Kyrgyzstan

Osh, Kyrgyzstan. A dance troupe practices for an upcoming festival under the gaze of Lenin. Like most of the other 'stans (former Soviet republics) Kyrgyzstan is still heavily influenced by Russia. Reminders of the Soviet era are everywhere.

Osh, Kyrgyzstan. The city of Osh, starting point of our long overland journey down the old Silk Road route to Dushanbe, the capital city of neighboring Tajikistan. Osh is the oldest city in Kyrgyzstan, and the second largest.

Osh, Kyrgyzstan. It seems like everywhere you go in central Asia there's a market that's billed as "the Largest So-and-So Market in the World". Well this is another one of those. It's the Jayma Bazaar in Osh and it is huge all right, huge enough that I wanted to stay with our guides instead of wandering off as usual. I might not ever find them again! This market has been going (in one form or other) for over 2,000 years.

Osh, Kyrgyzstan. Just some scenes from everyday life in this interesting and little-visited corner of the world. The people are hard-working, but very friendly and quick with a smile.

Traffic is not much of a problem in Kyrgyzstan, whether in the city or out in the country.

Above: The main road through Osh. I wish our rush hour back home was as mellow as this one.

Left: Traffic jam on the international highway to Tajikistan.

Sary Tash, Kyrgyzstan. These were the nicest, friendliest kids. I think they were just thrilled to have some new faces to look at in this tiny, remote mountain town. The kid on the right was especially sweet; I thought "he's gonna grow up to be one of those guys that everybody likes"...

...just like this guy. I don't think we met anyone in this country who was rude or unhelpful to us.

Sary Tash, Kyrgyzstan. A parting shot on our way out of town bound for the Tajikistan border, which runs along the mountain ridge in the background. It was down around freezing during the night here, and we visited in August. I wondered what it must be like in the middle of winter?!? Life is tough in this remote town at 10,500 feet of altitude.

The long & winding road, that leads to the Tajikistan border. This entire trip 'approximately' duplicates the old Silk Road trading route. With amazing mountain scenery and dodgy roads all along the way.

More scenery than you can cram into an iPhone camera!