Ak Sai

So begins my long journey back to the boundaries of Lake Issyk-kul. Checking out seamlessly and heading to the main bus station, I ate lunch at one of the eateries, some fish and a rice pilaf. There was also a lone drunk man passed out on one of the tables. I went out to find the bus going to Bokonbaevo and was directed to a pretty fancy van. There was one woman there. Here, we waited for a very long time, maybe too long. It seems like there wasn't anyone else coming in and the van wasn't going to move until it was full. It seemed like we were going to be here awhile.

After a while, the woman seemed to have left. I quickly followed after her and asked if she was going another way. I offered that we could go together and she agreed. I took my things and followed her to another car which was at least half full. A family also joined us, my seatmate being the cutest little girl who seemed to have much energy.

Finally, we set off. It was going to be a 4 hour ride to Ak Sai so I put on my tunes and just watched the same scenery again. One that I couldn't seem to get tired of. My new friend pointing out Issyk-kul and the mountains. There were two babies as well in the car, one of them was definitely uncomfortable and was crying, even the little lady seemed to be having a hard time. I emphatize because it was certainly hot at the back. There was no ventilation at all.

We made a brief stop at the same checkpoint during my tour around Lake Issykul. I sat down while everyone went off. The woman from earlier approached me and invited me to go have some tea with her. I happily agreed. We ordered some food and tea, I offered to pay for her meal as well. We went back to the parked van and tried to talk via Google Translate with what we could muster. Once the family got back, we got back on and continued on to Ak Sai.

With what seemed like such a long journey, I was glad to finally make it to my first check point at Ak Sai Village. Here, I made contact with the guy from Feel Nomad Yurt camp and asked for a ride to camp. An old guy and his worn out car soon showed up and took me right in to the Valley. It was an amazing adventure, being surrounded by towering cliffs as we went deeper.

Upon arrival at the camp, I was asked to pay the driver and was shown to my yurt. A whole private one for myself, spacious, quiet, and all-natural. There was another camper there who told me about where the bathroom was. After I got my things settled, I decided to finally get a taste of Lake Issyk-kul's waters. There I encountered my soon-to-be friends, it was the woman again with her other friends. They introduced themselves shortly but I wasn't able to remember it since I thought I wouldn't really see them again. I asked them if they wanted to swim and they said that it would be too cold.

Perfect. I took a dip in the freezing cold waters of Issyk-kul and was completely at peace. I just let the cold wrap around me, calming my mind, and letting everything go. It was a great way to de-stress and refresh. There was really no one on this side of the Earth so it was an honor to immerse myself in such bountiful nature. The lake was surrounded by the glacial Tian Shan mountains and behind me was the Ak Sai Canyons, the Valley of Forgotten Rivers they call it.

Going back to the camp, I explored the backside to get a better view of the mountains and may have found some trails to what I thought would be the Ak Sai Panorama, I turned back and decided to save it for the next day. I found the group from a while ago hanging by the main bungalow's hammocks. I made some small talk and learned about Ruslana who was with her husband Nur, both from Kazakhstan, and Em who was from Tunisia. They had a reunion after so many years and were traveling Kyrgyzstan together. Em had also been to Japan before so there were some interesting topics to talk about. I told them about the trail I found and asked them if they wanted to check it out to see the sunset. They surprisingly agreed and now we were off on an adventure.

The hike took us high and low, and high and low again. It seems like we were going to the right direction but were also lost at the same time. The journey carried on for a while, as we went up and down dunes and hills. Trying out various high points to see if it was viable but the end goal always seemed in and out of sight. At one point, after a huge expedition, it seemed like the three of them had given up but I wasn't one to back down from chasing sunsets.

I kept on going, this time with a bigger sense of urgency. I didn't want to miss it after all. I climbed down canyons and up steeper inclines even cutting my hand on some rocks but I still kept going. Until I saw silhouettes of people by the distance. That's when I knew I was heading in the right direction. They seemed so close yet so far, I kept on pushing high and above and even, the space between us kept expanding. Eventually, I made it to the last few steps up to see a group of Russian people taking photos around the Panorama.

I made it and still with just enough sunset to spare. I quickly started to take photos for myself as well. I asked them how they got here and turns out there was a much easier route. They asked me what camp I was from and turns out we were from the same one. I asked if I could hitch a ride with them and fortunately, it was a yes.

We went down together and they made some room for me and we were off back to the camp. I was hungry and thirsty and couldn't wait to eat and meet Ruslana and the gang again. I found them seated together inside the main hut. I told them of my exploits and showed them pictures of what they had missed out on, but still I wouldn't wish that journey on anyone as I don't think a sane person wouldn't have done it the way I did. After a scrumptious dinner, I took a much needed shower and for the first time, experienced a sky full of stars. I was hoping they would have joined me outside since we did discuss it but it seems like they weren't coming.Read more