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 world (ranked 23rd according to Wikipedia), and would head back north into Almaty. But not before visiting the last few touristy places.
We started the morning at the famous Ala Too Square right in the middle of city, to view some of the city’s finest sculptures and monuments. Again, we are never really far away from the Russian influence on those and the general architecture of the place. After that, we travelled an hour southwards to Ala Archa National Park before backtracking our way into Bishkek and towards the Korday crossing and into Kazakhstan. The traffic into Almaty was hectic, and the rainy weather also made it a slow arduous drive – more than five hours of hard driving.
We had dinner along the way at a roadside RnR, and checked into the hotel at past 8:00pm. By then, we were totally knackered, and had no intention of doing anything else!
Ala Too Square
Originally named Lenin Square and built in 1984 to commemorate 60 years anniversary of the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic, the name was changed to Ala Too Square in 1991. Apparently, a huge statue of Lenin used to be there, but has since been moved to another location, and replaced with the Statue of Manas, during the 20th anniversary of Kyrgyzstan’s independence. There are many monuments and statues erected in and around the colourful gardens in the area. We could only afford to spend an hour there, though.
The country’s main administrative buildings are laid out all over the general area and in between, there are walkways and alleys with flower beds planted with colourful flowers, as well as numerous monuments commemorating someone or some occasion.
Ala Archa National Park
We hopped into the car and made a beeline to Ala Archa National Park, our last place of visit in Kyrgyzstan before we leave the country. Established as a national park in 1976 covering more than 16,000 hectares, the park is located in the Tian Shan Mountains. The park was named after the river that passes through it. The entrance to the park is already 1500m above sea level, and rises into the mountains, peaking at well over 4800m. There are many tall mountains within the park, the tallest being Semenov-Tian-Shansky Peak, named after a Russian geographer.
Once we crossed into the park’s official boundaries, there are several places of interest with some parking spaces nearby. Naturally, we stopped at a few of them. I have to add that at the current moment, Google Maps for this area is not very accurate, in the sense that there is actually a limit to vehicular traffic up to a certain point on the road, but not indicated on Maps. The rest of the way would have to be on foot. After several brief stops, we settled on just walking a short way up the Lake Adygine Trail. With the amount of time we had, there was no way we could make the full 10km hike.
After the short hike, we drove up to the maximum point on the road. Everyone had to leave their vehicles and walk if they wanna go further up the road. There were several lodges nearby for those who wished to stay inside the park, and the signboards around the park also indicated that there were places to camp, if you choose to do so. We had a quick lunch at one of the lodges, before walking up the path a little. Again, with the thought of over 5 hours of driving ahead, we daren’t spend too much time here.
Drive back to Kazakhstan (via Koldai)
The drive back into Kazakhstan was uneventful, and we hardly stopped as the highways were busy and the journey would last until nighttime. However, the border crossing was a little more hectic than it needed to be. Firstly, it was way more crowded than when we crossed at Kegen. Secondly, the stamping of the passports and checking of the vehicle was more haphazard since no one queued – we just more or less stuffed our passports and documents into the immigration guys’ faces! Thirdly, the language barrier made things more difficult to communicate.
Not sure whether it was because I was a foreigner, but I was told to go to another location for further checks. There was a huge building which was capable of x-raying even huge vehicles, and then guard dogs were summoned to sniff for contraband. The entire process took longer than necessary, but in the end, I was allowed to go. By then, the others (all passengers in other vehicles had to do the same) had walked across the immigration centre and were waiting on the other side. Naturally there were anxious moments for them, since I was unable to communicate with them either.
Dinner was at their version of R&R – we had roasted lamb! Perhaps the only highlight of the journey back to Almaty.
Summary of Day 13
Earlier in the planning we had already decided that we would keep the rented car for one more day until Day 14, instead to trying to rush back into Almaty to return the car. Besides, we had one more interesting place to visit before we left the country. Anyway, after reaching Holiday Inn Express this night, we were feeling exhausted. The light drizzle that accompanied us on the last legs of the journey slowed us down somewhat.
At this juncture of the trip, we were feeling somewhat homesick already. Time to go home soon.
