Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan is different to any city or country that I have been to. Not on anyone’s travel calendar and remote, but has a charm of its own.
I was determined to see it, as it is rarely mentioned online or in print media. Not even in exotic travel brochures or travel channels. Until about 7 years ago, I was not even aware Kyrgyzstan existed. Its neighbours, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China however are known.
Quieter countries pop up on the radar occasionally. Usually because they are part of a conflict zone or impacted by a natural calamity. Not this country.
Kyrgyzstan is one of 44 landlocked countries in the World. If that is not considered unfortunate, it is also the country furthest from any ocean or sea. None of its rivers reach the sea.
This single feature helped make the decision to see it first among all other Central Asian countries. It gave a sense of remoteness and geographic isolation. I was curious.
Not to look at tourist type attractions but to understand the people, the place and culture.
Situated within Tian Shan and Pamir-Alai mountain range systems, 90% of the country is highly mountainous with undulating valleys and steppes between peaks. They have lovely national parks and one prominent natural feature, Issyk-Kul Lake.
A large saline lake, 8th deepest and 11th largest by volume and rarely freezes. It is also the 2nd largest mountain lake after Lake Titicaca in South America, sitting 1,600m above sea level. Larger than some countries and clearly evident in the country’s map due to its size.
Bishkek
The capital and most populous city got its name in 1991, the year the country became independent. Originally called Pishpek in the 19th century, then changed to Frunze. As a tribute to a Bolshevik military leader, Mikhail Frunze in the 1920s and who was born in the town. First a caravan stop, then a fortress town, followed as a garrison town and finally a capital city.
I arrived at Manas International Airport, one afternoon, close to the end of winter. The immigration officer spoke in English. She welcomed me to her country. One of the few countries where I encountered this pleasant outcome.
The euphoria lasted for 2 mins. The sim card retailer in the long empty corridor immediately after Immigration was a different experience. I accepted a 28 day sim which they claimed as the only one available which is not true. Even though I was going to be there for a few days, I took it. I was keen to book my ride to the hotel on the Yandex Go application.
Yandex Go
When I reached the main departure hall, a determined lot of taxi drivers approached me. They were relentless, until I left the airport. I told them I was getting a Yandex Go ride, the equivalent of Uber. They took turns trying their luck. While waiting for my ride, I was told that younger drivers tend to be drunk, don’t know how to drive, don’t know the roads and dangerous.
My ride came, a white Toyota Raum, all the way to the hotel done by a young chap, fast, safe and no issues. It cost me 782 som, AUD 14 for 28 kms.
I am eternally grateful to the gig economy, the founders of Uber and those who built the GPS. During my entire stay in Bishkek, Yandex Go did all that was needed with peace of mind. They were quick and purposeful.
Population
1970 census showed that Bishkek had a population of only 12% Kyrgyz while the rest were Europeans, mainly Russians and Eastern Europeans. Rather unusual. Now the natives make up 75% of the city’s population of 1.1 million. I won’t be surprised it is the only country that had this phenomenon.
There were also quite a number of young Indians and Pakistanis in the city, students at local medical colleges. An important source of revenue for the country.
Cyrillic and languages
Road and retail signboards and menus were in Cyrillic. Unlike romanised languages, you cannot guess or decipher Cyrillic. There was no signs of tourists or tourism anywhere so there was little need to have signs in other popular languages.
Once I got into the city, I realized that English was a non-starter except with Immigration and the hotel. Russian and Kyrgyz are the main languages. It was part of the larger Russian dominated Soviet bloc for 70 years. Post independence that influence remained. Russian remains the lingua franca.
After a day walking around, window shopping and picking bites to eat, it was apparent locals are keen to interact but language is an impediment.
I asked for a coke in a mall and the girl said 18 som instead of 80 som. When I handed a 50 som note she realised her mistake, then showed me 80 on a calculator. She asked me with great difficulty how to say 80. Her colleague asked me “country” and when I told her she nodded and stopped. But the desire to interact and converse was clearly evident.
