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balapann-blog · 1 month ago

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Day 71 - 15 November - Bishkek

We woke up in mid afternoon and went for quick walk looking for travel agents to book a taxi to Bokonboyavo to see an eagle hunt. There seem to be hundreds of travel agencies in Bishkek but most seem to be for international travel so we didn’t get much luck.

We then went to café for a hot drink but found this really nice cafe that was also a restaurant so instead we had a very nice had dinner. I had borscht and Nin had a salad and then we both had lasagne which isn’t very trad but we were in search of comfort food. Nin had a glass of wine and I had a local IPA which was really nice. I organised a taxi through a number we got online and then we went back to the hotel. In the hotel we booked flights for some of our future legs of the journey and went to bed very early.

Day 72 - 16 November - Bishkek

We had breakfast which was better than most recent ones that we have had and spoke to another guest who is moving here from Estonia! She told us about a mall that you could buy clothes from which we went to to get gloves and hats for the eagle hunt as it is definitely getting colder. I also got a backpack for a day bag as the one I have been using is quite small and is broken. This one is great and folds away very small.

We then went to the art museum, which had really interesting suzani hanging on the walls, as well as lots of paintings from soviet times that showed national identity, which having read my book on central asia was a key part of the development of culture in soviet states, particularly under Brezhnev, and often included the development of national languages and of the particular idea of the people. Lots of the depictions of Kyrgyz people in the museum centered on nomadic life including yurts, eagle rearing, shepherding and horse riding and on traditional crafts. The collection also had some random copies of famous artefacts like Greek statues and Egyptian sarcofagi which I guess were used as references before anyone could look them up on the internet (or go to the British Museum).

We then went to the changing of the guard at the flag in the main square. This was actually far more impressive than I expected it to be and was a great way to pass 5 mins. We then went to another mall that was near by to see if we could find anything we liked as things seem really cheap in Bishkek, and actually found a whole mall full of high end Chinese clothes that I had never heard of before I was thinking I might like a fleece so I looked around but decided to think about it. We then went to the National Museum of the Nation which was 2 floors and very interesting. What was notable was that the history of the nation only really begins in the 17th century with a revolt by Kyrgyz clans against the Dzungarians. I guess that lots of the history before that was more oral and that they probably did not see themselves as a distinct nation, but I could be wrong. There was lots about their epic of Manas that was written down in the 19th century which spoke about events in the 18th century.

We then had nice dinner in a cafeteria beside the mall including a nice soup each and then a nice cutlet wrapped in a cabbage leaf. It was really cheap and felt like an authentic Bishkek place. We then went back to the mall to see if we were gonna buy anything but we didn’t feel we actually needed anything more. We then went back to the hotel, chilled out went bed.

Day 73 - 17 November - Bishkek > Bokonboyevo

We woke up early and went to this market that apparently on Sunday has an antique part to it. However we arrived far too early and nothing was happening so we came back had breakfast t the hotel. We then got our taxi with Alexey our friendly Russian Kyrgyz driver. On the drive he pointed out a couple of interesting things.

We were driving a lot on a new road that is being built with built with belt and road loans from china. They also built a new railway which sounds good till you find out it was to bring coal to China.

We arrived in Bokonboyevo which is a very small town which had one or two cafes or restaurants and lots of the inhabitants are semi nomadic and take their animals to higher pastures in the summer. There were cows, donkeys and horses roaming the streets and in the fields outside the town there were beards of horses roaming around. Lots of the people who live there are semi nomadic and bring their herds to higher pastures in the summer and live in yurts. It is by Issyk-kul lake which has a few interesting facts about it. It is the deepest lake in the world, where the deepest point is above sea level. It is called the warm lake, because it doesn’t freeze in the winter due to its slight salinity. The Soviet navy used to test submarine technology there and Russia have actually leased a part of the lake to continue to do it, and India are looking to do the same. The area also used to have uranium mines nearby.

We went to the cafe for milky tea and some chicken nugs. The milky tea is very milky and I think is part of a few milk based drinks that are big here. We went back to the home stay for a bit but went to the same place for dinner. I had really nice langman noodles. We went back to bed for an early start the next day of eagle hunting .

