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My First Days
In Central Asia
location Kyrgyzstan | date Summer 23'
Last year, around this time, it was already getting too hot in India and all of Southeast Asia. Monsoon is just crazy. So, I decided to choose one of the 'stans'—one I knew nothing about, except that it had mountains, of course.
First impression: the weirdest country I've ever been to. Nobody speaks English, and they all answered the same thing to me on the first day: "вегетарианец? Нет!"
The other great thing is that there are almost no tourists, everything is surprisingly clean... Oh, and there are traffic lights! (I learned that the hard way...)
- Kyrgyz Republic, Jul '23
It took me a while to adjust to the post-Soviet culture.
Everything seems a bit worn out, and people look like they’ve been through a lot.
Despite being more developed, I could feel it as well in Bishkek, and people there told me that my next destination, Karakol, would be different. At first, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but over time, I realized that any place can start to feel like home if you give it a chance. Sometimes you just have to dig a little deeper—squeeze through the surface to find the “pulp” that makes every place so special.
Duet was the first place where I truly felt at home. I spent a few weeks with them.
If you ever visit Karakol, say "Hi" to them for me. I promise you'll have the perfect first taste of Kyrgyzstan.
- Karakol, Aug '23
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