Breakfast was served in the restaurant adjoining the Apple hostel and the Western Bus Station starting from 0700. I went down soon after it opened and once done, went to the station to find transport to Karakol. The guidebook said it was a confusing place with some duplication of areas for different routes. I didn’t find it that bad because I had missed half the station; it was separated by stalls and I didn’t see the rest of it until my return trip 3 days later!
Mashrutkas cost KGS300 while shared taxis cost KGS500. I thought the mashrutkas being large Euro vans would be more comfortable than the shared taxis which were either normal cars or family people-movers. And that’s despite being the cheaper service.
So I hopped on a mashrutka. Sadly, it took over an hour to fill and we didn’t leave till around 1000. The journey took 6h15 including a meal break.
Leaving Bishkek, the border with Kazakhstan wasn’t far. It was a scary sight to see trucks lined up for kilometres waiting for customs inspection for entry into Kazakhstan. There had been some political issues between the two countries, as I found out Googling it after. Hopefully it won’t affect normal passenger entry.
Out in the countryside there were some gorgeous scenes where the roads were flanked by golden poplars on both sides. Issyk Kul lake, which is about 9 times the size of Singapore or Lake Taupo in New Zealand, was on the right hand side as we traversed the northern shore.
There were a few cemeteries in the countryside. The graves were of different styles but the one I found most unusual was just a mound of earth covered by metal-rod frames resembling the skeleton of a yurt. Not sure if there’s much more to it because I didn’t see it close up.
As we approached Karakol, the driver decided that he didn’t have enough people and transferred me to a shorthaul taxi and paid for my ride. I got dropped off near the Park Hotel in Karakol.
After a short rest, I headed out for dinner. There wasn’t much that was apparent from walking no the street and it was unusual for me to have to refer to the guidebook for eating. I walked about 30 minutes to get to this restaurant set amongst residential homes. It was nice to have a stirfry instead of yet another dumpling, noodle or kebab.