The 'Stans - Bishkek (16 August 2019)

The Freelander Hostel was super modern and comfortable. Very highly recommended if you spend some time in Bishkek. For today the plan was to explore Bishkek and see what the city had to offer and what Soviet gems I could unearth.

The first stop on my walking tour of Bishkek was Ala-Too Square, a square built in 1984 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic.

I waited in the square for probably a bit too long, all to see the changing of the guard and their goose stepping:

Pretty cool site for any history nerds out there.

Bishkek felt like the most Soviet/Russian city that I had been to so far. Dushanbe and Ashgabat felt more Asian and grand, Bishkek felt like it was once grand...about 30 years ago. But it retained a quaint charm. Where else can you see a MIG fighter propped up between a row shops?

I managed to find an amazing shawarma take out in the middle of Bishkek and made a note to come back in the evening for dinner too. It was that good.

As I walked around the city, I came across more and more interesting Soviet architecture.

Later that evening, I went to the nearby park and worked out on the bars. It seemed to be the thing to do, many young Kyrgyz men also had the same idea. Work out complete, I walked back to the shawarma place but managed to miss it by a large proximity, but I was determined to get shawarma and the walk took well over an hour. As a result I bought two kebabs and took a taxi home.

Even though the country may feel like a million miles away what I would call home, people are generally similar wherever you go:

And an even bigger shock was the prevalence of Morrison's carrier bags. In Bishkek they were the go-to carrier bag for all tiny shacks and markets. Bizarre.