DAY 13 In KYRGYZSTAN – KAZAKHSTAN
DAY 13 (8th September 2024) Kyrgyzstan-Kazakhstan (Ala Too Square, Ala Archa & Border Crossing) On this day, we would cross over back into Kazakhstan, but at a different border crossing from the other day (Day 8). We had driven the entire length of the southern side of Issyk-Kul, one of the largest lakes in the […]
DAY 12 In KYRGYZSTAN, BURANA TOWER
DAY 12 (7th September 2024) Kyrgyzstan (Kochkor Market, Chon-Zemin National Park & Burana Tower) The first order of business for the day was to settle the tire puncture. Only to discover that there was another tire on the way to giving way. From the instructions given by the AirBnb owner, there should be a few […]
DAY 11 In KYRGYZSTAN, BOKONBAYEVO & SONG KUL
DAY 11 (6th September 2024) Kyrgyzstan (Bokonbayevo & Song Kul) The original plan for the day included watching the eagle show, something that this region is renowned for. But after the discussions during dinnertime with our fellow travellers, and the fact the FIL had already seen such a show in Mongolia some years ago, we […]
DAY 10 In KYRGYZSTAN, JETI OGUZ & SKAZKA
DAY 10 (5th September 2024) Kyrgyzstan (Jeti Oguz & Fairy Tale Canyon) In terms of “activities”, this day was probably one of the busiest as we had two major destinations to visit as we skirted approximately half the length of the southern rim of Issyk Kul. We checked out of the hotel and made a […]
DAY 9 In KYRGYZSTAN, KARAKOL
DAY 9 (4th September 2024) Kyrgyzstan (Karakol – Ski Base Karakol & City Walkabout) After reviewing our original itinerary and listening to the advice of our hotel host, we affirm that locals know best, and cancelled our planned hike at the Altyn Arashan National Park. One of the reasons was because the map shows that […]
DAY 8 In KAZAKHSTAN – KYRGYZSTAN
DAY 8 (3rd September 2024) Kazakhstan (Saty – Kolsai Lake again and Crossing the Border) What a huge difference 24 hours made. FIL was already up at 5:00am, and immediately he went outside taking photographs of the sunrise and the changing colours of the panorama. The photographs he took behind the hotel (yeah, the same […]
DAY 7 In KAZAKHSTAN, KOLSAI LAKE NATIONAL PARK
DAY 7 (2nd September 2024) Kazakhstan (Saty – Kolsai Lake and Kaindy Lake) A simple breakfast of bread and butter with coffee was delivered to our rooms. Our rooms were actually modified cargo containers – comfortable enough, with a morning view from another dimension. However, we were somewhat ‘deprived’ of the view due to the […]
DAY 6 In KAZAKHSTAN, CHARYN CANYON
DAY 6 (1st September 2024) Kazakhstan (Charyn Canyon National Park) After spending the last two adventure-filled days in the Altyn Emel National Park, it was time to move on. We could hear the kitchen sounds outside as our hosts started preparing breakfast for us. We would meet that Kazakh family again (the one with the […]
DAY 5 In KAZAKHSTAN, ALTYN EMEL
DAY 5 (31st August 2024) Kazakhstan (Altyn Emel National Park) The Altyn Emel National Park is a UNESCO biosphere reserve covering over 300,000 hectares in size, located between the Ili River and the mountains of Dzhungarian Alatau. It has two major entrances, i.e. from the north via Basshiy and from the west near Besshatyr. Unfortunately, […]
DAY 4 In KAZAKHSTAN, ALTYN EMEL
DAY 4 (30th August 2024) Kazakhstan (Altyn Emel National Park) We were finally gonna leaving the city for a whirlwind tour of the southeastern part of Kazakhstan, and later, getting into Kyrgyzstan. For that, we needed to rent a car which could cater for the needs of the journey, carrying 4 full grown adults (Bro […]
