Arslanbob: Adventures in the south of Kyrgyzstan

Driving, driving, driving through Kyrgyzstan

Josh has had his heart set on taking me to see Arslanbob for a very, very long time. 

Arslanbob is a beautiful, quaint Uzbek village of about 13,000 people in the south of Kyrgyzstan, near Jalalabat. It's known for its sanatorium, and though tourism in Kyrgyzstan is pretty limited, people do come to Arslanbob from within and without of the country. Kyrgyz tourists, mostly from Osh, come for the sanatorium. A small number of foreign tourists come for the generous homestays, the culture, the horse treks, and the fact that it is mentioned in Lonely Planet. 

 

Way back in 2004, when Josh first came to Kyrgyzstan on a rather fateful and spontaneous trip to visit his friend Chris (who was teaching English in Bishkek), he got to travel to Arslanbob with Chris a few other teachers. He liked it so much that after our wedding and our flight to Kyrgyzstan, we had dreams of perhaps volunteering one day in Arslanbob ... but that was before we had Misha. As soon as we realized we were pregnant, our vision had to become much more down-to-earth, although it still involved living in Bishkek until Misha was a year old.

When we came back to this country a second time, we had hopes of traveling the south so that I could finally see the "other side." Even within such a little country, the differences between different regions are stark for those who have spent their entire lives here. In general, the north is more Russified, more Westernized (especially Bishkek, the capital), while the south is more traditional, more religious, more Kyrgyz with Uzbek influences.

Last summer, Josh did a five-day, guys-only road trip with some Kyrgyz friends, which was great for him but wouldn't have worked out so well with two kids, considering three full days were spent in the car. So the kids and I waited.

But this summer? This summer it happened, and we managed to coordinate it when Bud and Ashley would be visiting us so they could experience the range that Kyrgyzstan has to offer. It was kind of a crazy adventure, so I suppose it was only fitting that it started off at 7 a.m. with a 12-hour car trip through on an extremely winding, nausea-inducing, breathtaking-view-providing road. But as everyone says, the drive is half the fun.

The Drive

After only a few hours in the car, when the road was starting to twist and turn through huge mountains as we approached the pereval (mountain pass), we stopped to get out and take some pictures. As Sebby hopped out of the back, he asked optimistically, "Now can we play Dr. Seuss?" - since we had told him we could play his favorite game of Memory once we had arrived. We had to explain that we had several hours left to travel in the car. But the views were amazing:

 

Back in the car again - we took turns riding in the back seat. It served as a place to lay down for the kids until they got tired of it.

Our driver Kubanichtu, or Kuba for short, was fantastic, ever on our side for helping us get good deals. He himself was from the south, happy to take a trip to an area not too far from his hometown. He spoke both Kyrgyz and Russian, and he did pretty well understanding the heavily Uzbek-influenced dialect of Arslanbob. He was also an expert on navigating the one mountain road running south, which drivers have to share with herds of sheep, goats, cows, donkeys, and horses. No matter how many herds we drove through, I don't think any of us got tired of looking at the animals and their shepherds.

Just when we thought our lurching stomachs couldn't take one more curve in the road, we stopped at a little roadside cafe. We were relieved to sit on a tapchan (raised platform with a low table on it) and relax a bit before sampling shorpo (brothy soup with a tender chunk of meat on a bone plus pototoes) and kurdak (fried meat and onions) as well as the tea and lepyoshka bread, and our own snacks of apples and peanut butter. (Thanks, Alesia, for letting me steal your peanut butter!)

And then we had to keep driving.

 

Luckily, we arrived before dark! Mission accomplished!

The Rainy Day

The first night, we stayed on the "Turbaza" (tour base) in a hotel of sorts (we got the "luxe" one, which meant that it had a toilet in the room). It was fine, although it was on the chilly side because of the rainy weather, and the village turns electricity on for only a few hours in the evenings. So for the next two nights, we opted to do a homestay, which was the same price and a lot more comfortable.

We noticed immediately the difference in the language. Having studied Kyrgyz for a year and a half, Josh and I are able to understand a lot of normal conversation. But in Arslanbob, the dialect is a mix a of Kyrgyz and Uzbek (both Turkic languages), and we found ourselves struggling to catch just a few recognizable words in a sentence. We noticed some differences right away, such as the softer pronunciation - the Kyrgyz "jok" becomes "yok"(no) in Arslanbob, "jur" becomes "yur" (go), "jakshi" becomes "yakshi" (good). Other words were entirely different.

Our hotel

Ashley making good on the Dr. Seuss game promise.

On the "Turbaza"

During a hard-boiled egg picnic our first night in Arslanbob.

We woke to a drizzly day, but our spirits were not dampened. We waited until the rain had almost stopped and then ventured out to walk around the village. Just as we were about to the center of town, the rain started again, first lightly and then more and more ...  We sought shelter in a covered outdoor cafe that served hot samsa and tea. Perfect! As we sat in our tapchan looking at the rain pouring down into the river, getting wet as the breeze blew the raindrops into our faces, Bud had to tease Josh: "Remember that time we drove 12 hours to sit in the rain?" (This became Bud's favorite line. But we know he really loved the trip. Right, Bud?)

