I was in the lobby of the hotel by 4:25 to allow time to catch up on email before the taxi came at 5. The taxi came at 4:35. I was at Sheremet'evo by 5:15. I found a coffee shop and got a cappuccino - a large cappuccino. The woman working the register and the barista were both really friendly for that hour of the morning. The security didn't open until 6 so I waited with a bunch of people in front of the security gates. When we got through, I set of the alarm because I hadn't taken my ipod out of my shirt pocket. The woman was nice about it.
My flight to Bishkek boarded at around 8:30 and took off on time. It was a three and a half hour flight. The further east you go, the more different plane food is. For breakfast, we had a salad with a piece of smoked whitefish, with a packet of mayonaisse for dressing, and an omelet with a piece of broccoli deep fried in batter. It was delicious. I'm getting used to fish turning up when I least expect it.
We got in a bit early. We flew in over Kazakhstan and it was very dry and desert-like. I cleared passport control and customs in minutes and looked for Maxim. No Maxim. I got a text from Roman welcoming me and telling me Maxim was running late. I tried to find an ATM (Bankomat) but could only find ones that took Visa but I needed Mastercard. I finally gave up and used my Visa credit card to get some cash. I prefer to use my debit card.
Maxim came and we grabbed a taxi. On the way into the city of Bishkek (about 30 minutes) the view of the mountains was magnificent. (The mountains are the Kyrgyz Ala-Too range, an extension of the Tian Shan mountain range, which rises up to 4,855 meters (15,928 ft))
Maxim took me to the apartment he found for me. It's right in the center and is light and airy and really clean. The owner was there to get paid and give me the keys. We went out to a market so I could stock up on essentials for the week, had tea, and then went to Max and Roman's apartment where Roman was preparing green borsch. It was an interesting process to see so many good healthy ingredients go in. The main green ingredient was sorrel, a green leafy vegetable we don't use much in the US. The end result was incredible. I've eaten green borsh in the home of green borsh (Lviv, in Western Ukraine) but Roman's was the best I ever had.
I took a taxi back to my apartment about 11 and was up till well after midnight getting settled, drinking tea and enjoying internet access.
My flight to Bishkek boarded at around 8:30 and took off on time. It was a three and a half hour flight. The further east you go, the more different plane food is. For breakfast, we had a salad with a piece of smoked whitefish, with a packet of mayonaisse for dressing, and an omelet with a piece of broccoli deep fried in batter. It was delicious. I'm getting used to fish turning up when I least expect it.
We got in a bit early. We flew in over Kazakhstan and it was very dry and desert-like. I cleared passport control and customs in minutes and looked for Maxim. No Maxim. I got a text from Roman welcoming me and telling me Maxim was running late. I tried to find an ATM (Bankomat) but could only find ones that took Visa but I needed Mastercard. I finally gave up and used my Visa credit card to get some cash. I prefer to use my debit card.
Maxim came and we grabbed a taxi. On the way into the city of Bishkek (about 30 minutes) the view of the mountains was magnificent. (The mountains are the Kyrgyz Ala-Too range, an extension of the Tian Shan mountain range, which rises up to 4,855 meters (15,928 ft))
Maxim took me to the apartment he found for me. It's right in the center and is light and airy and really clean. The owner was there to get paid and give me the keys. We went out to a market so I could stock up on essentials for the week, had tea, and then went to Max and Roman's apartment where Roman was preparing green borsch. It was an interesting process to see so many good healthy ingredients go in. The main green ingredient was sorrel, a green leafy vegetable we don't use much in the US. The end result was incredible. I've eaten green borsh in the home of green borsh (Lviv, in Western Ukraine) but Roman's was the best I ever had.
I took a taxi back to my apartment about 11 and was up till well after midnight getting settled, drinking tea and enjoying internet access.
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