The following morning we arrived at the bus station to be hustled onto a bus with about ten or so local Chinese tourists. It turned out we’d somehow booked ourselves onto an actual day tour, conducted in Mandarin. We also found out that the 150 Yuan only covered transport to the Tian Chi complex and that we would need to fork out an additional 180 Yuan for the tour (totally about $50 each) which included a few other attractions, lunch and transport to the lake itself.  Our outdated guidebook advised there was a 15 Yuan chairlift to the top of the mountains however we were informed this had been shut down.  We caused quite a bit of commotion and amusement on our bus, being the only foreigners and also our adamant reluctance to pay the extra 180 Yuan to join the tour (after a few months of travel every penny counts!).   Anyway, having no better option, in the end we joined the tour. Funnily enough, one of the highlights of the tour was one of the friendly Chinese tourists, Yu, she seemed to be the only person who spoke a bit of English and was helping us with some of the translation. The tour itself was quite a disappointment after having already visited Central Asia.  The Tian Chi region is populated by local Kazakhs and as such the Kazakhstan culture was on show.  There were a few yurts set up for tourists to take photos inside, a costume section where we could dress up in traditional wear, a Kazakh song and dance show, a traditional fighting event.  Lunch was a merely a plate of plov which was disappointing.  In general, the tour was rushed, the tour guides were super loud as each wore a speaker set trying to talk over one another and there were just so many tour groups. After travelling independently it was quite painful to be told “times up, next site”.  It was, though, interesting to observe the local Chinese tourists enjoying their holidays.  It is clear that a growing number of Chinese are enjoying higher levels of income and as such domestic tourism is booming.

Anyhow, the lovely blue lake itself is stunning, located over two thousand metres high in the mountains.  A few yurts lie atop the hills, owned by Kazakhs. We had a pleasant chat to a local Kazakh man who told us that during peak season 20,000 Chinese tourists visit the site.  We also visited a temple as part of the tour, which we found out, was built only last year.

In the spirit of organised tours, our last stop was a massive three-level handicraft shop selling everything from jade to perfumes.

Urumqi is a large gateway city connecting Central Asia to China, we didn’t spend too much time in the city, but did enjoy the People’s Park with leafy surrounds, pond and the pavilion in traditional Chinese architecture was a nice change from the Islamic architecture we were now used to.

The highlight was  a day trip to Tian Chi (Heavenly Lake).

Any traveller wishing to visit Kashgar should make sure their trip runs over a Sunday, as it is early morning on this day each week the local Kashgari men bundle their most valued livestock and display it for sale. The massive market, located about ten minutes from town comprises of sections for cows, sheep, goats (including a particularly favourite billy goat area), donkeys and horses. There were animals everywhere. I tried to avoid thinking about their fate. It was smelly, dirty and overwhelming, yet wonderfully intriguing to watch the interactions – a local Uighur man inspecting a potential purchase by squeezing the udders of a goat and finally, when the sale was made – the respectful handshakes between buyer and seller.

At the large Sunday market (which sold everything from Uyghur hats and knives to all the usual Chinese goods) we also found street food – plates of noodles for three Yuan, chuchura (steamed dumplings) and samsas (samousas) for two Yuan each, watermelon slices for one to two Yuan depending on size, and our favourite, freshly fried fish served with seasoning for five Yuan.

That night we headed to Kashgar’s night market for dinner, featuring street food of Uyghur cuisine, there was more than one dish being sold that made us a little queasy.  This included stuffed intestines, trotters and tripe.  We started with some tame chickpeas and capsicum and then a plate of noodles with a vinegar sauce. We then went for some cheap one Yuan skewers which we thought were chicken. However, after eating them we think they may have been goat’s bottom, which explained the ridiculously cheap price. After passing the halved goats heads a number of times, I decided to try one for eight Yuan. The cook observed me trying to work out what to do with this goats head on my plate, and kindly helped me crack the skull and remove the “good bits”. It was mostly all tendons with a bit of meat, I couldn’t bring myself to eat the lips which still had the jagged texture.

We finished the night with Uighur dessert named durap (yogurt, shaved ice and lemon juice all sloshed together), quite tasty.

We visited Id Kah Mosque, the largest mosque in China, a yellow exterior facade, the design was distinctly different to the mosques we had only recently seen in Iran and Central Asia. From the mosque we visited the Afaq Khoja Mausoleum, the holiest Muslim site in Xinjiang. The mausoleum featured colourful mosaics on the minarets and dome.

