exploring Karakol

Some photos from our walk around Karakol.

Jamilya’s B&B is the guesthouse we stayed in, and it was perfectly adequate and large enough for our whole group. A bit cold, but that’s an ongoing complaint for all of Kyrgyzstan in the winter.

Why have a door to your establishment when you can have a ferocious dragon head? It’s quite inviting! (There was no sign, I have no idea what the dragon leads to.)

The building that the dragon is connected to is a gorgeous older house with the most lovely blue shutters. No, the dragon doesn’t quite match with the whole building’s design aesthetic.

“I’d sooner die than I’d drink instant coffee.” Somehow I doubt that Shakespeare said that.

A trip to Karakol Coffee, the closest thing you’ll find to a Starbucks in town. Quiet music, neutral decor, standard coffee drinks and treats, free wifi, and a community bookshelf with five copies of Lonely Planet’s Central Asia guide (although I suspect that if you’re visiting the one Western-style coffee shop in Karakol, you already have a copy of your own). It was a great place to hang out.

There are two (relatively) major cultural sites in Karakol, and one is this wooden Russian Orthodox church. (The other site is a wooden Dungan mosque.) Since cameras weren’t allowed inside, I took pictures from outside the gate.

Lagman for lunch, my favorite. This one was spicy, which I appreciated because Kyrgyz food generally lacks any heat.

Cobblestone streets, how quaint!

I saw this poster near the stadium and was dismayed to see that we had just missed a performance by the Amazing Azamat the day before! If you can’t tell, this poster shows him biting off a strip from the metal bucket he’s holding. Other feats of strength on the poster showed him towing a marshrutka by himself and lifting up an armchair with his teeth. Wow!