Ala-Archa Canyon

Bishkek is fortunate enough to have a world class mountaineering playground only 30kms from its city centre. Ala-Archa National Park contains more than 20 glaciers and over 50 jaggered peaks.

With the number of the correct marshrutka in mind, and our overnight packs decked out with supplies for the next few days, we swung by the Kazakhstan Embassy to collect our visas, before intending to jump on the marshrutka and head for the hills.

We had submitted our applications over two weeks ago and were told our visas would be ready the following Thursday. So it should be ready, right? 

Wrong.

It appears that while we were enjoying ourselves in Karakol, Kazakhstan's visa policy had changed and Australian passport holders no longer need a visa if their stay is less than 15 days. 

Even though we had applied for a 30 day visa, and already paid, the embassy decided to hold off on processing our visa! What the...?!?

I explained to the man behind the counter that we would be in the country for more than 15 days and so would require the 30 day visa for which we had originally applied and paid.

'Okay. It will be ready at 6pm tonight.'

What!?! We had our bags packed and were ready to hit the road for Ala-Archa. We couldn't hang around till 6pm.

I leaned over the counter towards the official and said with determination, 'We were told our visas would be ready last Thursday at 6pm. We are leaving Bishkek today. Can you process them before you close at 12pm?' 

It was 11am already, so I knew it was a big ask. The expressionless man behind the counter told us to wait one moment before going to speak to his colleague. Upon coming back he said, 'Alright, they will be ready at 12pm'. 

I smiled inside. We took our packs and waited outside. I had my doubts whether it would be ready on time and thought maybe he was just trying to placate us. At 11:45am Claire went back to the counter. 'Not ready' was the response as soon as she stepped in the door. 

At 11:55am, I sat in the foyer. I wasn't going to give them the opportunity to lock us out. Then exactly at 12pm I saw the man I spoke to exit through a back door. Noooo!  My hopes were dashed. It was supposed to be one of the easy visas and now we would have to miss out on Ala-Archa while we sat around in Bishkek another day. 

Just as I had lost hope a man came to the counter and said 'Australia?' He had our passports with a newly inserted Kazakh visa. Hooray! We stepped outside with much glee, double checked the visa dates were correct and headed for the 265 marshrutka which stopped virtually outside the embassy.

It was now early afternoom and the temperature was soaring above thirty degrees. The marshrutka ride was hot, cramped and full of oldies who I dont think appreciated us foreigners taking up their marshrutka space. Our packs were blocking the door and one old grandma, as she disembarked, picked up my pack with superhuman strength and threw it away from the door. I would have been pissed off, but I was too impressed by her ability to lift my pack one handed. 

The 265 marshrutka only goes all the way to the park entrance on weekends,  but we managed to convince the driver to take us all the way for 150 som each. Once at the gate, we bumped into an Indian guy who was also heading to the Alplager and managed to bargain a taxi for 300 som for the three of us. It seemed too cheap to me and the taxi driver displayed his dissatisfaction by speeding around the corners at full pelt. It took me a good 15 minutes for my stomach to find itself once I got out of the car. 

The Alplager is a tiny village with a hotel that looks like it belongs in the Swiss Alps...

After admiring the surroundings, which included a few necessary tourist yurts, we pulled out our trekking poles and began our ascent. When the Lonely Planet said it was a strenuous climb it wasn't kidding. Up and up and up. Very steep. At several points the track split and momentarily Claire and I lost one another but eventually met back up. I waited on a rock in the shade to avoid the stinking heat and took photos of the view.

Finally, after three hours of excruciating pain, we made it to a forrested area which had a few flat spots to pitch a tent.

It was just below the base of the waterfall which is half way to Ak-Sai Glacier, so we decided to leave all our gear here and do a day walk to Ratsek hut the following day, hoping no one would steal our stuff.

We woke up early to start our climb in ordsr to avoid the heat. It only took two hours to get to Ratsek hut and the glacier, thanks to not having our 15kg packs. It was steeper today than yesterday, but thankfully a lot of it was in shade due to the rocky outcrops.

