Day 5 - Son Kol to Tash Rabat
Yippee! No need for the threatened “cut and paste” job. I slept for over 6 hours without waking. Only rising for my nightly trot to the Executive Powder Room at 5.30. Too much information, I know.
After the usual breakfast; in the dining yurt, of course, it was into the minibuses for the 6 hour journey to Tash Rabat. As with getting to Son Kol, the road out was very bumpy. Our leader really wanted to take us over “33 Parrots Pass”, a route that is very spectacular, but impassable after heavy rain. I won’t bore you with why it’s bears that name, other than to say it’s another bit of Kyrgyz folklore. Luckily, it had barely rained overnight, so we were off to see the Norwegian Blues hopefully.
Sadly there weren’t any parrots, but we did see 2 magpies. Two for joy. And indeed there was joy at the top of the pass as there were spectacular views down into the next valley where we were heading. Some terrific hairpin bends awaited us for our descent.
After nearly 2 hours of travelling there were audible whoops of joy as we turned onto a road that was as smooth as a baby’s bum. Yep, it eclipsed anything we have in Buckinghamshire. Then again, that isn’t hard!
We stopped in Naryn to get more cash. The last cash point to issue dollars for about 10 days apparently. We then had lunch at a Community Based Tourism place. In short, someone’s house! It was run single-handedly by a remarkable woman called Bakhtygul. During Soviet times she lived in a small apartment in the building where we lunched. She worked as an accountant. After independence in ‘91, she gradually acquired other apartments in the block, and now she owns the entire place which encompasses 8 apartments and a shop. Typical accountant, she could smell a shekel (Som in Kyrgyzstan) at 400 metres. She runs part of the apartment for tourist home stays. The pride she took, was phenomenal. I’ve promised to send her a postcard from Oxford, which hopefully will sit alongside her other ones from Utrecht and Munich.
Back on the minibuses, and down on the “China Road”. About 30 kilometres from the Chinese border we turned off onto another bumpy old track up a beautiful valley with snow capped mountains visible in the distance. We saw Yak being herded for the first time. Fifteen minutes later we arrived at our destination Tash Rabat.
Tash Rabat is the “must see” building* in Kyrgyzstan. It’s origins are not really clear, but there are 2 strongly held views about it. Firstly, it was not a stopping place on the Silk Road, as it sits in a valley that is virtually impassable at one end. So, Joanna Lumley, and many others; you’ve been telling us porkies! However, it’s a fine, and mysterious building in the middle of nowhere. (Apart from a couple of Yurt Camps). The second strongly held theory, was that it originated as a monastery, and was tucked away so the inhabitants could avoid persecution. Seems perfectly plausible to me.
We walked the last 750 metres up to our yurt camp. What a setting………..
Unlike the previous camp, this one does have some all body washing facilities. Sadly no showers, but it has 2 banyans. Basically, they’re rooms that have a hot and cold water supply. You put the water into a bucket, mixing hot and cold to whatever temperature you like, and then use a saucepan to tip the water over yourself. Rustic, but quite lovely, after 3 days without washing.
A hike or horse riding awaits us in the morning.
* Kyrgyzstan is best known for its natural beauty.
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