparents are from Taiwan) which was honestly maybe the highlight of that week. I miss seeing, hugging, and playing with my friends and family’s little ones.
Rating: 4/5. Great flakiness but too much filling
An imitation of NYC Lafayette Bakery’s internet-famous Supreme Croissant. These have been popping up a lot all over the world and appropriately labeled “NYC Croissant” I’m guessing to avoid any trademark infringement
Rating: 2/5. Disappointing as their other cakes were quite good.
A tiny hazelnut-filled chocolate tart from Cake Lab.
Rating: 5/5. SCRUMPTIOUS
Cheesecake from Breadly. Love that the crust isn’t just on the bottom, but also on the side.
I’ll be back in Tashkent in mid-September to spend a bit more time in Uzbekistan and exploring famous Samarkand and Bukhara. The latest updates are:
I’m headed to Georgia (the country, not the US state) from mid-August to mid-September! Georgia wasn’t originally in the plan but I’ve been feeling a tug towards Georgia for the past several weeks, a feeling in my gut that’s directing me there, so I ended up booking tickets to spend a month there
I’m getting a new passport! My primary reason for spending time in Tashkent before flying to Georgia was to renew my passport. I wrote about my experience here.
I’ve booked my tickets for Nepal! I’ll be spending some time hiking there later this year, so I’m grateful that I’ll be breaking up the periods of hiking with some time in Georgia (hello wine!).
A different type of bakery without the sweets.
This type of traditional bread is famous all throughout Central Asia, and while not a dessert, it’s still quite good.
A story about kindness and 48 hours in Bishkek
Before I share some postcards from Bishkek, let me tell you a story about the journey to get there and the kindness of the locals I met along the way.
I ended my three weeks in Kazakhstan in Shymkent before making my way over to Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan and the beginning of my month-long adventure in the “Stan” most well-known for its hiking routes and scenic mountains.
Most of my travel research is done through a mixture of travel blogs, with the occasional aid of Lonely Planet Central Asia (the latest edition is only from 2018) and word-of-mouth recommendations from fellow travelers. So when I needed to figure out how to get from Shymkent, Kazakhstan to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, I conducted some very thorough Google searching and reached out to my Couchsurfing hosts for advice. It seemed like the best way was to call a shared taxi to take me from Shymkent to Bishkek which didn’t seem too bad - after all, if you look at a map, the drive looks pretty straightforward, right?
The plan was for my Couchsurfing hosts to call a shared taxi that would pick me up and drive me to Bishkek. Shared taxis are a popular form of transportation in Central Asia; they take multiple people, who may or may not know each other, to the same destination. Think of it like an Uberpool, except you’re all going to the same place.
My host called the shared taxi around 8:30 in the morning…and the driver cancelled an hour later. No other drivers were making the drive to Bishkek so a shared taxi was no longer an option. The back up options were to take an overnight bus from Shymkent to Bishkek (which only ran once a week and honestly the beds in the bus looked quite unclean) or an overnight train from Shymkent to Almaty (east of Bishkek), and then a four hour bus from Almaty to Bishkek. However, that overnight train also only ran a couple of days a week, and not on the day I needed to go to Bishkek.
So I made a new game plan: I’d make my way to the Shymkent bus station, and figure out a way to get to Bishkek. After all Bishkek is the capital of Kazakhstan and one of the major cities in Central Asia - surely there would have to be some way to get there.
Turns out, it wasn’t that easy. Since there was no direct bus to Bishkek, I figured that the best thing I could do would be continuing to make my way eastward, working my way towards Bishkek little-by-little.
At the Shymkent bus station I found a marshrutka (local mini buses in the form of a Mercedes sprinter van) that would take me to Taraz, about two hours east of Shymkent and thus two hours closer to my final destination.
My eventual journey from Shymkent to Bishkek.
I had no clue how I’d get to Bishkek from Taraz and was already starting to panic. I was one of the first people to sit in the marshrutka, and they don’t leave for their destination until they are full which can sometimes take an hour! It was already noon by this point, and I had no idea what the bus situation would be like in Taraz.
In the middle of my panic, a young woman entered the marshrutka and gave me a smile before sitting next to me. Her name was Julie and she was headed to Taraz to celebrate her friend’s baby shower. Because she had studied abroad in Germany and Spain during a university international exchange program, she spoke English fluently. We shared bits and pieces of our lives, including my mission to make it to Bishkek, and discovered that we both had a shared love for traveling.
