At the Jalalabad taxi stop the local taxi drivers wanted ten times the local price for a taxi to Arslanbob but we found the local shared mushrukta and took that to a junction where we found a Sprinter to take us the rest of the way. The Sprinter even had a price list for all the destinations it travelled to so that was helpful.
Arslanbob is situated at 1660m above sea level with an impressive wall of snow clad peaks around it. It is situated in a fertile river valley. The town of 30,000 people are ethnically Uzbek people. When Russian divided up its states it didn't take into account the ethnicity of the inhabitants. The area is surrounded by the world's largest walnut forest.
After being dropped off in the main square we followed the signs for the CBT office which was closed but a local told us to wait and he would call the coordinator to open up. The coordinator said they take turns manning the office and rang Ibrahim, a homestay owner. Ibraham is a 62 year old man who teaches German at the local school. He planned to retire in September as he is finding the children tire him these days. Ibrahim's wife was a geography teacher.
We piled into his old Russian Lada and we wound up the rocky road to his place. He had three buildings for guests on the site. There were two rooms where he put us and they opened onto a platform with a low table. There was a hot shower behind the rooms. The second building he had had two beds in a long room. Part of his own house had a room for guests as well. He had a western style sit down toilet as well as a squat one that was at the far end of the main house. Between the buildings was a huge flower garden, his wife's passion.
Ibraham's son, his wife and two children lived with him. The daughter in law was always first up. She would sweep the walkways and fill the washing machine with clothes and hand wash those that didn't fit in and she would be at it on and off all day. She would chop wood for the outdoor kitchen to cook the family's food and prepare it. She would make us tea and bake bread. She never spoke and although she was a beautiful looking woman we never saw her smile. We felt very sorry for the daughter in law.
The son helped the dad line the outdoor kitchen with a plastic lining on the ceiling to make it easier to clean and more presentable that the old black sooty rough sawn timber ceiling.
In the evening the whole family slept in one room on the floor on thin mattresses.
Ibrahaim gave us a menu of meals we could have in the evening, as board included breakfast and dinner. My favourite Kyrgyz dish is dimlama. It is a stew with a little mutton stewed slowly in a broth with cabbage, potatoes, sweet peppers and carrots. Watermelons are everywhere now so we had some after our meal. One night we had laagman, which is a broth with potato and carrots and noodles, this was the American guest's favourite pick from the menu - so each night we have to agree with the other guests what the meal will be and we need to order it at breakfast time.
We managed to get all our washing done and spent some time walking around the sights of the town. One of the main attractions is a small waterfall. We headed off there using Google maps as none of the streets have names or signs. On the way to the falls are rows of stalls made of bits of timber, plastic and fabric. They sell soft drinks, trinkets, cheap plastic toys, dried yoghurt balls, dried fruits and nuts. Between the stalls are 'hit the balloons with a dart and win a stuffed toy' games. The head scarfed young girls like to try their hand giggling their way through toss of the dart. They are such fun to watch as they have so much fun out of such a simple game. The boys however prefer to use have a go at the shooting gallery.
There seemed to be a fee to take a walkway to the other side of the waterfall to a restaurant where you could pose under a heart shaped arch but we could see a path in the hills behind so we decided to head there and find the panoramic view that Ibrahim had told us to visit. We made it to the top and could see the walnut forest and town and watched as some tourists explored with horses and guides. Unfortunately the top of Babash Ata mountains were covered in cloud.
Another time we visited the local town market day. People came from all parts of the valley to buy the meat hanging in the stalls, vegies, fruit, bread, clothes and shoes from China and other goods. The place was packed. and cars jammed up the small main square.
Arslanbob has an amusement park called Turbaza, a Soviet era holiday camp.
What a great place for people watching.
There were more pop the balloons with darts as well as a pirate swing,
Ferris wheels, quad bike rides, punch ball machines that rate your punch,
Children's trains, a mini hovercraft and a swimming pool. Only boys were swimming in the cold cloudy river water and then trying to warm up on the rocky ground.
The most interesting place was a huge caged dance pavilion. The young girls huddled together dancing while the young men in clean tight clothes and sunglasses watched from outside. When there was someone they fancied they paid their money and went in showing off their moves to the mostly disinterested young ladies. The parents sat outside watching all the goings on.
A German couple who had taken a year off work arrived at the guest house and they had come from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. We enjoyed chatting to them and they gave us their old sim cards for our travels which was great. Ibrahim also enjoyed speaking German with them and was excited to tell us all that the German ambassador and a couple of staff members were coming to his guest house in the next few days.