In a shoe store, I was attended to by all 3 staff. Each trying their best to communicate and help. Not at all pushy but eager to help.
Kyrgyz is within the family of Turkic languages. In terms of cuisine, culture and language similarity they are closest to Kazakstan. Next is the affinity with Turkey due to the language family as well as religion.
A visit to Istanbul is an aspiration for locals and they look to Moscow for employment and business opportunities. I was told they make double the money in Moscow for the same job.
Race and religion
The people in the city based on facial features were mainly Kyrgyz, followed by Russians or a mix of both. Kyrgyz are in the same broader ethnic group that include Oghuz Turks, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Khazars and Uyghurs. Eastern Turkey to Western most China. A rich history of live stock herding nomadism with horses and steppes central to their way of life.
Islam of the Sunni branch is the main faith of the Kyrgyz locals with the Russian locals following the Russian Orthodox Christian church. This dichotomy cuts across to language. The Russian locals despite being born and raised in Kyrgyzstan over many generations do not speak or write Kyrgyz. It is considered too hard. In formal terms, Kyrgyz is the state language and Russian the official language.
People
The Kyrgyz people are lovely, accommodating and placid. My perception of a hardy lot of that harsh region evaporated within a short while.
I did notice young couples walking but they did not hold hands. In fact no one held hands. No outward show of affection. What I am certain is no one will make it an issue if a foreign couple held hands or showed affection.
People were dressed in Western trendy fashions, not branded. However no short skirts or revealing shoulders. One thing was very apparent. Colours were mainly black or white. Either top or bottom even though it followed the latest trend. One exception is light blue wide flared denim jeans worn by females.
Older women don the hijab or a traditional head dress or something similar. If younger ones had the hijab it was part of formal wear for attending a formal event.
I landed on a public holiday and the city centre was awash with families. Some were in their lovely and colourful national dresses and headwear.
Nightlife
First thing I noticed that traffic at night was light for a city with a population of a million.
Later that night out of curiosity I made my way to a restaurant that served local cuisine and had a live band. I wanted to see what locals did for dining and entertainment.
One large Russian group was celebrating a birthday and some of the older ladies in the group were dancing next to their table to Russian music.
Pass the dining hours, the bank struck up dance music and the younger generation, all Kyrgyz looking took to the dance floor. Mainly in their early twenties, well dressed for the night. Colours again black and white. Again couples did not touch and many of the girls were dancing amongst themselves as were the men.
Age differences
Everyone seems young and among street vendors I noticed a few that were hardly past 14 years of age. When I saw families clearly out on an outing, there were parents, children and grandparents, 3 generations together. A rare sight in the World we live in.
Every front facing retail and food outlet in the city was manned by young people well below the age of 30. I was told that students in tertiary education after classes head for work to supplement their family income.
In a way it is the same in Australia as pay award for younger workers were more affordable for businesses. A 17 year old would get 60% of an adult rate working in a shop in Australia.
The exception was Osh Bazaar, the city’s main bazaar. A place for fresh produce, meat, dry goods even clothes and shoes. Everyone was middle aged or much older. Every stall in the Bazaar that I saw was manned by one person, predominantly females.
The city
Chuy Avenue is the main city street, Soviet era architecture present all over with surrounding parks and plazas. European low rise apartment blocks were in the surrounding areas. Lots of Soviet era monuments, statues and busts in parks and in front of Government buildings.
The city is dominated by single towering flagpole with a large National flag. Most buildings are less than 4 storeys. Part of reason is that is that the country sits on an Earthquake zone.
The city is bordered by majestic snow covered mountains. Bishkek however from the airport to the city was absolutely flat as far as the eye could see. The word “undulating” has no place here.
There are a number of good malls within the city and these are modern western style malls with well known main brands. So they were not as remote as I expected.
Bishkek Park Mall linked to the Sheraton is popular and had all that is needed. Including banks, currency exchanges, food court and a supermarket.
Transport
Public bus transport is impressive. The city is served by modern fleet of buses from China and Turkey. They are all over the city and seemed well integrated. Well designed bus stops in the city made it overall pleasant.
