taking Win to Karakol

Karakol is another one of those places that strikes me as being “must-see” in Kyrgyzstan. It’s one of the bigger and fairly well-known sites, especially by those who have experienced a Kyrgyzstan winter. Why? Because although Karakol doesn’t seem like much in the warmer months (maybe some good hiking? I’m a terrible tour guide), but …

Zil is a ski resort

One fine Saturday a couple weeks ago, a new friend (who has already left Bishkek) invited Farrell and I to go to the mountains. We learned two very important lessons that day: 1) Zil, the place he said we were going, is a ski resort. 2) In Russian, to “go to the mountains” implies skiing, …

another dreary day

This is my third Bishkek winter, and yet again I trudge through cold puddles under sludge-colored skies and think, “Wait, what made me want to move here again?” The weather has been particularly atrocious, so this morning when I saw a fresh layer of snow, I got up with Farrell and decided I might as …