The drive to Taraz was stuffy (A/C in a marshrutka? Pfft!) and bumpy (the road infrastructure outside of Almaty isn’t great) so I could feel my eyelids fluttering shut. I could hear the low murmurs of Julie talking with someone on the phone and let that lull me into sleep.
I naturally woke up when we were 15 minutes way from Taraz. Julie saw that I was awake and shared that she had given her parents a call to ask them how I could make my way from Taraz to Bishkek. It turns out that her family was originally from Taraz but had moved to Shymkent in order for the children to go to university there. I was stunned. This random stranger cared enough about me to call her parents and ask them for ideas on how I could get to Bishkek - what?!
Julie had learned from her parents that there was a marshrutka that could take me from Taraz to Korday, the border town between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and from Korday it should be easy to take another marshrutka from Korday to Bishkek (see above map). As we got closer to the Taraz bus station, my hopes increased - maybe I would make it to Bishkek tonight - no, I would make it to Bishkek tonight!
When we arrived at the bus station, Julie walked with me around the bus station, asking locals and passengers if they could direct us to the marshrutka to Korday or to a bus to Bishkek, if such a bus existed. An older woman who looked like a babushka (Russian for grandmother) responded that she was headed back home to Bishkek and could make sure I made it there.
I finally had a concrete way to get to Bishkek! I turned to give Julie a hug. “Thank you,” I said, “Thank you so much for your help and for going out of your way to help me.” But I wondered, “Why? Why did you even bother in the first place?”
Julie smiled. She shared that when she studied abroad in Spain and Germany, she struggled navigating how to travel internationally but so many people had helped her along the way. Because of this, she’s always wanted to pay it forward and help other travelers in need.
We exchanged a hug. I felt so grateful for her kindness and support and hoped that I too could pay it forward, whether that be back in New York or during my travels abroad.
Julie and I at the Taraz bus station, right before we parted ways.
Obviously I ended up making it to Bishkek. After all the title of this post does include the words “48 hours in Bishkek”. So what happened after Taraz?
Long story (kind of) short (because it’s time to get you those postcards):
It was a five hour marshrutka ride from Taraz to Korday and also a ride with no AC. I can hear my dad say, “well when I was your age…”
The marshrutka dropped us off right at the border, and the babushka, Gulgana, gestured me to walk with her to the border. She guided me to the two-stop border crossing and patiently waited for me to go through the Kazakh and Kyrgyz border stations before continuing on. She asked, using a series of hand gestures, if I needed to exchange Kazakh tenge to Kyrgyz som, and proceeded to take me to some makeshift currency exchange stations. She walked up to several stations but would dismissively “pfft”, shake her head, and walk away. Not knowing Russian or Kyrgyz, I can only assume that the rates weren’t to her satisfaction - it’s amazing how much you can understand through body language and facial expressions, even when you don’t know a language.
After the border crossing, we searched for a marshrutka that would take us to Bishkek. She paid for my bus fare (another “what?!” moment of feeling shocked at her kindness) and we got off a couple of stops early at a bazaar where there were better currency exchange rates. When the cashier wouldn’t accept my Kazakh coins, Gulgana reached into her purse to do a currency exchange with her own money.
From the bazaar, Gulgana bundled me into another marshrutka that would take me to the hostel. She empathetically reminded the bus driver to signal me when it was my turn to get off the bus before giving him money for my ticket. I shook my head, motioning that I could pay for it, but she smiled and waved me off.
As my marshrutka pulled away into the road, I could only think about what an incredible day it was. A day that started with frustration turned out to be a heartwarming experience. I was blown away by the amount of kindness I received. It was a beautiful reminder that there are humans in this world who are just genuinely good and kind people, and it inspired me to be more proactive about paying it forward.
And now, here are your postcards from my 48 hours in Bishkek!
These are just a smattering of photos I took when walking around the capital. I loved the colorful gardens around the city and was fascinated by the Soviet-era architecture that made up most of the monuments. To be honest I didn’t spend that much time in Bishkek because I was eager to make my way in the mountains, but here’s a brief glimpse into Krygyzstan’s capital.
Resting and reuniting in Naryn
Remember this crew?
Kazu, Satori, and I had first met in Almaty, Kazakhstan through a two-day hiking trip organized by Steppe Spirit. We tackled a long and challenging hike in the Tian Shan mountains together and feasted over delicious pan-fried laghman noodles.
