Naryn to Karakol, (5/5); 31st July
31 July
Relativley good road but absolutely terrible drivers to Karakol -- the road is newly paved which means, like anywhere in the world, drivers put their foot down and drive fast. We did however stop off for three refreshing swims in Issyk Kul.
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We met Armin part way through the day, who was cooking lunch on his stove outside a mosque. He had a beautifully decorated small table cloth with him from his time in Afghanistan, used as a placemat for his cooking utensils, as well as a teacup which he had pinched from the Taliban.
It was fascinating to hear about his cycle through Afghanistan. He was welcomed by them , who are making a concerted effort to encourage tourism into the country, probably because very few governments recognise them, therefore it's hard to trade internationally -- tourists bring in dollars. At the back of my mind, I was thinking of the family we had met in Bibi Fatima who had had to leave Afghanistan when the Taliban took over a few years ago as they would not let their daughter study.
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We met up in Karakol in the evening and went to Chinese style Kyrgyz restaurant — delicious. As we were leaving I rubbed my tummy and said ‘harasho’ — one of the few Russian words I have picked up, that means ‘good’ — and the staff all burst out into laughing with big smiles, repeating 'harasho.... harasho!'.
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