One of the interesting things was the time zone, in Kyrgyzstan the sun was setting around 8pm local time. Now even though Kashgar is a few hundred kilometres from Kyrgyzstan, all of China uses Beijing time, which is a further two hours ahead. This meant that the sun would be setting around 10pm, not something that we were used to.

The highlight though was the Uighur food.

Our initial transport was a marshrutka (Russian for ‘Fixed Route’), a small slow bus, that stops many times and doesn’t go above 60km/h.  In three hours we reached the Barskoon junction, a measly 80kms from Karakol. We decided to hitchhike as there was no sign of public transport.  Fortunately within ten minutes, two friendly young Kyrgyz men picked us up, who were making pharmaceutical deliveries around Lake Issyk Kol and were then heading back to Bishkek.

The Lonely Planet recommended taking transport from Balykchy, and then towards Naryn and onto Osh.  However we further read that from October to June the Fergana Pass was closed, presumably due to snow cover, this meant we could no longer take the direct route through the centre of Kyrgyzstan and needed to go via Bishkek, an extra 200km journey.  Fortunately, our drivers were going that way.  We stopped for a lunch of traditional Kyrgyz dish beshbarmak (literally ‘five fingers’ as it is traditionally eaten by hand), it is a dish of noodles with lamb and a small slice of horse meat. It was the first time Sonya and I had eaten horse, the way it was cooked was quite spicy.

We reached Bishkek at around four o’clock and headed straight for a tour agency.  During the ride we also happened to read that during May 1^st to May 10^th the border was closed due to a number of national holidays, we wanted to confirm if it would be open, we were informed that it was, but also reality struck that there wasn’t enough time to reach Sary Tash. We had done the Osh to Bishkek route previously and knew it took around eight hours in daylight.  Osh to Sary Tash would a further three to four hours, then there was the time need to go from Sary Tash to the border, reaching for a planned 9am crossing. If we did attempt it, we would be cutting it extremely close, the driver would be driving all night and through two mountain passes, there was a lot of risk.

After much thought and great disappointment, we eventually decided to fly to Kashgar via Urumqi instead, it was a hard decision to make, but we believe we made the best choice for us. It was particularly painful knowing that if we had planned it a little better this may have worked out differently.

We arrived at Altyn Arashan valley around mid-afternoon and were immediately greeted by Valentino from Yak Tours (we heard he’d be the first to spot us). An elderly friendly Russian who had clearly been doing tours to the area for a very long time, he invited us in for chai and consequently ended up deciding to stay at his cabin (his is one of two accommodation on the mountain). One of the highlights of Altyn Arashan is the hot springs, and Valentino boasted his to be the loveliest, with ceramic tiles and perfect temperature. After our trek, we were quite sticky so after our chai we headed to the hot springs for some relaxation. As per tradition, after some time in the hot spring we jumped into the nearby stream (well I just stuck my toes in) to cool down (as the water was freezing). For dinner we had some delicious beetroot soup (borsch), chicken and potatoes. It was quite an experience when the sun had set – the whole valley was completely dark and empty, aside from a perhaps a handful of other people.

The following morning we headed out for some mountain climbing. Valentino had suggested a nearby mountain climb (relatively low, more a hill I guess) which supposedly provided spectacular views of the valley and some of the nearby high peaks, including Palatka (4260m). He and some Polish travellers (who left the night before) gave us some relatively complicated directions to the easiest route to climb the mountain. However, we ended up taking the steepest route (this happens when you climb mountains with two guys). The climb, though extremely steep, was pleasant for about the first hour and a half for me. It was so steep I was literally climbing, using my whole body, including hands. When we reached the snowy bits it got a bit tricky and I considered going down, however persisted and after about two-and-a-half hours we reached the peak. It did indeed provide worthwhile views and was also quite chilly (Travis’ GPS read elevation of 3200m at the peak). Descending down the mountain was tricky due to the slope of the mountain, Travis and I tried sliding down some parts whilst Andrew looked on quite amused. We ended up taking a less steep route down, passing through some pine trees. We arrived back at our cabin after about four-and-a-half hours, and headed straight to the hot springs for some well deserved relaxation. Had lunch, a delicious bowl of laghman, and it started raining (our trek was well timed!). Travis and I headed back to Karakol late afternoon (in dire need for proper running water) whilst our new friend decided to stay a little longer.

