One of the all time greatest days.
The night before I linked up with two Danish guys from the horse trek and we agree to hitchhike to Jeti Oguz for a hike. We cram into a battered Merc with an old lady and a kid squeezed up in the back and make it halfway. At the drop off, the universe realises I haven’t encountered an Australian in 48 hours, so one appears and joins us.
Jeti Oguz seems to be a Kyrgz holiday spot so we offer everyone cigs and get given shots of vodka at every picnic spot (even a car driving by offers us one through the window). You cannot say no to these very full plastic cups of vodka pushed into your hand. One great spot finds us listening to some hammered old guys and girls singing along to an accordian. We have to leave when we see another bottle being brought from a yurt (it is 1pm). By the time we get halfway to the waterfall, we’re half cut and need to shelter from a rainstorm.
The waterfall is pretty cool. We headback to the start and pick up 4 more travellers on the way and all cram into a matruska home. Our Australian chaperone takes us to a back alley to eat cold noodles and we meet that night for beers. More charcters from Bishkek appear. I leave early because I’ve agreed on a 2 day hike with a mystery Dutchman. I’m told by everyone that it’s ‘fucked’ by the dutch guys who’ve just come in from it. Even the laconic German I know from the horsetrek cryptically says ‘it should be doable’.
Planet Caravan 
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