Osh -> Sary Mogul – Bargaining, Highway and Altitude

20. + 21. July 2023

 

 

After 4 nights of rest in Osh, I didn’t feel really fit again (diarrhoea was also a factor), but restless. After all, I was there to see the Alay Mountains and the Pamir Highway! But I could make myself more comfortable and book a taxi. I asked the guesthouse owner about the price: about 24 euros. Well, that was absolutely affordable! He phoned and phoned, but at first he couldn’t get hold of a willing driver. Oh, it would be alright, I should be reassured. He wasn’t there in the evening and I had someone ask if it had worked out? Yes! At 10:00!

 

So I was ready at 10:00 and was surprised because the guesthouse owner insisted on driving me to the taxi. By the way, we communicated 90% via the translation app. Anyway. We drove and ended up at a bus station. No, I didn’t want to go to Marshrutka. Obviously it hadn’t worked out and he wanted to find me someone on the spot. Some drivers sensed great deals and one held out his mobile phone to me with a price: 100 euros. Oh dear! The 24 euros seemed a bit cheap to me, but it was too much. The guesthouse owner palavered and argued and discussed with the gentlemen. Would 35 euros do? Yes, that would be OK. So we went to his taxi and loaded everything. But then another argument started. The driver wanted to have someone else in the car for the price. But that had not been the agreement with me. They continued to talk and do and wave in anger. And then someone was actually found who wanted to drive me for 35 euros. All alone in a very large car.

 

Shortly afterwards I got “Do’s and Don’ts” in my hands, where it said with the Don’ts:

– bargain aggressively. In many countries you can bargain for 30-50% discount but not in Kyrgyzstan. Bargaining is done mostly by tourists, locals can ask for a discount but if the seller says “no” , that is accepted. Usually at the bazaar people can give you not more than 5%.

Maybe that’s not applyable for taxi-rides

 

 

We started and drove along an often wide road, the Pamir Highway. It connects Osh in Kyrgyzstan and Dushanbe in Tajikistan over 1,252 km. The highest point is a pass over 4,600 m in Tajikistan. In 1929, when the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic was founded, construction of the highway also began. By 1932, the section between Osh and Khorugh was ready and the Soviets were mighty proud of it. Similar highways such as the Karakorum Highway were only started 2-3 decades later. In any case, this highway changed the regions quite a bit: people suddenly had road access and could thus trade much more easily. New settlements were also established, e.g. infrastructure for the road was needed, i.e. repair workshops, food stops for drivers and especially road workers, as the climatic conditions often caused damage that had to be repaired.

 

After 186 km, in Sary-Tash, my car turned off. In principle, I have never dreamed of driving on any long roads myself – but I must admit: in Kyrgyzstan I would find it very appealing. And then with surrounding countries perhaps even more appealing. Many roads here are not so busy, there is no public transport everywhere, it would be nice to stop where one wants and drive into side valleys etc. The landscape you pass through is very beautiful. In any case, the mountains are very varied and I’d be curious to see what else there is to see. On foot it would be far too far and take too long for me.

 

The road started as in the very hot Osh in the plain, then came hill country, then a pass and then various mountains. On the sides there were quite a few nomad camps, some with yurts, but often simple kind of construction wagons. Here are the pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Somehow I didn’t manage to take the pictures the way I wanted, there were unfavourable conditions. So we turned off in Sary Tash and drove another 35 km to Sary Mogul. This is on a road that runs parallel to the Tajik border on a plateau. You are at 3,000 m here and have a fantastic view of the mountains to the south and north. To the south is Peak Lenin right on the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. It is a 7,000m peak that is considered relatively easy to climb. Sary Mogul is where you turn off the road and can still drive up to Base Camp at 3,600m.

 

This area is not only interesting for mountaineering but also for trekking and day hiking. I was actually hoping for a trek, but my state of health put a clear limit on that. But first I was very happy about the cooler temperatures! And very happy about the landscape. I did a mini walk on the day of arrival and 2 more the next day. About 5,000 people live in Sary Mogul. There are some simple guesthouses and homestays. Mine is run by an impressive slim English-speaking young woman with 3 children. She married here from Osh, but is only here for the 3 summer months.

 

There is a little cultivation in Sary Mogul, mainly potatoes. There are piles of dried animal dung. And it has great smelling flower meadows and small water channels -> it smells beguiling and splashes. In addition, birds are chirping (among others, I saw quite a few hoopoes) and children are running around. They like to “hello hello”, shake hands, one asked for “money money” and two ran up to me with their arms outstretched to give me a hug. Here are a few pictures from the walks:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The village is crossed by the main road. It is wide, but very little frequented.

 

 

 

 

Actually, I am not that sensitive to altitude, but here I got a headache and felt worse. My oximeter also shows lower values – but fortunately nothing alarming.

 

I like the space, the altitude, the peace and quiet, the fresh air, the sounds, the friendly people – so it’s not so bad that the houses aren’t so pretty. But shouldn’t there also be mountains? Wait for the next post!