Finally, we reached the quaint valley in which Ratsek hut sits. There was a trickling stream with half dozen tents near by.

There were no people around as it was a perfect day for climbing and hiking and most people were off exploring the glacier and summiting Mt Korona. Above the Ratsek hut is a narrow ridge which is accessible via a scree slope. Once on top, the glacier is in full view and looks a little something like this. 

We could hear voices echoing around the rocky crags above us and soon spotted five rock climbers on a precarious-looking piece of rock up very high. We saw another couple walking down from the glacier but besides that it was pretty deserted and not nearly as busy as we were expecting. 

After chilling on the ridge for about an hour...

... we made our way back down the incredibly steep and slippery slope.

Upon our return it was nice to see nothing had been stolen from our tent. In fact, we gained an addition to our campsite.

I'm guessing he's some kind of Kyrgyzstan squirrel?? Bye bye little friend. Back to Bishkek tomorrow for us. 

Visas

Two visas down, one to go... 

So far it appears the majority of travellers in Bishkek are not there for the many Soviet statues (situated on just about every street corner), but are stuck in transit, waiting for their visas to be processed for Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. Sad to say, we have joined that queue.

Warning: this post is going to be kinda boring for those who never intend on applying for visas in Bishkek. But hopefully it will be informative for those who would like to know the various processes, or lack thereof.

We rose bright and early to head directly to the Uzbek embassy, having been previously warned that it is the most difficult country for which to procure a visa. Lonely Planet had warned us the staff were 'far from friendly', so we were prepared for the worst. A sign on the tall and intimidating gate informed us that we must call for an appointment between 2 - 4pm, Monday to Friday. We buzzed the intercom anyway and were curtly told 'you phone!' 

Ok, new plan. We headed to the Kazakh embassy where we were informed we had to pay the $30 USD visa fee at Kazkommertsbank, a 10-15 minute taxi ride away! After rushing there and back we realised the embassy closed at 12 noon. It was now 12:10pm. Doh! 

Ok, onto Plan C. We headed to the Tajik embassy where there was no queue and we were told our visas would be ready the next day at 10am. Yay! The helpful lady at the desk even asked us if we wanted to apply for a GBAO permit (which we did, but had forgotten to do) as there was no extra fee involved. We had also applied for a 30-day visa, but she pointed out we could get a 45-day visa for the same cost, so ticked that box instead.

After leaving the Tajik embassy, we phoned the Uzbek embassy at 2pm, as per the instructions on the embassy gate. Despite these instructions, we were then told to phone back at 4pm. I said we could come in at 4pm rather than phone to which I was abruptly told 'NO COME!' And hung up on. I called back again at 4pm and was to come in the next day at 10am. 

The next day...
We got to the Tajik embassy right on 9.30am and collected our passports, freshly stamped with a shiny 45-day tourist visa with GBAO permit. The visa cost $75 USD. We then rushed to the Kazakh embassy and provided our receipt from Kazkommertsbank and our completed visa application forms, and were told to come back on Thursday 6pm to collect our visas (3 working days). 

After this, we caught a taxi to the Uzbek embassy and arrived there at 10.10am. The problem? There were seven other foreigners in line front of us who had also been given the appointment time of 10am. We had been warned we could be waiting up to three hours, so had come prepared with food, water and Kindles. We pulled out the Kindles, settled down on the dirty pavement, and waited.

The queue actually ended up moving rather quickly. Unfortunately, this was because people were getting turned away for not having the correct paperwork. We were getting a little nervous. After 40 minutes, we were finally let into the tiny office and handed over our documents, including our very important Letter of Invitation (LOI). This letter is essential for an Uzbek visa application. If you book your travel through a tour company, the company will usually organise the LOI for you. As we were not planning on doing any tours, we had to find another way of getting our LOIs. Before we left Australia, we had found a company online that organises LOIs for a fee, without you needing to book any tours. This company was called Stan Tours and they were very good. The LOI wasn't cheap, at $70 USD each, but it was worth it. Bear in mind, though,  you still need to pay the visa fee of $75 USD in addition to that.