The buses were usually full but not overcrowded, indicating good frequency. Bus fare is AUD 40 cents. Focus is on cashless and accept VISA cards issued by their local banks and a transport specific prepaid tap card called Tulpar. It was better than many countries with more robust economies.
Taxis are a concern. Many were in poor condition, no standard models. It was not a surprise that people were using Yandex Go. You could see Yandex Go rides picking up and dropping off passengers in front of malls, while one or two taxis waited.
Food outlets and cuisine
Food outlets are everywhere and mostly local. Western cuisine is limited to grilled meat such as burgers and kebabs. The usual ubiquitous international cuisines such as Italian, Chinese or Thai prominent in cities around the World were not seen. I however did see Japanese sushi.
Bread and meat dominate with little greens in Kyrgyz cuisine. You do however see root vegetables. Horse meat, milk, fermented milk and cheese products are staples of their nomadic past. KFC and Burger King are present but these were exceptions.
Apparently Bishkek derives its name from the wooden paddle that locals use to churn milk to make butter.
Food is the cheapest of any capital city that I have been too. It does not matter if is a high end restaurant or a hole in the wall, food was good and cheap.
The most up market mall in the city where rentals would be the highest, sandwiches cost only AUD 1.30. At a 5 star hotel, the full breakfast buffet spread cost around AUD 35.
I wanted to do a comparison and chose a top of the range all-in double cheeseburger in a upmarket mall food court. Not branded. The burger had all the right ingredients including sesame seed toasted buns and it is one of the best I had.
The patties was bigger in size, juicy and delicious. In my haste, I did not realise that they gave plastic gloves besides napkins. And it cost AUD 9.50. Straight burgers were averaging AUD 3.
Soviet Era
The country and the people lament the breakup of the Soviet era. It was a surprise. Polls taken show that the majority prefer remaining within the Soviet Union. Nothing to do with ideology.
Under the Soviet system, the economy was centrally controlled with collective farms and enterprises. Employment was a given.
Industries with factories allocated centrally from Moscow, had their products serving the Soviet bloc. The entire bloc and the Soviet Union was their hinterland and market. More than 90% of the country’s output left their borders and into the Soviet Union. Their vast market was now gone and unemployment was hovering at 17%.
When the Soviet Union disintegrated, farm assets such as land and livestock were distributed to the people. However they worked in the farms previously in siloed functions. They had no idea of overall farm and livestock management.
Households owned the given assets but it was a huge tasks for them to do everything from driving tractors to knowing the seed ratios, fertilisers and veterinary care. The animals began to die and crops did not do well. Some returned to what their forefathers did, herding horses, goats and oxen on steppes.
Its explains why it is the only Soviet republic bloc where Soviet monuments and statues including that of Lenin remain. Memory of a good time.
Challenged economy
Kyrgyzstan and their people reluctantly accepted independence and saw factories and industries fold. Other Former Soviet republics had to look after their own state interest and closed off their markets to start producing their own goods.
As one of the smallest, least endowed and geographically challenged, Kyrgyzstan began to decline economically. It is also landlocked and its neighbors were unlikely to give it easy access for Kyrgyzstan goods to reach the seaports and the wider market.
Turkey and Islam became something to look towards to. Culture and religion led the move. Turkish capital is now helping build some of the later infrastructure such as the malls and mosques. The latest acquisition of public buses are Japanese Isuzus manufactured in Turkey.
The future
Progress however is evident by the presence of local entrepreneurship mainly food and small retail outlets in Bishkek. Also indicative is the presence of modern models of cars on the roads. Popular Japanese and Korean models. Many are imported from other countries as second hand. So they seem to be doing better now.
Agriculture and mining however continues as their primary sectors. Remittance from those working in Moscow is another source of revenue.
If the country has a good, credible and stable government who are ready to work with the younger entrepreneurs, the future would be much brighter.
They have a large lovely natural parks, wildlife trails, glaciersand mountains which can draw tourists both in the summer and winter months. The opportunities are there and do hope they are taken. The Kyrgyz people deserve more.