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| The Malaysian chapter at boarding gate |
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| The firsts to arrive at KLIA...Team Yoyo bus @12 am - 5.30 am |
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| Daredevil Zoe caught up on Airasia flight JHB to KL @ 6 am - 6.50 am |
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| Team Singapore at Changi, circa 7.30 am. They flew China Southern, Singapore to Urumqi via Guangdong @ 8.00 am |
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| Airtrain at KLIA, circa 9.00 am |
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| ...some people unclear of the concept... |
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| Ameera, a Kazakh muslim returning from KL after a one month English course. She works as an admin in an oil and gas company at the Caspian Sea. Wish her luck as she left her heart to a Kyrgyz boy whom she met whilst in KL |
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| Landed in Almaty |
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| Our first sight of snow capped mountains! |
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| Taking our bus to the terminal |
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| United with Team Germany and Thailand! |
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| Waiting for our complimentary dinner due to flight delay @ Almaty airport |
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| Poor Aisana who had attended an international conference in Bangkok. She told us she has been away from home for almost 1 month and couldn't wait to get home to her children! |
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| Our first meeting with Dima |
Kyrgyzstan
is a landlocked nation defined by its natural beauty. Almost postcard perfect,
we were assaulted by its snow capped mountains the moment we touched down in
Bishkek. As we progressed through the days, the rolling mountain ranges,
spectacular gorges and sweeping meadows captured our hearts as well as the
idyllic lifestyles of the yurt dwelling shepherds. Even though many Kyrgyz are
settled in modern days, some remain semi nomadic; spending their time in
villages during winters whilst bringing their herds up the mountains during
summers.
Such was
the case that we could not understand why Dima had refused our proposal to
visit in May. We would soon learn that some mountain passes are closed for
winter, completely snowed in and that some places are uninhabitable during the
cold winter months. Without research, who would have known that most rural
accommodations are closed from October to May and the yurts that adds so much
character to the alpine vistas will be stashed away.
With
such a short window for visits, we jumped on the bandwagon, arriving in Bishkek
when temperatures soared to 36 C in July. By far, a difficult country to visit
as there are no direct flights from ASEAN countries, we also had to pack for 4
seasons, squeezing everything into cabin sized luggages!
Thinking
we may be luckier than our Singapore friends who had to go through 2 stopovers;
Singapore to Guangdong to Urumqi to Bishkek by China Southern or Singapore to
Bangkok to Almaty to Bishkek on Air Astana, we did not fare too well. Scheduled
to fly off from KLIA at 11 am, we got on our planes which did not take to the
sky until 2 hours later. Apparently waiting for documentations, the Captain
later told us of a need to remove some baggages which worried Gerard who once
experienced delayed baggage during our Lake Toba trip. Meanwhile, our aircraft
had to be refueled as the the lights and air conditioning were powered up
during the wait, no thanks to a small fuel tank in a relatively small aircraft
as well!
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| Dinner at Almaty airport |
Up
north, about 1200 km away, Chris and Angkana were delayed at Bangkok as well.
They had left Singapore on an early morning flight and were to meet us at
Almaty for the last leg to Bishkek. By a stroke of fate, the KL delay resulted
in Air Astana taking on a different strategy. They arranged a last minute
flight out of Almaty at 11 pm, despite booking Chris and Angkana on the next
morning’s flight.
Thus was
our long and labourious journey to Bishkek, arriving at midnight to a packed
immigration hall. Rubbing salt to our wound further, Chris and Angkana’s
baggage did not make the same flight. They had to wait for another 24 hours
before they were reunited with their essentials again!!!
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| Past midnight... |
The
journey from Manas Airport to My Hotel was about 40 minutes. Past midnight, the
road was virtually car free. We found ourselves travelling on a very straight
road for the longest time.
The city
was alive past midnight. Even children and babies in strollers were spotted in
the city’s parks. While restaurants appear to be still serving, we were too
tired to care. Once checked in, we went straight to our rooms relieved that our
ordeal were all over.
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| Singapore chapter landed safely at Urumqi |
Meanwhile,
somewhere in Urumqi, Joyce, Kok Teng, John and Alan were fast asleep….
Photo courtesy :
All the fabulous participants of Tian Shan, Realising Dreams Team - Alan, Anna, Angkana, Christoph, Joyce, Lim, John, Kok Teng, Sue, York Fuan, VT, Gerard, Zoe, Dima
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My Hotel, Bishkek
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