10 days in Bishkek

It's my first real rest since I left last March. Ten days in the Kyrgyz capital where I take the opportunity to chat and plan the rest of my journey.

Over the past few weeks, I have had the chance to speak more in depth to a few people, particularly about the political situation in Kyrgyzstan and their relationship with Russia. And my thought as a North American was surprised.

My host in Osh was a woman in her late forties. She has family in Uzbekistan, just an hour's drive from home. She tells me:

Some things are better now, but some are not. During Soviet times, I could study or travel all over the Union. Today, we know more about the rest of the world, but many countries are closed to us. Including Uzbekistan, the neighboring country. So it takes me a visa that is difficult to obtain just to visit my sister.

She adds with a touch of optimism that she hopes this will change with the recent death of the president of this country. It's been five years since she saw her sister.

In Toktogul, in the middle of the country, a young employee of a cell phone company explains to me why she speaks a little English in addition to Kyrgyz and Russian:

English is now more important than Russian internationally, but Russian still dominates the Kyrgyz language by far even within Kyrgyzstan. Especially in cities, it is impossible to have a good job without speaking Russian.

It must be said that the Soviets have long been very repressive towards local cultures. Which explains why it is possible to be understood in Russian in every corner of the former Soviet republics. At least that would be my case if I spoke more than five words of Russian!

In the capital, as if to prove this point of language repression, I meet Sadjida, a young Kyrgyz woman in her thirties whose parents do not even speak the local language.

Russian is our family language. In order, I then learned English, French and Kyrgyz. French for fun, and Kyrgyz to understand my own culture.

It's quite unusual for a woman her age not to be married here. I ask him the same question that has been asked 300 times in the last few months: why?

The Kyrgyz guys are quite controlling and believe that the woman should serve everyone. She must live with her husband with his parents, and serve them in addition to serving the men of the family. But it's still less worse than in Uzbekistan ...

I ask him why. She adds :

In Uzbekistan, the woman is considered "at the bottom of the dog" in the family ...

The snow

The next morning of my arrival in Bishkek, I discovered that more than ten centimeters of snow fell overnight. I arrived just in time! And no matter if I have to walk a bit in the snow, my bike in Central Asia is finished and I don't have to blow my fingers on my feet while riding. I can do like normal people and put them in my pockets.

Conversation with the students of the Elda-Rouleau school in Alexandria.

I take advantage of this colder temperature in particular to plan the rest of my itinerary, which I will explain to you in my next text, and to talk to students in a primary school.

It was my first experience and I really enjoyed it. I told them about the people I met on my way, the most amazing places I slept or rode, and how lucky they are to be children in Canada. They then asked me nearly twenty interesting questions and even sang me happy birthday!

If you are a parent or teacher and you are interested in this kind of conversation, please write to me so we can talk about it!

The last bazaar

In my last days in Kyrgyzstan, I was looking for screws to replace the ones I lost on my bicycle panniers. Not complicated, I am looking for a living in the largest city in the country. Well, I couldn't find any in three days of walking. Nothing is easy in this part of the world.

At one of the biggest bazaars in Central Asia I found shoes for an army, bread by the hundreds, meat, office supplies, clothes, books, but no screws.

Rain, mud and cold in the Bishkek bazaar.

The famous and delicious bread from Central Asia.

A woman worried about not finding the perfect pair of shoes in this bazaar.

Butcher's shop adjacent to the bazaar.

0 - 9 km

My initial goal was to get to Bishkek before the onset of winter. With all the mountains to cross, I knew this one would come quickly, and I pulled it off by the skin of the buttocks! Along with Georgia, Kyrgyzstan was one of the two countries I really wanted to visit, and both of them adorably surprised and pleased me.

At first, I didn't even know if I would manage to get this far. I had never taken a long bike trip before. Neither a long trip point in fact. I didn't know if I could reach these (almost) 10 km without tiring myself physically and mentally, and if I would like the experience enough to be able to continue for all these months.

You followed me through those first 10 kilometers. You have seen me acclimate to greater challenges with each new country, and you have encouraged me along this road. The rest of my original itinerary now should have taken me to China, but I had to change my plans because I couldn't get a Chinese visa.

In the next chapter, I therefore explain to you why I decided, reluctantly, to fly from Bishkek to fly to Myanmar, Southeast Asia.

After that, we embark together for the next 10 km!