It was an awful night. Trapped at the border station on the Tajik side of the Kyrgyz-Tajik border, my lack of acclimatization and over-exertions from the previous day had led to an intense bout of altitude sickness. I spent the night staggering from my bunk in the barracks to the pit toilet outside, alternating between …
kyrgyzstan
Top 10 Memories: Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend
I treat the camera like a person – I gaze into it. Photos are a flat thing, and you need to put life into them.” – Cara Delevingne Sometimes travel is dangerous. I know it as well as anyone. From being jumped on a cobblestone street in France to battling altitude sickness while crossing a pass …
Christmas Letter 2014
This year, Christmas is going to be weird. Not because I’m spending it in a flat near the outskirts of Pohang or in a Korean beach-side pension with many of my dear friends. Not even because I’m spending it on a beach in Thailand belting Johnny Cash tunes out across the waves. No, this year is weird …
Hitch-hiking into Tajikistan
The ancient Russian troop transport rumbled and creaked as it trundled up the Ak-Baital Pass, a breath-taking (literally) 4,655 meters above sea level. After several stops to let the engine cool, we crested the top and a cheer rose from the border guards in the back. The young soldier next to me gave me a thumbs up. “Okay?” …
Danger in No Man’s Land
Setting out from the Kyrgyz border post at Bor Dobo, I had a decent idea of the distance (15+ km) between me and the Tajik border. I assumed that I would be able to catch a ride, but figured I could hike the difference if none came along. From the start, the scenery was stunning. After …
Sary Tash to the Tajik Border
We dropped down over Taldyk Pass and the tiny town of Sary Tash lay spread out before us at the base of the mountain. When my pre-arranged taxi ride from Osh, Kyrgyzstan to Murghab, Tajikistan fell through (the driver decided he didn’t feel like driving on a holiday after all), I had a few minutes …
Holy Greek Nuts, Arslanbob!
The legend goes something like this… Arslanbob-Ata, a disciple of the Prophet Mohamed, embarked on an ambitiously vague quest to find a ‘heavenly place on Earth’. That journey led him east to a small valley in what is now Kyrgyzstan. Finding the place beautiful, but lacking vegetation, he beseeched the Prophet for assistance. He was given …
A Dose of Friendship in Arslanbob
“Come, join us!” my host’s friend beckoned, pointing to the colorful cushion across from his 3 year old grandson. I sat where he’d indicated, next to my host. Both men had grey hair frosted with white, just about their only similar feature. My host wore a taqiyah, while his friend sported an old-fashioned fedora. “We …
The Natural Beauty of Arslanbob
It being my first full day in Arslanbob (the mad dash there from Bishkek and an evening of delicious food not counting), I had two desires: to hike and to relax in the massive walnut grove Arslanbob is famous for. In one day, I planned to accomplish both of those. I stopped at the local …
Hiking through Ala Archa
After a wonderful day of hiking up Kashka-Suu, I met with the Trekking Union again to make the journey out to Ala Archa National Park. Named for the juniper trees (archa in Kyrgyz) found throughout, it is one of the most stunning places I’ve ever seen. Like the day before, we started early. After another …