Nathan's Insights

World Traveller: 7 Continents, 90 Countries, 871 Days Overseas

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  • World Trip 2023: Day 15 – Tamga to Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

    Karakol, Kyrgyzstan – Russian Holy Trinity Orthodox Church

    Saturday 13 May 2023
    Highlights: Exploring landscape at Barskoon, Learning how Yurts are constructed, Cultural music, The beautiful Russian Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, Prejevalskiy Museum

    After a good night’s sleep, an enjoyable breakfast and some time with very young kittens we were off to bring exploring again. First up was a visit to the sanatorium that Yuri Gagarin stayed at to recover after the world’s first manned space flight in 1961. The sanatorium has seen better days and is undergoing repairs, but we still learned about the strong Soviet Space program link in this area.

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  • World Trip 2023: Day 14 – Song Kul to Tamga, Kyrgyzstan

    World Trip 2023: Day 14 – Song Kul to Tamga, Kyrgyzstan

    Song Kul, Kyrgyzstan – Todays hiking group enjoying a rest

    Friday 12 May 2023
    Highlights: Holding an Eagle, Hiking in Song Kul, Exploring Fairy Tale Valley

    After a nice and comfortable sleep in a Yurt it was time to start with a nice breakfast in the main Yurt, sitting was again on the floor which is a good way to test your legs. No showers before our exploring today.

    A local guide joined us to lead us on another mountain hike this time to get panoramic views of the massive Issyk-Kul Lake. After a 40 minute ride on rough roads we arrived at our starting point and were met by locals training eagles for hunting.

    Song Kul, Kyrgyzstan – Before the hike
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  • World Trip 2023: Day 13 – Chong-Kemin to Song Kul, Kyrgyzstan

    Chong-Kemin, Kyrgyzstan – Mountain Hike

    Thursday 11 May 2023.
    Highlights: Mountain hiking in Chong-Kemin, Learning about Felt making, exploring Yurt camp, visiting Issyk-Kul Lake.

    Today we started with a 2 hour 20 minute hike in the mountains surrounding our accommodation. The local dog shepherded us for the entire time and got some cattle off our hiking trail.

    The views were stunning and breathtaking.

    Chong-Kemin, Kyrgyzstan – Mountain Hike
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  • World Trip 2023: Day 12 – Bishkek to Chong-Kemin, Kyrgyzstan

    Chong-Kemin, Kyrgyzstan – Sun as it sets at our accommodation

    Wednesday 10 May 2023
    Highlights: Bishkek Bazaar, Victory Square, Changing of the Guard, Imam Sarahsi Bishkek Central Mosque, Dungan homemade lunch, Burana Tower, the Beautiful Mountain Ranges.

    The first full day of this new tour and our CEO IIyas Zamanov had us leaving at 8 am to allow us time to visit the Bishkek Bazaar before exploring the city further. The Bazaar sells almost everything you can imagine that a local can make (i.e. not many imports) this includes horse meat, various breads, cheeses, and tobacco based products. An interesting place that I imagine gets busy during the day.

    Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan – The Bazaar
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  • World Trip 2023: Day 11 – Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

    Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan – A very different country and region is ahead

    Tuesday 09 May 2023
    Highlights: Arriving safely in Kyrgyzstan, Victory Day celebrations in Ala-Too Square, Exploring Bishkek

    My flight (review here) from Istanbul safely arrived 5.23 am and after a lengthy Border Control delay I was reunited with my bag, the happiness on seeing your bag in a foreign country is very pure 🙂 The booked transport was interesting as the drive dropped me off half way to the hotel and put me in another car, my booked transfers never go simple.

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