Day 74 - 18 November - Bokonboyevo

We wake up earlyish and got our stuff ready before breakfast. We then got picked up by eagle guy Azmat and brought to their house. Azmat’s brother has won two golds for eagles in the World Nomad Games (they showed us the medals). Their farmyard had 3 golden eagles (Kyrgyz names for - White Tail, Lightning, Black Eyes), 3 Hawks, 2 turkeys, 3 horses, 2 camels, 3 dogs, 3 cows! There was a lot going on particularly with the eagles screeching consistently.

We each got on horse and started walking towards the hills through some fields with Azmat’s brother who was holding the eagle on his arm as he was riding the horse! After 30 mins got to a place where the Azmat and a little kid (maybe the son of the owner of mine and Nin’s horses?) were there with a hawk as they had driven.

We started walking and looking in revines and valleys for foxes or rabbits. The eagle goes for foxes but is not fast enough for the rabbits so the hawk goes for them so they hunt with one each to maximise the chance of getting something. We kept climbing didn’t see anything so stopped and went down the hill and took a car to the next place we were going to look. Azmat and the kid road the horses around and then we climbed again and went up the hill. We were very slow on the horses (neither of us would say that we are often horse(wo)men but we tried, even if they kept telling us to be more aggressive with them when they wouldn’t go. One bit was very steep so we got off and walked, before getting back on and getting to the high point we climbed to had some food.

They all moved so fast with the birds on their arm. Azmat’s brother could move so much faster than us with a 7kg golden eagle on his arm (which occasionally flap quite intensely) and one time he was pulling his big horse down the hill with one arm and holding Black Ice in the other, effortlessly controlling 2 great beasts! There were a couple of times when I pulling the reigns with one hand and my horse was obeying me that I eat myself feel I was a steppe nomad born for this and that all I needed was an eagle to cement my place. Then for no reason the horse would stop and try to eat some grass while the others walked on.

We then walked down another way through another small valley but we could see no fox. How they could see them even if they were there would be incredible to me! We got into a flatter river bed and they got a rabbit with the hawk! It was amazing how quick it was through the air and how fast off effectively a standing start on Azmat’s arm! The hawk nearly got a couple more rabbits but alas they were pretty quick and thats just how hunting goes i guess! Apparently this hawk gets a bit nervous around this eagle (Black Eyes in Kyrgyz) so they took the eagle back but it still didn’t manage to get the last rabbit they saw. All in all it was an amazing experience, it would have been great to see the eagle hunting majestically but I would have hated it to be fake and for the hunt to be in some way faked. Nin and I were slightly relieved that no foxes were harmed because of us (although I think that they would have gone out anyway and they spend a large part of their winter hunting). To see the skill, speed and strength that they need just to go hunting as really impressive and made us think the Nomad Games must be incredible!

We got back to hostel went for dinner, I basically had the same thing as I had the night before with a soup. Walking back on the sparsely lit road, out of the still night came a massive whinnying and a horse came out of a dark alley and ran past us down the street like a horse possessed. Just another night in downtown Bokonboyevo!

Day 75 - 19 November - Bokonboyevo > Bishkek

We had breakfast and then packed before deciding to walk the 5 or so kilometres to the lake down the main road. About 200m outside the town a car pulled up in front of us with a man and his daughter offering us a lift. We accepted and we were at the lake very soon. The bit we went to was actually and old soviet port where coal and uranium had been shipped previously but it was now pretty derelict with just very clear water, a few old wooden stakes in the water and some a abandoned buildings. We then walked back to the town and got ready to leave.

The driver picked us up and drove us back in double quick time. We drove through village where they make yurts ‘if you want a yurt made, you go here’. We got to our new hotel and went to the gym there before going out to dinner. On our walk we walked past the stadium where the Kyrgyz national team were playing Iran! We went to popular restaurant with locals which was really nice. I had a similar soup to what I’d had the night before, we had some fried manti and I had one lambs liver skewers which were pretty tasty. Walking back the game had only just started so when went back to the hotel I stuck the game on and it was pretty exiting. Iran 2 up but Kyrgyz equalised before a won with a header in the 76th min. There was some great last ditch attacking by Kyrgyz at the end but they fell just short!

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