We were required to provide a 3cm x 4cm passport photo and a photocopy of our passport (for each visa application). Some people report they were required to have a photocopy of each page of their passport that contained a stamp, but we were never asked for that. After 10 minutes, the woman handed our passports back to us and I asked when we should return to collect our visas. She gave us a blank stare. I opened my passport and there it was, in all its colourful, shiny glory... 

The Uzbek visa! 

'It is done' she growled, and we high-tailed on out of there in a state of euphoria, before she could change her mind.

Two down, one to go....

Welcome to Bishkek, baby!

After a one night layover in Bangkok and a brief plane change in Singapore and Almaty, we arrived in Bishkek. We had our concerns whether we would even get this far, especially when checking in at Bangkok for our flights to Almaty and Bishkek.

After giving our passports and plane tickets to the lady at the Astana Air counter we were asked a dozen questions. "Where is your visa?", to which we replied, "We don't need a visa for Kyrgyzstan". Then she asked for proof of where we were staying in Bishkek. Thankfully, I had made an online booking on one of those rare occasions when we had reception in the Kimberley. "This is only for two nights. Where are you going after that?" We explained that we were unsure because we were applying for visas in Bishkek and didn't know how long that would take, or whether we'd even be successful. She asked for proof of our departure from Kyrgyzstan. We didn't have any, but I did have my plane ticket from Almaty to Tbilisi in Georgia for September 27th. After showing her our home-brewed Excel itinerary on Google Docs (which I'm sure impressed her immensely, as she took a photo of it on her phone), she was pleased enough and allowed us to board the plane. She recommended we book some accommodation in Tajikistan to show to Kyrgyzstan Customs on arrival. We quickly rushed to the airport's info desk to find out how to access the free wifi, found a nice spot on the floor (seriously, how can an airport the size of Suvarnabhumi not have any seats??), struggled to get our phones connected to the wifi, then finally booked an overpriced hostel in Dushanbe (capital Tajikistan).

As fate would have it, when entering Kyrgyzstan we weren't asked a single question about how long we are staying, where we are staying, proof of departure, or anything else.

Air Astana flight Almaty to Bishkek.

Once exiting the departure gate in Bishkek we were swarmed by taxi drivers. I was keen to get a local sim card for my phone and had learned there was a provider called Megacom at the arrival gate (the only provider in the terminal, as far as I could tell). Although the man at the Megacom counter was initially a little reserved, he turned out to be a great guy. His name was Maks and he had some family near Lake Issyk-Kol he said we could stay with. He said he thought we were crazy for arriving at Bishkek airport without speaking the language and with no one to pick us up.

After been interrupted several times by a drunk taxi driver (who Maks assured me was harmless, but perhaps not a reliable driver), I purchased a prepaid sim with unlimited internet for 30 days for 600 som, which is roughly $12 Australian dollars. The reception and speed has been great thus far.

We also had to change some money and get some som, as none of the money changers in Darwin had any. Thankfully, with the aid of a calculator, this process was very straight forward.

After much haggling with the taxi drivers we were able to negotiate a ride down from 600 som to 400 som. Local buses stop running to the airport after 7.30pm and it was now after 8pm, so a taxi was our only option for the 30km drive to town.

By the time we got dropped off to our accommodation it was around 9pm and getting dark. After much ferreting around the back streets of where the taxi driver pulled up we eventually found the Bishkek Guesthouse. We had found out about it on Hostel World and booked it based on the price more than anything else. It wasn't until the next day when I was flicking through the Lonely Planet that I found this very accurate description of the Guesthouse: 'Ragged and high in a truly dismal apartment block.' It's actually just a regular three-bedroom apartment that has been converted into a 'Guesthouse'.

