One of the main reasons we wanted to visit the Stans was to drive the Pamir Highway. Looking at the cost to hire a driver in both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, it became clear it would be a lot cheaper to rent our own car, and drive it ourselves.
Picking up the rental car
Before picking up the car, we grabbed breakfast at a little coffee shop in town. The cafe had a diverse selection of lattes and Russian style pancakes. I got the pancakes with the cream because, and they were great. After breakfast, we grabbed a Yandex to the outskirts of Bishkek, and drove down a random alley to pick up the rental car.
Prior to the trip, I had to send a deposit via wire transfer to the rental car company. The main rental car operators such as Avis, Hertz, Budget, etc. do not operate in Kyrgyzstan or Tajikistan. The remainder of the fee was to be paid in USD and with new, crisp bills. Carrying around $800 in cash was somewhat nerve-racking, so I was very happy to offload it when we picked up the car.
After reviewing and signing the contract, we walked around the car and indicated any damages so we would not be charged for someone else’s damages upon drop-off. Once we agreed on the “damaged” areas of the rental car, we hopped in our 2002 Nissan Pathfinder and were off to the races.
After prior instructions from the rental car folk, I had downloaded Maps.me, and the offline map for Kyrgyzstan. We plugged in the coordinates for Aalam Ordo and headed on our way.
I should have learned in this moment that the maps for Kyrgyzstan would be inaccurate as it tried to tell us to drive through a park to get to the main road. Not only were we unable to do this, but we were barricaded by a big stone wall. We turned ourselves around and drove down another alley, which was then blocked by a very territorial dog. As I did not want to start the trip off by killing a dog, my friend kindly hopped out of the car, and told it to move in Russian.
On the road
We finally found our way out of the compound through a small opening in the wall, and booked it across traffic. The roads started off nice and paved. I was forewarned about potholes, but didn’t see too many in the beginning of our journey. It seemed like they were over-exaggerating at the time.
Just outside of the city, we ran into congested traffic. This was partially due to the number of cars on the road, and partially because of the two people begging in the middle of traffic. The one person was in a wheelchair holding a cup, begging for change, while the other was wheeling her backwards.
Once outside of the congested area, I turned on some music and sped up. They told us the speed limit was 70 on the highway and 20 in cities. Based on the speeds I saw other drivers going, I assumed this must be in km/h. I was very wrong.
Pulled over within 1-hr of driving
Within 1-hr of driving, I was pulled over. While passing a car, I sped up to 72 km/h and that’s when they caught me. In his bright blue uniform and cop hat, he waved his red, air-traffic-controller-looking wand, and pulled me over.
I was scared. I had read online that cops in Kyrgyzstan were often corrupt, and would pull you over for bribes. As the cop approached my side of the vehicle, I rolled down my window and he started speaking in Russian. Thankfully my friend can speak Russian and was able to translate. The cop wanted to see the documentation for the car, and my international driver’s permit. After I handed these over to him he told me to get out of the car.
Now having read The Hate U Give and watching a few movies with cops, I was concerned as they say to never get out of the car. I thought for sure I was going to have to pay a huge fine or be taken to a police station where I would again have to pay a huge fine. I was scared on the inside, but kept my composure on the outside, hoping they could not tell, and that my fake confidence would make them less likely to ask for a large bribe.
The cop pulled me over to his camera where he filmed me passing the car, and the speed I was going. It read 72 km/h and the cop told me the limit was 50 km/h as we were driving through a built-up area.
My first thought was, “what is a built-up area?” And my second thought was, “wait when was 50 km/h a limit for anything?” The rental car company only mentioned 20 and 70 for limits. Turns out a built-up area is basically a highway with a gas station and maybe one house.
During my internal monologue, I was led over to the police captain’s side of the car. The captain had a binder open and pointed to the fine for my speeding. It said 1000. My heart skipped a beat. I don’t casually carry around $1000 USD so when we found out it was 1000 KGS ($15 USD), I was relieved.
We paid the man and were on our way.
Issyk-Kul & Aalam Ordo
On our way to Aalam Ordo, right on lake Issyk-Kul, we stumbled upon a dedication to those who fought in WWII at Stalingrad.
Eventually, we arrived at Aalam Ordo. Aalam Ordo was a failed project started by a former President in 2009. This was supposed to be a center for culture, science and spirituality where the Kyrgyz youth would meet elders to exchange ideas, and learn without a curriculum. The community was supposed to have 365 yurts.
Across the street from Aalam Ordo was a giant Buddha on top of the mountain and a beautiful mural. Kyrgyzstan was simply stunning.
Driving in the dark
Our final destination was Karakol. We still had over an hour to go and the sun was setting. This still being our first day driving, and with the amount of livestock we had seen, I expected the highways to be decently lit. How wrong I was.
With the speeds we had to drive, I realized the time Maps told us was going to be inaccurate. It was getting darker and shepherds were still herding their sheep, horses, and cows. Visibility was decreasing and the potholes were increasing. Even on the well-lit highways in Canada I don’t like driving in the dark. I feel like I’m squinting just to see (which seems counterintuitive).
Eventually we made it into Karakol. The main street had street lamps and I was rejoiced. Following maps, we drove down a dark road that was only potholes, but we safely arrived to our hotel. After sorting out our room, we asked for a recommendation for food and we headed for dinner.
The food was very good and my friend thought this was one of the best meals of his entire life. The food in Central Asia was so consistently good our entire trip. It is hands down in my top three favourite cuisines.
Surprises in the dark
After dinner we headed to the supermarket for more road trip supplies. Minus the usual stares, the shopping trip was rather uneventful.
On the way back we stumbled upon a gold Lenin statue, which was neat. We also stumbled upon some sketchy characters which wasn’t so neat. There was one man on his cell phone outside of a brothel who said Hello to us repeatedly. We ignored him as best practice is to not to talk to strangers outside of a brothel in an unfamiliar city in the dark. My friend said we shouldn’t speak any further until we get back to the hotel as it was making us stick out as foreigners.
We made it back safely to the hotel and had a nice, relaxing night after a long, eventful day.
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