Pedaling from the Black Forest to the Yellow Sea

So, this would have been another day for which I would have posted a one-liner. But as I was sitting in an internet cafe, a hand is slapped on my right shoulder and without turning around I figured it was Bastien. Turns out it was him - but I didn’t see him smile.

His bike was stolen (and another biker’s vehicle as well). Ouch, ouch, ouch. He has all his bags still, but the bike is a goner. If you happen to see a bike made by Fahrradmanufaktur in Bishkek, do what you can to stop it … never mind.

So, without wheels and without a good bike store Bastien is pretty much stranded. The only idea I could come up with was to call Speedzone and they will see what they can do for him, if anything. Thanks for looking into this at least!!! There is no bike to be had here really, so shipping one in is the only option for the time being. Now, keep your fingers crossed that my bike is neither damaged (earthquake) or gone, though it was locked into a room when I left it in Sary-Tash.

In other news, I can pick up my passport on Wednesday. From what I understand the visa has been approved and so I can move out and on. Will post the definite news once I have a hold of the passport.

And though these pictures aren’t new, they may still be worth taking a look at.

Nothing much happened … neither on Sunday nor on Monday. So I am again posting two days in one. Hung around, did some little errands here and there. Apart from that it is waiting out the long weekend in the US and for US the consulate to open again. Hopefully with the missing number being in the system now so that I can leave Bishkek. The weather is starting to turn here it seems. Rain in Bishkek could mean snow where I need to go back to. Keep your fingers crossed as well for that not to happen.

Another wedding on this trip - it is really quite remarkable. It seems that I am popping up when these things take place at the moment. And it is always a lot of fun to be looking at how weddings are celebrated in different parts of the world.

This one was no exception … well, sort of. It was about as traditional as it had to be I felt. Nazar and his wife are rather modern in their world view and so their ceremony wasn’t big on the Kyrgyz motiv. But it was a wonderful celebration nevertheless.

Lots of dancing …

lots of happy faces …

and lots of good food.

Another slow day … I meant to write solely: waiting and waiting.

Which is really what I am doing here. But the waiting game here allows me to be participating in the wedding of a friend of mine here in Bishkek. And yes, there will be pictures again.

At night a group of us went out for dinner in a Lebanese restaurant here in Bishkek (unheard of a few years ago, the city has really developed in a lot of ways) and then headed for a club. Come to think of it, this was the first time out since Tirana / Albania. It was a lot of fun and the band was really good. Their singer had a great voice, the guitar player was amazing. Too bad their repertoire was somewhat limited. Don’t get me wrong, Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” is a good song, but when you hear it three times within a couple of hours … (this is not the band’s fault, really - the way it works is that members of the audience can select the songs and they pay for it; and that doesn’t always work out so well). A fun time at any rate.

So, I was supposed to call the consular section today. I did. Just before 11 am as they had told me to. The usual voicemail - press this button and the like. I do and only get a person who says that the embassy is closed. What???? Ouch. My passport. Closed until Tuesday. What????

Alright, so I am pleading my way to the duty officer who is very nice to me. I tell him what I am calling about and he tells me what is going on. Due to the summit (it’s Medvedev again - seems like he is getting in my way all the time, remember here?), the road the embassy is located on is completely closed off and the embassy is closed for Thursday and Friday. The staff didn’t find out until Wednesday, 5pm and has no access to the premises. They called everyone they said, but because they had no phone number couldn’t call me.

And now they are closed for the day, starting at 10:30am. Bonk. What to do? I ask. From what I understood, my passport is in the embassy, the visa in there and so I am ready to go, but can’t. That’s no good. The duty officer calls the consul again and calls back. Turns out that the visa is still not through, so I wouldn’t have been able to go. I can’t believe it. Everything prepared for, did everything I could have done and now this … So there is no use of anyone going in and getting my passport out over the weekend. I don’t like this at all, I am now stuck in Bishkek for the weekend and Monday being Columbus Day I can hope for Tuesday at the earliest.

This also means that I will now almost certainly not be able to reach the Yellow Sea under my own steam. This now kills it as it adds another week pretty much - and that is time that I really don’t have now any more. What a … never mind.

So, off to town I go. I buy lots of good pastries for myself and … it’s Heike and Ingo again. Remember? We met by chance in Istanbul a long time back. Now, we are meeting again here in Bishkek. What a coincidence. Here is the picture to prove it. Oh wait … and if that wasn’t coincidence enough, there is also Bastien, whom I met in Tehran at the Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan embassies.

Great seeing them again before they are leaving for South-East Asia by plane. I will be here for a while still …