J'irai dormir chez vous

Between the school in Bishkek and the organized tour with my family, my trip in Kyrgyzstan so far had been very well planed, with little room for the unexpected. I thought that my experience in Central Asia lacked a bit of adventure, so I set myself a challenge. On the french TV, there is a show called J'irai dormir chez vous, where the host, Antoine de Maximy, discovers a country by getting invited to sleep at the place of local people. I decided to try that; and since Kyrgyzstan is the country of hospitality, it should not be impossible.

Karakol to Jergalan

Two hours away from Karakol, there is a small village in the mountains called Jergalan. A guest of the hostel, Natascha, had been hiking there and told me that it is perhaps too touristic already. There are a few guesthouses in the village, and people might expect to get some money. But about 5 kilometers from Jergalan, there is another village, Bozuchuk, where I could give it a try.

Inside the marshrutka for Jergalan.

I took the marshrutka (minibus) at 14:30 for Jergalan, with a goal, but not much of a plan. I would first hike a few hours in the nature around, then walk to Bozuchuk and see what happens next.

Where the marshrutka left me in Jergalan.

The mountains around.

The children I talked with.

When coming back from my hike, I asked some children playing in the street how many hours it takes to go by foot to Bozuchuk, they answered 'A lot!'. Anyway I started to walk on the main road and asked again an old woman, who told me I should go by car or by marshrukta, because it is way too far away. So I had already two red flags pointing out that it might not be a good idea, but I thought who knows, maybe the German girl at the hostel knows better than the locals... 

Leaving Jergalan for Bozuchuk.

It was also very clear that a storm was coming and that it was going to rain very soon. I continued to walk, knowing that in the worst case, if Bozuchuk is really that far away, I could stop the last marshrukta that should arrive in 90 minutes, go back to Jergalan, and find a guesthouse.

Fortunately I got picked up by a Kirghiz family.

Ayana, Aynura and Anarbek

Five minutes later it was indeed raining heavily, but I was still dry because I was... in a car. Anarbek, with his wife Anynura and their daugther Ayana stopped spontaneously to pick me up. Anarbek asked me where I was going and I answered: 'To the next village... or another one, I'm not so sure...', I showed him a piece of paper where I had written Bozuchuk, saying that it was where I wanted to go. It was actually the fourth village from Jergalan. He can bring me there, but they are first going to stop in Akbulun to visit his brother. I asked if I could join them, and it was already understood that I was coming with. 

I told them that I didn't knew where I was going to sleep during the night yet, and that I am going to find something in Bozuchuk. I tried to explain that I wanted to get invited by a family, and felt quite stupid about it, because it it very unusual according to the Swiss norms I am used to. But they didn't seems to be shocked at all. 

The house of Anarbek's brother in Akbulun

I didn't came empty-handed, can you spot what I brought?

Yep! a box of Ragusa.

Because of the storm, there was no electricity in the house of Anarbek's brother.

We arrived at his brother's, drank tee, ate bread with home made butter, jam and honey, and some meat. Nobody seemed particularly surprised that I was here as well. Anarbek explained me that he was at home only during the summer holidays. The rest of the year, he works in Moscow where he earns about 450 dollars per months, three times more that in Karakol.

Aynura said I could stay here for the night if I wanted. She asked me what I was going to do tomorrow and I answered that I will simply catch the marshrutka for Karakol in the morning. In that case she concluded I should better come home with them. 

Leaving from the first brother's place.

And eating again at the second's.

Then we prepared ourselves to leave, which I thought was quite early for Kyrgyz standards. Indeed we were not going back home yet, but going to visit another brother in the village. Although absolutely not hungry, I managed to eat some more. By chance they just threw a few plates on the table that we all shared, so it was it was not so obvious who ate what. By chance there was no third brother in the village, so we left for good and drove back home, crossing through Bozuchuk, but not stopping. At their place, they offered me a comfortable bed for the night!

The home of Anarbek and his family. They just finished the foundations of a new house in front of it.

My room for the night.

And actually, they live in Karakol, so I succeded my challenge but at the end I slept less than one kilometer away from the Duet Hostel... And walking to Bozuchuk would have effectively taken me a lot of hours, as it was at least 20 kilometers away from Jergalan.