Walking to the center

Some kids eager to have their picture taken.

Seeking refuge from the rain. Happy for hot tea!

And hot samsa!  Pockets with meat and fat inside

Josh got pretty wet!

We walked by the CBT office to line up a homestay, and we were unknowingly given a home that was on top of a steep hill. We walked while Kuba tried to navigate the mess of gravel and mud with the car. Arslanbob is much better suited for jeeps than for cars! But again, the views were amazing. The mist was finally starting to ease up and we admired the gorgeous mountains and greenery all around.

Laughing brothers.

Can one have too many photos of donkeys? I don't think so.

Attempting to drive up the muddy road.

The Homestay

Our homestay was delightful. We stayed with an incredibly nice Uzbek family with several daughters, some of whom were studying in university in Jalabat. The younger daughters helped make us feel comfortable, brought us home-cooked food, and played Uno with Misha and Sebby. There was even an adorable three-year-old granddaughter named Miraja who was very curious about Sebby. They became friends, pushed each other in the swing in the yard, and then, as one might expect, fought over it. The yard was beautiful, with a garden and a large area for chickens and cows. The father and daughters spoke some English. The father also spoke some Russian. The mother and little Miraja spoke only Kyrgyz-Uzbek.

The "apartment" we stayed in, which included a living area and two bedrooms.

The yard

Playing Uno. This family has hosted many tourists.

 

Time to eat - bringing lepyoshka.

Misha's excited about plov! Plov is the most famous Kyrgyz and Uzbek meal - rice with carrots, lamb, and salad.

Delicious!

Sebby and Miraja play on her swing.

Miraja out the window.

All snuggled in and ready to sleep.

Then Bud, Josh, Ashley, and I stayed up playing Hearts.

 And in the morning, we were treated to a breakfast of blinchiki (thin pancakes like crepes), bread, eggs, jam, and airan (unsweetened yogurt).

 The Waterfall

The next day dawned bright and sunny, much to our delight. We walked down to the center again and caught a jeep to take us to the "kichinikei vodapot" - the small waterfall. What's interesting about this phrase is that the first word is Kyrgyz and the second Russian, and that's how everyone called it. We bumped along in the jeep with huge smiles on our faces, taking in the towering mountains, the village, and the interesting people in it, especially the stately "ak sakal" often resting on roadsides ("white beard," which is the polite word for elderly men) in their kalpak hats. When we arrived, we walked along a path that led us directly to the foot of the waterfall, so close that we could feel the spray. We also saw the legendary cave where childless women would sit and pray for a baby.

Misha went wild climbing on the rocks around the waterfall, and Sebby tried to keep up as best as he could. Josh and Bud crossed the gushing stream to venture closer, and even though Josh fell in on his way back, Ashley and I decided to try it too. We had better luck. Everything was so beautiful that we ended up with tons and tons of pictures.

In the jeep

The legendary cave

Misha poses at the waterfall

Our favorite ak sakal.

Misha and Bud

Josh

Bud and Ashley

Josh and Bud

Josh and me

Sebby

Our family of four

Bud, Ashley, Josh, Misha

Sebby and Bud

Kisses for Daddy from Sebby

Misha relaxes

A friendly family offered us a ride back to town in their jeep.

Back in town again, we bought water and bananas in the center and then walked through the village some more on our way back to our homestay. Plenty of people were happy to be in our photographs.

The meat market and bazaar

Bud meets a friendly ak sakal in the center

Piggy-back rides from Uncle Bud and Aunt Ashley

 

We relaxed back in our home and in the evening, we enjoyed homemade pilmeni (soup with dumplings). 

The Drive, part 2

We had arranged to do a horse trek out to the larger waterfall the next day, but we woke up to pouring rain. We waited impatiently to see if it would clear up, but the it looked like the kind of rain that could easily go all day. Hence, we decided to pack up and head back, in order to take advantage of the time in Bishkek to get everything packed for our departure. Another 12 hours in the car meant many more opportunities for beautiful shots. (Right, Bud?) We stopped often for motion sickness relief, plus once at a cafe to eat pilmeni and play at the park.

When we came to stretches and stretches of yurts selling dairy products, we stopped so that Bud and Ashley could take their obligatory taste of kymyz, the Kyrgyz national drink of fermented mare's milk. Having already been subjected to various unusual drinks in Bishkek that do not exist in America, Bud and Ashley drank the kymyz in stride! We also bought kurut, dried salty balls made from milk curds. Though these are an extremely popular snack in Kyrgyzstan, Bud couldn't imagine anyone ever eating them on purpose until he saw it with his own eyes.

Kymyz

Kurut.

At this point we had just a couple of hours of driving left. As we reached higher altitudes, the mist moved in, providing an eerie, romantic backdrop for our photo shoot. Then we reached the pereval, a long tunnel bored straight through the mountain. After that, we had to stop again for a snowball fight.

The tunnel, so long that you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel for much of the drive.

Who will his victim be?

None other.

When we arrived home, it was already dark, and we dragged all of our stuff into our apartment and collapsed. And the reality of my final six days in Kyrgyzstan sank in.