How does traditional art influence your image making? Mist covered mountains on paper and silk paintings have filed my imagination since my late father brought one home from a trip to Beijing long ago. He loved Asia and China in particular. I think it’s because of his influence that I have also had a…
Tag: Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan Nomads
I previously wrote about our experience at a Nomad Kyrgyzstan Yurt camp. A remarkable experience, recommended if you ever get the chance. Here is another photo I wanted to share that shows the vastness of the high altitude Central Asian Steppe near the Chinese border. Yurt Camp, Kyrgyzstan Steppe.
Past Meets Present in Uzbekistan
Travel to Uzbekistan and you will be hard pressed to experience a land and people with as deep a history so close to the surface. The people of Uzbekistan are friendly and beautiful. During our Silk Road trek, we crossed Uzbek desert and steppe overland because we wanted to see it all. From the viewpoint…
Song-Kol Lake
This is a black and white conversion of horses grazing at Song-Kol Lake in Kyrgyzstan. It was early on a bitterly cold morning. We had spent the night in a yurt and were headed further into the mountains on our overland passage to China. The sun had just come up to illuminate the distant mountains…
Son Kul Lake to Tash Rabat
The road from Son Kul Lake to Tash Rabat is considered the most dangerous road in Kyrgyzstan because of the 33 Parrots. Our guide Sasha explained that the Russian word for “fear” sounded just like the English word “parrot”. This pass was the most stunning yet and the 33 referred to the number of switchbacks…
Kochkor Village to Son Kul Lake
We left Kochkor Village early in the morning and after about 40 km we turned off the main road and onto a narrow dirt one that wound it’s way up the side of a mountain. The beauty was breathtaking and at the top of the first pass we saw a man and woman on touring…
Bishkek to Kochkor Village
Outside Bishkek, the roads are mostly gravel, usually two lanes, sometimes one. Our Land Cruiser eats them up and we arrive at our Kochkor Village guest house to a warm greeting and hot tea. The remarkable thing I have found about these remote villages is that you cannot judge the interior of a home by…
Across the Pamirs
We completed our three day crossing of the Pamir Mountians to China by way of the Torugart Pass. Two days were spent in high altitude yurt camps. I have a detailed account coming as well as more photos. There’s no youtube here so I won’t be able to upload more video for a while. Yesterday…
Crossing Kyrgyzstan, Closer to China
We arrived in Kyrgyzstan yesterday and it was a remarkable change from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Gone is the sweltering heat of the black and red sand deserts. Gone too are the soaring domes and spires of lapis and turquoise. Mountains surround the city of Bishkek and the streets are full of cars and commerce. Statues of…