We also got to make dinner together one night “Japanese-style”, a type of meal that I love for its simplicity and playfulness. It’s always fun to eat with your hands, and we’d create several toppings (scrambled eggs, ground beef, cucumber, tuna) to top off our seaweed and rice rolls
Dinner at Kazu and Satori’s rented apartment. One of the best meals I’ve had thanks to the good company and good food.
I was feeling quite burned out after bouncing from town to town around Kyrgyzstan, even though I’d only been there for two and a half weeks. I had enjoyed my hikes and made friends with fascinating people, but I’d forgotten how mentally exhausting it can be to always be planning ahead and making sure that I have somewhere to sleep that night, researching how to get from town A to town B, having all the emergency supplies for my hikes, all while getting enough nutrition and rest each day to stay healthy.
I had just arrived to my next destination Naryn and was struggling to decide what to do. One option was to add on a multi-day hike to Kel-Suu, a spectacular alpine lake that is hard to get to and therefore quite expensive, that is often deemed one of the highlights of Kyrgyzstan. Another option was to skip Kel-Suu and make my way from Naryn (east side) to Osh (west side) in order to base myself close to the hikes in Western Kyrgyzstan.
I had just come from Kochkor to get to Naryn (more on that later). As you can see, the route back to Bishkek retraces the same road to Kochkor (compare with the map below).
Unfortunately it wasn’t quite as easy to get from Naryn to Osh, and I was feeling overwhelmed trying to decide what to do. On the map it seems quite easy to go from Naryn to Osh, and some travel blogs had verified that it was possible to get a marshrutka to take you from Naryn to Osh with potentially a single change of buses between the two cities. In reality, it was a lot more difficult and expensive than that - the journey would require a shared taxi and two marshrutkas totaling a journey of at least 12 hours on extremely bumpy road. The other method to get to Osh was to take a marshrutka back to Bishkek (north) and then fly from Bishkek to Osh (30 min flight), and this method was actually cheaper than the first! But in taking a marshrutka back to Bishkek, I’d be retracing the road I had just taken to get to Naryn*.
The bus route and more expensive way to Osh. Not pictured are the 2-3 bus changes that occur on this route, nor the unpaved bumpy road.
The option I ended up taking - bus back to Bishkek and flight to Osh. This ended up being cheaper than what it would’ve cost to take the bus all the way to Osh!
I was beating myself up for not realizing all of this sooner and vacillating on what to do. I took a quick peek at my phone to see if the screen could magically give me an answer when I received a message from Kazu out of the blue. Kazu and Satori had just arrived in Naryn and were planning on resting in town before making their way back to Bishkek. Holy smokes! The universe was providing me with a direction of connecting me with friends right when I needed it. The odds!
It turns out that we were all feeling quite similarly and grateful to be able to spend time together just relaxing without any pressure to “do something”. It was so nice to be with people who understood what it’s like to be a long-term traveller. As wonderful as it is to be able to travel the world, it can sometimes be tiring and it doesn’t always feel appropriate to publicly voice that sentiment since I know I’m privileged to be able to do this type of travel in the first place.
On the marshrutka back to Bishkek.
We ended up taking the marshrutka back to Bishkek and spent the evening cooking dinner and catching up on our recent travels. What a gift it is to have friends all over the world and to be able to completely relax in each others’ company!
Eating dinner together at Apple Hostel in Bishkek - Japanese-style obviously!
Ending the day with a sweet treat from the supermarket. Nothing more exciting than supermarket ice cream!
Some more anecdotes about transportation in Kyrgyzstan…
Flying to OshI ended up flying to Osh the next morning on a quick 30 min flight. Buying the flight ticket had been confusing - fellow travelers had said the ticket wouldn’t cost more than $30 USD but all the Google searching I’d done had only yielded tickets upwards of $100 USD - I didn’t know what I was doing wrong!
It turns out the airlines that operate the Bishkek to Osh route on a budget are local Kyrgyz airlines that are not up to EU aviation standards and therefore don’t necessarily show up on Google searches. I had to ask someone for the names of those airlines (the one I flew is TezJet) and go directly to their website to buy a ticket.
The TezJet plane was one from my early memories of flying - everything was a bit outdated and the airplane was definitely a model that is no longer used in the US! I was so tired and subsequently conked out during the entire flight, so I didn’t experience any of the shaking or turbulence that is allegedly a regular occurrence on these Kyrgyz budget airlines.
Hitchhiking to NARYN* Ah yes, so I might've hitchhiked my way to Naryn instead of taking the marshrutka (sorry Mom and Dad!)