The nearby mountain climb

We travelled to Karakol via shared taxi, managing to negotiate a fare of 500 som each (which seemed to be the local going rate).  The trip was a scenic drive passing the snow-capped Ala Too ranges, and at some point we were only kilometres away from Kazakhstan.  After some time we caught glimpses of Lake Issy Kol – a massive body of water that looked more like a sea.  An hour later, we were still passing it! Arriving in Karakol mid-afternoon, we decided to stay at a quaint Russian-run guesthouse with an extravagantly (perhaps a little too over the top for my liking) mirrored bathroom.  The staff did not speak much English so much sign language was used to communicate our questions.  Later in the afternoon we wandered around the tiny town, admiring its pink cherry blossom lined streets and wooden cottages.  We stopped by the yellow domed Holy Trinity Cathedral before picking up some fruit, samsas (somosas) and kebabs at the local Jakshilik Bazaar.

That evening we met another Aussie traveller, Andrew, at our hotel (who, coincidentally, we’d heard about in Bishkek before we met him!) and eventually decided to hike together to Altyn Arashan, a small resort located in the valley of nearby mountains, the following morning.

Highlights along the route were Toktogul Lake and the two passes, Ala-Bel Pass at 3184m and Tor-Ashuu Pass at 3586m, both were snowing at the time and the valleys were white-washed with snow. It was quite surreal having come from lush green vegetation with poppy sprinkled meadows only a few hours before.

In Bishkek stayed at a very local guesthouse – the Bishkek Guesthouse – run by a pair of Uzbek brothers who are barely out of their teens. The guesthouse was basically a three bed, one bathroom apartment on the seventh floor. It was cosy, to say the least, as the place also doubled as some form of student accommodation.

There wasn’t too much to do in Bishkek, the usual monuments of Lenin, the Osh Bazaar and museums. We wandered around observing the locals (which were comprised of Kyrgyz, Russians, and Ukrainians).  The city itself did not present anything particularly memorable, except for a local scammer who imitated a police officer requesting my passport at the bustling Osh Bazaar – if I had handed it to him I suspect I would have had to pay to get it back.

We arrived late afternoon in the town of Osh by mashrutka (minibus) from the border pass.  We decided to stay at the Osh Guesthouse, a family run hostel located deep in the neighbourhoods of Osh.  A friendly European guy who appeared to be a traveller himself answered the door – he advised us that the caretaker was out getting water as there was apparently a water outage in Osh.  I’m personally able to withstand various levels of comfort (e.g. don’t mind staying in a dorm, using shared bathrooms, lack of hot water etc) however running water was one of my ‘prerequisites’ and I questioned whether we should stay or seek other options (we had already experienced absence of water in Uzbekistan). Why there was no water was beyond my understanding as it had been raining the past few nights and Kyrgyzstan is widely known for its famous mountain water sources.  However, I could see that Travis, at the recognition of readily available wifi was quite content with the place.  Anyway, we decided to stay for a night and see how it went.  The caretaker (a young baseball cap-wearing Kyrgyz) came back with a few buckets of water (priority, he said was ‘for toilet’). Thankfully later that night the water started up again.

We had dinner, which was a beef and vegetable dish with rice and chai, at the local chaikhana (teahouse). It was bustling with local men chattering loudly in Kyrgyz.

The following morning we began exploring Osh, starting at the local Jayma Bazaar – rows of bread stalls sold round doughnut shaped loafs of bread (with the hole filled!), stalls sold pistachios, dried fruit, fresh fruit, and then of course were the electronics, made in China goods, clothes, local traditional wear (including notably the Kyrgyz kalpak, a tall felt hat worn by Kyrgyz men).

We then headed uphill towards the Solomon’s Throne – a pilgrimage site atop a massive hill overlooking Osh. Prophet Mohammed was said to have prayed here. It was a fairly unremarkable giant rock, however provided great views of Osh and an opportunity to observe the local Kyrgyz culture particularly at the Dom Babura (a little mosque nearby). We then headed to a musty old museum (the Historical Museum) which, aside from some fantastic photography of Kyrgyzstan, housed a wide variety of taxidermy and various Kyrgyz artifacts. Afterwards we visited the nearby three story mutton smelling yurt before heading back to the bazaar to pick up snacks.