Friday Beers
Ainura suggested I try one of the local drinks here, called Tan. Apparently this is to Kyrgyz people what Coke is to Americans. I decided to give it a go. It seems to be sold only in liter and a half sized bottles, which was a little more than I felt I needed but I forked out the 80 cents none the less. It is a cloudy white drink, and is quite possibly the most revolting shit I have ever tasted. You could come close to the taste yourself if you were to take some plain yoghurt, leave it out in the sun for a few days (until properly sour), add some water, shake it up until frothy, and then pump it through a soda stream machine. Make sure you include the froth and the lumpy bits when serving.
Putting this experience behind me, I met up with the eco-trek workers for Friday after-work drinks (that’s what everyone does when they go to Kyrgyzstan right?). There were four of us in all: myself, Ainura, another Kyrgyz girl called Saltanat (who is the project vet, and also works at the local zoo) and a German guy called Stefan (who was in town, from Kazakhstan, for a conference on law enforcement for conservation). There was no common language between all four of us, so the night was spent translating between Russian, German and English.
They were a good bunch of people and we had a laugh. My hosts however, were very apologetic and upset by the ‘loud’ music interrupting us. This was coming from a man on electric keyboard and a woman on vocals who were playing what would barely rate as background lounge music in a western pub (‘Smooth Operator’ was possibly the most offensively loud song).
Saltanat spent a good portion of the night fielding phone calls from the owner of a sick dog. She was apparently explaining to the owner, the procedure for taking the dogs temperature. I lost most of it in the translation, but I worked out that the first step involved lifting the tail. I’m pretty sure the dog will be up and about again in no time, if only to avoid having its temperature taken again.
The passion these people have for their work is obvious, each in their own way. Saltantat, wearing an ‘adopt a snow leopard’ t-shirt explained that they hoped that the three leopards living in their rehabilitation center would breed next year. This year they had come close, but there was a strange love triangle happening between the one male and two females. Each was interested in the other that was not interested in it (which I assume means that there is a lesbian snow leopard there).
Apparently Bishkek is not the best place to be walking around at night if you are a foreigner. Saltanat refused to let me walk home alone in the dark and walked me back to my hotel. It was quite strange to have, as a body guard, a petite Kyrgyz girl, just over five feet tall.
Today I start the trek proper. I have met one other guy, a Kiwi, who will be coming on the trek with me. He turned up at my hotel last night, having come overland from Kazakhstan on his own (and I thought I was doing it tough!). He seems like a decent bloke, and apparently there are one or two others joining us as well.
I am yet to meet the project leader. I am just a little concerned as his name is ‘Thorsten Harder’. It seems like a name that would fit only two well in the credits of a porn movie. Add to this the fact that he apparently owns four very large Asian Shepherds (like a German Shepherd only bigger), and that he will be taking us out into the remote wilderness, possibly with a lesbian snow leopard as well. Ah well, sometimes you have to be willing to make sacrifices for a good cause.
I suspect this may be my last post for two weeks. I don’t believe there will be any internet access once we start heading into the Celestial Mountains.
Putting this experience behind me, I met up with the eco-trek workers for Friday after-work drinks (that’s what everyone does when they go to Kyrgyzstan right?). There were four of us in all: myself, Ainura, another Kyrgyz girl called Saltanat (who is the project vet, and also works at the local zoo) and a German guy called Stefan (who was in town, from Kazakhstan, for a conference on law enforcement for conservation). There was no common language between all four of us, so the night was spent translating between Russian, German and English.
They were a good bunch of people and we had a laugh. My hosts however, were very apologetic and upset by the ‘loud’ music interrupting us. This was coming from a man on electric keyboard and a woman on vocals who were playing what would barely rate as background lounge music in a western pub (‘Smooth Operator’ was possibly the most offensively loud song).
Saltanat spent a good portion of the night fielding phone calls from the owner of a sick dog. She was apparently explaining to the owner, the procedure for taking the dogs temperature. I lost most of it in the translation, but I worked out that the first step involved lifting the tail. I’m pretty sure the dog will be up and about again in no time, if only to avoid having its temperature taken again.
The passion these people have for their work is obvious, each in their own way. Saltantat, wearing an ‘adopt a snow leopard’ t-shirt explained that they hoped that the three leopards living in their rehabilitation center would breed next year. This year they had come close, but there was a strange love triangle happening between the one male and two females. Each was interested in the other that was not interested in it (which I assume means that there is a lesbian snow leopard there).
Apparently Bishkek is not the best place to be walking around at night if you are a foreigner. Saltanat refused to let me walk home alone in the dark and walked me back to my hotel. It was quite strange to have, as a body guard, a petite Kyrgyz girl, just over five feet tall.
Today I start the trek proper. I have met one other guy, a Kiwi, who will be coming on the trek with me. He turned up at my hotel last night, having come overland from Kazakhstan on his own (and I thought I was doing it tough!). He seems like a decent bloke, and apparently there are one or two others joining us as well.
I am yet to meet the project leader. I am just a little concerned as his name is ‘Thorsten Harder’. It seems like a name that would fit only two well in the credits of a porn movie. Add to this the fact that he apparently owns four very large Asian Shepherds (like a German Shepherd only bigger), and that he will be taking us out into the remote wilderness, possibly with a lesbian snow leopard as well. Ah well, sometimes you have to be willing to make sacrifices for a good cause.
I suspect this may be my last post for two weeks. I don’t believe there will be any internet access once we start heading into the Celestial Mountains.
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