The problem is the manager doesn't say no to any potential guests, so people roll out hiking mats on the lounge room floor or wherever they can squeeze. Twelve people to one bathroom was the tipping point for me. Having to hold it in for 30 minutes because you're third in line isn't cool. On the plus side, there were lots of cool travellers and it was nice to hear about some of the things we can expect to see and do in Kyrgyzstan. 

Bishkek Guesthouse apartment block.

Unfortunately, our main purpose in Bishkek is not sight-seeing, but lodging visa applications. Stay tuned to find out how that goes. It's going to be riveting!

1 day to departure.

Sunset at Mirima National Park, just outside of Kununurra.

We survived our three week outback adventure and have spent the last two days in Darwin getting ourselves organised. Or should I say getting myself organised. Claire has already had her vaccinations, told her bank she is heading overseas and has printed off some passport size photos for her visa applications. I, on the other hand, have not.

Little did I know three weeks before departure that the rabies vaccination is administered in three separate doses on day 0, 7 and 21-28. Each costing $125! Will I or won't I?? That is the question. I decided to have the first shot in Melbourne and try my luck with the others. It turns out I happened to be in Kununurra on day 7 and the pharmacy had the vaccination! Win.

After a quick dash to Kununurra hospital emergency department (it wasn't an emergency - it just happens to be where they administer the vaccination), I was injected with my second bout of Rabipur.

Now that I'm back in Darwin, I made some mad dash phone calls to order the vaccination and was finally injected with my third and final shot of Rabipur today. Talk about leaving things to the last minute! All I can say is, I'd better get bitten by a rabid dog to justify the $375 I've spent on this!

Other vaccinations recommend by travel doctors are Hepatitis A and B, Typhoid, Measles, Mumps and Rubella, Polio, Diphtheria and Tetanus, Varicella (chicken pox), Meningitis and Tick-Borne Encephalitis. Anti-malaria tablets are also recommended for southern Tajikistan. However, I've taken these before and didn't enjoy the side effects, so I'm giving those a miss and just going to risk it.

In Darwin we have been staying with a lovely chap named Tom who neither Claire or I had ever met before, but know of through a friend. He works for the Red Cross in the asylum seeker field and is a pretty awesome guy. Especially because he has allowed two strangers to stay in his spare room in his city apartment overlooking the water. Great way to end our time in Australia. Thanks Tom!

Claire at Purnululu National Park (also known as the Bungle Bungle).

7 days to departure!

Broome sunset.

I wish I could tell you things were more or less on track for our upcoming departure, but alas we are currently four-wheel driving in the Kimberley in Western Australia and the Top End of the Northern Territory. A beautiful place to spend three weeks with our friend Renton before departure, but not an ideal place to prepare for our epic hiking adventure in the Stans. Notice the lack of internet cafes below.

However, we have obtained a one-way ticket to Bishkek and written up a rough 30-day itinerary for Kyrgyzstan, so it's all systems go.

When first undertaking research on Central Asia over ten months ago we fast learned that visas were going to be our biggest headache. Kyrgyzstan is the only country for which we (as Australians) don't need a visa. The capital, Bishkek, is also home to various embassies where we will be obtaining our visas for Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. That is, if all goes according to plan.

So, fingers crossed we will be successful with visa applications in Bishkek or else we're kinda screwed...

Let the adventures begin!

'Where is Central Asia?' I hear you say. It's a good question and before a friend sent me a link to 'Morning views from the tent' by Oleg Grigoryev, featuring a photograph of the Fann Mountains in Tajikistan (pictured above), I had never heard of it. Central Asia (also known as the Stans) incorporates Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. And it is where my friend Claire and I will be venturing over the next three months (except Turkmenistan, because you are required to be accompanied by a guide the whole time, and that's not our style).

'Why write a blog?' you ask. Another good question. Is it because I have an over-inflated sense of ego? Yes. But more importantly it appears Central Asia is one of those 'less travelled' destinations and finding up-to-date information can been difficult. So, I thought I'd help a human out by blogging the facts, fun times and fascinating points for those intrepid travellers out there. Enjoy!