I had just come back from a two-day hike near Kochkor and was ready to make it to my next destination Naryn, which would be the base for more hikes (which as you know, I ended up not doing).
Taxi and bus drivers in Naryn are notoriously known for inflating prices for foreigners, so I confirmed the 300 som fare with my guesthouse. However once I got to the bus station, I was told the fare was 500 som and the drivers were unwilling to bargain.
Some travelers adopt the mindset of “oh well the difference is only a couple of USD so I’ll just eat the cost” but I try to avoid that mindset for several reasons: 1) I have no income so budgeting is extra important to me, 2) the cost of living varies from country to country so while $1 USD might not get you much back home, it can sustain you longer abroad in certain countries, and 3) the principle of things.
A local young man saw that I was struggling to bargain with the drivers and stepped in to help. He also was unsuccessful in negotiating a better rate for me even though the local passengers next to me were paying the regular fare. During our conversation he shared that sometimes when the locals see tourists, they see money rather than people and try to make as much money as possible. Obviously this isn’t unique to Kyrgyzstan and happens around the world, but no one likes to be taken advantage of! He ended up offering to drive me to the outskirts of town where it’d be cheaper to flag down a car headed to Naryn. I followed him to his commercial truck, which was filled with the day’s groceries, and squeezed between him and his brother as he drove out of town.
On the way out of town we started chatting in English. My new friend was eager to practice his English as he dreamed of opening his own travel agency in the future. His brother sat silently next to me as he didn’t know English, but he was friendly and made sure that I was comfortable and not squished by the produce.
Once we reached the point where the local road merged with the main road to Naryn, we exited the truck and stood on the side of the road, ready to flag down passing vehicles and ask for a ride.
I didn’t have to wait long! The first vehicle that passed was a long-distance freight truck empty of its cargo that was headed through Naryn. The truck driver said that he’d be passing through Naryn and was willing to take me for free. So, I jumped into the truck cab (very difficult - did not realize how high off the ground these are!) and said goodbye to my new friend, ready for the next adventure.
Traveling in the truck was a fascinating experience. The truck driver and I didn’t talk during the two hour ride other than me offering him some of my snacks, which he politely declined, but I think we were both content to sit in peaceful silence. It probably also was due to the fact that we couldn’t speak each other’s language).
I spent part of the ride dozing off (long drives + strong sun + high suspension = sleepy time) but had some observations along the way:
As I mentioned before, truck cabs are very very high off the ground. To even reach the first step to the cab was a stretch! I needed the truck driver’s assistance to get my backpack into the cab. Add in the high suspension and you are gently bouncing along the road - it’s almost like an amusement park ride.
It was fascinating to see the interior of the cab because it’s the driver’s living quarters while he’s on the road. There’s an entire bed behind the seats (see above photo) and some storage space above the bed as well.
It was also fascinating to get a glimpse of what life is like for a truck driver. I remember watching a documentary about a female long-distance trucker and her life on the road, and bits and pieces of that came back to me as I watched my truck driver navigate the roads. He would radio other truckers to let them know when it would be safe for them to pass another vehicle on the road, if they should slow down due to a hidden police car around the bend, or to watch out for the cow plodding its way across the road. At least I think that’s what he was saying - I’m basing this off of the visual and audio cues I put together since I don’t speak Kyrgyz. I’d like to imagine that the trucker community is friendly and kind if they are radioing each other about driving conditions and looking out for each other’s safety
Once we got to Naryn, the driver pulled into the town’s outskirts and helped me bring my bags down (high cab - remember?). He was so kind and I’m incredibly grateful for his generosity. I then made my way to my guesthouse and funnily enough was waved down by a woman whom I had met in Almaty, Kazakhstan! She ran across the street to say hi before I continued my walk to my guesthouse.
I had always wanted to try hitchhiking because it seems like something a “real” backpacker would do (yes, I know that there is no such thing as being a “real” or “fake” backpacker). I’d never attempted it previously because well, safety concerns, especially being a solo female traveler and stranger danger. I’ve met plenty of solo female travelers who have had no issues, but I’ve also heard horror stories and tend to be more risk averse. I don’t know if I’ll hitchhike by myself again, but I’m glad I tried and had a good experience with it. It was a nice reminder that there are good and kind people out there.
The view from the truck cab. There was a lot of beautiful scenery along the drive, and it was cool being able to see it while situated so high off the ground.
