Choose your poison

We are now in Kyrgyzstan, heading slowly towards Uzbekistan. In the past we have been in other central Asian countries such as Mongolia, Nepal, Bhutan, and Kazakhstan. Not forgetting Tibet. What they all have in common is that their history, development, and military allegiances are very heavily shaped by one of three regional superpowers, namely China, Russia, and India.

Of course, Tibet is now ( irrevocably) integrated into China. Anyone who thinks otherwise is dreaming. But the others are almost as deeply intwined with a superpower. If you observe that, then it's not a surprise that two weeks ago, Putin was in Mongolia as a guest of honour. There and here, the Russian alphabet/language has replaced the local language.

India may be more subtle than the other superpowers, but Bhutan is effectively an Indian protercate. If you visit, don't be surprised to see Indian troops.

Which one should smaller countries cosy up to ? It's too late for that question since unless Russia collapses, the spheres of influence are pretty much frozen. But maybe I'm wrong. Nearby in SE Asia, Laos and Cambodia happily opened the door to massive public and private investment from China. Of course, that will not be for free. The only major exception in Central and SE Asia would appear to be Vietnam. But can they resist modern railway infrastructure and roads on offer for much longer?

Here in Kyrgyzstan, after being 98% dependent on Russia in the Soviet era, the country has diversified its partnerships, but the Russian language is more prominent than Kyrgz in the cities. This seems to be partly driven by Russian tech (apps), Russian media output (TV and films), and Russian brands (e.g. restaurant chains). Maybe the Chinese can push their feet in the door economically, but culturally, that is difficult to imagine.

We spent the last few days starting at the SW of Lake Issyk Kul going for a hike in the bizarre sandstone and clay mountains, then we were in the Himalayas in Tash Rabatt at about 3500m. There is no phone, no Internet, and a long walk to the outside toilet. The lack of the phone wasn't a hardship, but the toilet location was because I had Dehli belly. Outside in full moon, it was beautiful at 1am, 3am, 5am, and 6am, and the frosty ground didn't bother me, but boy, was that an uncomfortable and scary walk.

From there, we stayed a couple of days in Naryn so that Lennox could download lessons, and the kids had online lessons. The Dehli belly returned, and so I was delighted to have an en suite loo.

For the route that followed from Naryn to the Uzbekistan border area, we have to say how pissed we are at Google, Rome2Rio, and the Kyrgyzstan online chat line. All three told us there was a direct route, taking 7.5 hours. Warning to others: the route does not exist! At least we found that out pretty quickly, so we had an 11-hour journey that cost $250, not $80. Mind you, where can you get a 7 seater ride for anything like that price?
Our driver was clearly a formula 1 fan. He was pretty skilled, but in the last half hour, we worried he was getting tired, and the traffic was the heaviest it had been all day. My Dehli belly was better, so no shitting pants, but genuinely worrying.

Since you can read this, it's clear we made it to Jalal-Abad. No, not that Jalal-Abad (Afghanistan) but instead the Taliban free border town in Kyrgyzstan.Lue lisää