by Alex Mahler | Jun 6, 2002 | Russia, Silk Road Diaries
Kyzyl, Tuva “You are a cow!” Kenin-Lobsam concluded emphatically. “I am also a cow. Based upon the astrological conditions surrounding our births, I can work with you. What can I do for you?” I had heard that Kenin-Lobsam is the leading...
by Alex Mahler | May 29, 2002 | Russia, Silk Road Diaries
Abakan, Khakassian Autonomous Republic, Russia “If the numbers on your bus ticket add up to six and six you must eat it.” “Why?” “Because if the numbers add up to the same figure it’s good luck.” “And if I have this good...
by Alex Mahler | May 11, 2002 | Kyrgyzstan, Silk Road Diaries
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan There are no buses from Osh to Bishkek. The 500 kilometer road traverses the Kygyz Altau and Talas Altau mountain ranges over three high passes, winding its way up and down through just two small towns and a handful of villages. There isn’t...
by Alex Mahler | May 10, 2002 | Kyrgyzstan, Silk Road Diaries
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan In southern Kyrgyzstan I quickly learned to fear the police and my heart would skip a beat each time we spotted one of the many roadside police checkpoints. Through Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, the infamous former Soviet police forces have caused...
by Alex Mahler | May 8, 2002 | Kyrgyzstan, Silk Road Diaries
Osh, Kyrgyzstan If you threw three buckets of colored paint at a map you could easily end up with boundaries as clear and rational as the current Uzbek/Tajik/Kyrgyz border in the Fergana valley. As contiguity seems not to have been important to the early Soviets,...
by Alex Mahler | May 7, 2002 | Favorites, Silk Road Diaries, Uzbekistan
Tashkent, Uzbekistan There was a chicken in the baggage compartment. Just as I had placed my backpack in the baggage hold underneath the bus I noticed it. There was a chicken silently standing there in the midst of all of the luggage, one leg tied down with a red...