Only two marshruktas go direct from Arslanbob to Osh - we took the second one at 12.30.
Arslanbob is situated at 1660m above sea level with an impressive wall of snow clad peaks around it. It is situated in a fertile river valley. The town of 30,000 people are ethnically Uzbek people. When Russian divided up its states it didn't take into account the ethnicity of the inhabitants. The area is surrounded by the world's largest walnut forest.
After being dropped off in the main square we followed the signs for the CBT office which was closed but a local told us to wait and he would call the coordinator to open up. The coordinator said they take turns manning the office and rang Ibrahim, a homestay owner. Ibraham is a 62 year old man who teaches German at the local school. He planned to retire in September as he is finding the children tire him these days. Ibrahim's wife was a geography teacher.
We piled into his old Russian Lada and we wound up the rocky road to his place. He had three buildings for guests on the site. There were two rooms where he put us and they opened onto a platform with a low table. There was a hot shower behind the rooms. The second building he had had two beds in a long room. Part of his own house had a room for guests as well. He had a western style sit down toilet as well as a squat one that was at the far end of the main house. Between the buildings was a huge flower garden, his wife's passion.
Ibraham's son, his wife and two children lived with him. The daughter in law was always first up. She would sweep the walkways and fill the washing machine with clothes and hand wash those that didn't fit in and she would be at it on and off all day. She would chop wood for the outdoor kitchen to cook the family's food and prepare it. She would make us tea and bake bread. She never spoke and although she was a beautiful looking woman we never saw her smile. We felt very sorry for the daughter in law.
The son helped the dad line the outdoor kitchen with a plastic lining on the ceiling to make it easier to clean and more presentable that the old black sooty rough sawn timber ceiling.
In the evening the whole family slept in one room on the floor on thin mattresses.
Ibrahaim gave us a menu of meals we could have in the evening, as board included breakfast and dinner. My favourite Kyrgyz dish is dimlama. It is a stew with a little mutton stewed slowly in a broth with cabbage, potatoes, sweet peppers and carrots. Watermelons are everywhere now so we had some after our meal. One night we had laagman, which is a broth with potato and carrots and noodles, this was the American guest's favourite pick from the menu - so each night we have to agree with the other guests what the meal will be and we need to order it at breakfast time.
We managed to get all our washing done and spent some time walking around the sights of the town. One of the main attractions is a small waterfall. We headed off there using Google maps as none of the streets have names or signs. On the way to the falls are rows of stalls made of bits of timber, plastic and fabric. They sell soft drinks, trinkets, cheap plastic toys, dried yoghurt balls, dried fruits and nuts. Between the stalls are 'hit the balloons with a dart and win a stuffed toy' games. The head scarfed young girls like to try their hand giggling their way through toss of the dart. They are such fun to watch as they have so much fun out of such a simple game. The boys however prefer to use have a go at the shooting gallery.
There seemed to be a fee to take a walkway to the other side of the waterfall to a restaurant where you could pose under a heart shaped arch but we could see a path in the hills behind so we decided to head there and find the panoramic view that Ibrahim had told us to visit. We made it to the top and could see the walnut forest and town and watched as some tourists explored with horses and guides. Unfortunately the top of Babash Ata mountains were covered in cloud.
Another time we visited the local town market day. People came from all parts of the valley to buy the meat hanging in the stalls, vegies, fruit, bread, clothes and shoes from China and other goods. The place was packed. and cars jammed up the small main square.
Arslanbob has an amusement park called Turbaza, a Soviet era holiday camp.
What a great place for people watching.
There were more pop the balloons with darts as well as a pirate swing,
Ferris wheels, quad bike rides, punch ball machines that rate your punch,
Children's trains, a mini hovercraft and a swimming pool. Only boys were swimming in the cold cloudy river water and then trying to warm up on the rocky ground.
The most interesting place was a huge caged dance pavilion. The young girls huddled together dancing while the young men in clean tight clothes and sunglasses watched from outside. When there was someone they fancied they paid their money and went in showing off their moves to the mostly disinterested young ladies. The parents sat outside watching all the goings on.
A German couple who had taken a year off work arrived at the guest house and they had come from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. We enjoyed chatting to them and they gave us their old sim cards for our travels which was great. Ibrahim also enjoyed speaking German with them and was excited to tell us all that the German ambassador and a couple of staff members were coming to his guest house in the next few days.
Only two marshruktas go direct from Arslanbob to Osh - we took the second one at 12.30.
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